hey guys, i have a 96 civic ex and a couple weeks ago i realized my a/c wasn't working... well i was checking it out this morning and it turns out my short ram rubbed a hole in one of the "suction" pipes. doh. it's #7 in this pic...



so, im going to order the part tomorrow morning and change it out myself... well, this is my first time dealing with anything a/c related, so, i started reading up in my shop manuals and searching here on honda-tech. the shop manuals say to put some oil on the o-rings when changing lines and then just hook up to your fancy Recovery/Recycling/Charging System... ok, sure, let me just dig that out of the closet... ha! so, how do us backyard mechanics go about this?

i'll get the line and put some oil on the o-rings and get that leak taken care of, but, how do i go about 'vacuuming' the air and moisture out of the system and then re-charging? i know autozone (and the like) sells those r134 kits, but, i've never even looked at them... do they have a way to vacuum the 'air' out of the system before recharging?

thanks for the help guys
-mike

 

you need a recovery system

 

with the refrigerant out of it you can charge it yourself. BUT it is wise to evacuate the system with a vacuum pump. why do you ask? water mixing with refrigerant will turn caustic. you need to pull to 30 in/hg for 15 mins. this will cause any water to boil. water boils at room temp in a vacuum. once that is done, hook up your can cracker and refrigerant to the low side line. it is the larger of the 2 lines. turn on the car turn on the ac and it will draw in through the low side line. BUT look on your hood to see the proper amount refrigerant needed. undoubtedly i forgot something. get a service manual it will help you. if you overcharge it you run the risk of locking up toe compressor and causing damage. not to be ignorant, but this is why you should take to someone who knows whats up on this. just my o.o2 but if you tackle this yourself, good luck.

 

You really do have to take it it to a shop and have all the air sucked out. If you don't you're going to air lock your comdenser with non condensables and your efficiency is going to go to **** and possibly blow a high side line. Depending on how long the system has been open, you might want to look at getting a new drier. Cheap insurance. PErsonally I say buy the parts and have a shop do it for you. Unless you have all the necessary tools and knowledge don't do it yourself. I don't know why the hell they sell the DIY kits at parts stores. It's not exactly idiot proof. Take it from a guy that's been doing HVAC work for almost 8 years now.

 

thanks guys, i just ordered a new suction line from ahmotor.com ($28) and I'm going to swap it out myself and then take it to a local a/c garage and have them evacuate and charge it.

i called around a few places and was quoted as high as $130 plus freon to as low as $60 plus freon...

but, i found one place, called Polar Auto Air and he told me $75 total and he seemed cool as crap. so, im gonna go there.

any words of advice on swapping that suction line? i think the manual said something about putting a couple drops of oil on the new o-rings... otherwise, it looks pretty straight-forward...

thanks again
-mike

 

you dont have freon in your 96 civic.. you have r134 and thats the cheaper stuff, thats probably why the cooler guy at polar was cheaper cause he know what the hell he was talkin about......

 

put a few drops of ester oil on the o-ring. ester is for 134a. i think pag and moneral oil are for 12.

 

can i pick this stuff up at the local auto parts store?

is that it? unbolt the old 'n busted line, put a few drop of oil on the new o-rings and bolt it up?

thanks,
-mike

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by boostedcivicsir &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">put a few drops of ester oil on the o-ring. ester is for 134a. i think pag and moneral oil are for 12.</TD></TR></TABLE>