bulge in A/C hose

[monterey1962]

Was going to recharge my '89 CV's a/c today. Found a nice ugly bulge in the accumulator-to-compressor hose. What is needed to change this hose out? How do I remove pressure from the system before removing the hose?

[gadget73]

You'd have to either have the system evacuated, or just crack the hose loose and let it leak out. It will need to be vacuumed down before you charge it though or it won't work right.

As for changing it, I believe thats a springlock quick connect on both ends for an 89. You need a bigger version of whats used to pop fuel rails loose. Lube the O rings on the new hose lightly with some ester oil before re-assembling it. Ideally any time the system is opened, the drier should be replaced though, so you may want to consider replacing that along with the hose.

[monterey1962]

My service manual has me a bit confused on this subject. I understand leaking the system down, and replacing the hose and drier. How would I go about getting the system vacuumed down before recharging with R134a? Btw, the car is already converted to R134a.

[Lincolnmania]

either buy a vacuum pump and a set of gauges, or have someone vacuum it down and charge it for you.......you may want to try a air operated vacuum pump, they arent ideal cause they dont pull as much vacuum, but they cost under 20 bucks, on a 90 deg plus day you may get away with a air powered vacuum pump.......the electric vacuum pumps work better but they start off at around 100 bucks.

[monterey1962]

Thanks for the info, fellas. There's a tire shop downtown that does a/c services. I'll probably just take it to them to get it vacuumed down after I change out the hose.

[88grandmarq]

take it to the shop BEFORE you change the hose, have them evacuate all the Freon in their machine. take the car home, replace the hose, then take the car back to have them vacuum the system down and re-charge the system.

Most shops like the repeat business and they will most likely give you a discount on the Freon cost, since most of your good Freon is already in their machine. Re-charging the system with an semi-automatic or automatic machine is nice because it puts in the correct amount of Freon and reduces the chance of over-charging the system.

putting a vacuum on the system not only gets all the moisture out, it also makes sure there are no leaks in the system.

[monterey1962]

Thanks. Will do.

[monterey1962]

The guy quoted me $170 over the phone, but said the software they use to judge labor costs is a bit vague in this area. Sounds like they will work with me on this one. Plus, he seen the records of how many tires I've bought from them in the past. The way it stands, the shop will discharge, replace the hose, and recharge the system. He said the cost should not be effected with the hose being changed there, as opposed to me doing it myself. It also saves me a couple of trips back and forth to the south side of the city. I'm hoping $170 was on the high side of cost, cause that's more than I was expecting.

[monterey1962]

Why is it, every time I think a shop will do me good on the simplest of tasks, it bites me in the ass? This a/c business was one of the rare occasions that required the car going to a shop since I don't have the proper equipment to do it all myself.

I was told price to change the hose wouldn't really effect the overall cost much. Apparently, $55 isn't much money to them. I should have just changed the hose myself. Final total at the shop was $170. Cost of the hose was $40 from O'reilly Auto Parts. It's the same style as the one listed on RockAuto for the '89 CV.

Here's what really pisses me off ... The '89 has the same hose connections as my '90, but the hoses themselves are different. Original on the '89 has a metal "U" bend piece mid-line. '90 has all rubber line routed nice and neat. Since I needed a ride home, I took BOTH FUCKING CARS to the shop to show the guy how I wanted the hose routed. What did he do? The opposite. Now the hose is up, curved, wedged under the pipe on the drier, and damn near kinked before it plugs into the compressor. Also, it turns out that voicing my concern and disappointment in the workmanship of the job doesn't mean shit to that shop. What the hell? They've done me so good over the past few years for the little stuff that I needed done. Now their shit? This is two strikes in one week (they fucked up the scheduling for the '98's wheel alignment on Monday).

I'll probably get pics of the '89 and '90's hoses later today. So far, I have a super cold a/c in the car.

[monterey1962]

Pics.

[87gtVIC]

I too dont like the routing of that hose.

[gadget73]

Looks like the replacement hose is longer, and it doesn't have the aluminum pipe section in it to make that nice clean 180 bend. Not sure theres much you could do with that.

[tim marks]

+1 looks like they did as much as they could in the situation. the replacement hose was different then stock, so stock routing is not possible, especially with the ridgid hose....

[gabegt90]

yeah that hose does look longer

[Lincolnmania]

factory hoses fit the best when they were available