Information on Replacing Major A/C Components

iluvmydiesels said:

theres holes in your explanation, i feel im going to end up making another elongated post. if to make point(s).
lets start with this one, above. ok, be aware i dont think this is the case. yes the parts your getting are cheaper. so this is how it works(ime). a supplier gets shipment, they if they are part of the upper end of the business, check the parts that they must. anything rejected gets 'tossed', this bin, i for the purposes of the post think of it as 'trash', so this bin gets returned to sender, the mfg. then cheaper end companies can easily get these set of parts, that have ended up in a (initial)reject pile. ok, most likely and in all probability what these suppliers are shipping to you, and customers are parts of questionable tolerance, or questionable in another way(can be more than one, i suppose).
so my whole point for buying the better parts, isnt necessarily for those who have the money, its for those, who are here, who are on a budget. if you buy a set of parts, one or any to do one certain job(for this example). ok, the better quality parts, will only save you what you end up paying, but at the time who knows how much more, and the work you pay, or do your self, is to be added and included. doing it right first will save you more than the base 1X to pay-out to 'get the juob done again', cause it well could cost you more problems next time, to fix 'the same thing' again, cause who knows what other problems can add up, i cannt really think of one specific part we can work on and/or replace, etc, on a car thats not integral to more parts, systems, or whatever term to put more smaller parts to larger part(s) to the whole. sum, equals. and the equals is also a $-sign. its your pockets. just my 2cents, if you will.

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So you're basically saying that all parts from RA are questionable. My advice to Drag is to do research on individual parts then buy from the cheapest supplier. In my case, it was RA and it worked out really well for me. I'd also argue that you have 1 major problem with cars this old. It's faulty logic to think that an expensive part is the highest quality. As these cars age and demand decreases for parts. You never know what you're getting anyway.

Apologies to all for a delayed response. I didn’t’ get any email notifications of new responses and was focused on completing the project. I hit several bumps along the way which prolonged completion, but I am happy to say that the A/C works the best it ever has and blew a cool 50 degrees at the vent on the day I finished when the outside temperature was 90.

I few things that I learned along the way that are helpful to anybody else doing this in the future:

1.Buy a 19/22mm flare nut wrench; possibly also a 17mm if you can

I picked up this Bendix 19/22mm on sale from Amazon. The nut connectors one both ends of the condenser are 22mm and I believe the a/c line connectors to and from the drier are 19mm. The a/c pressure switch is 17mm. I initially took to the top condenser nut with two adjustable wrenches – one to spin the nut and another to hold the condenser in place – and found that my line nuts were so tightly connected that I was rounding off the edges attempting to loosen it. My lower condenser line was on so tight that line itself twisted and sheared off, requiring me to source a replacement from the junkyard.

Additionally, the last person to replace the drier cross-threaded the condenser-drier line going into the drier, which also made it impossible to remove with an adjustable wrench. The flare nut wrench was able to grab enough to slowly spin it off.

2.Remove the front clip

My initial goal for this project was to not remove the front clip because I live in an apartment complex, didn’t want to draw attention to myself, and originally had no plans to replace the condenser. This is both futile and a time waster. There are open “view” ports for both the upper and lower condenser line connections, but is barely enough room to fit a wrench in, much less turn it very far. Since my lines were also on so tight, I couldn’t get enough leverage and wiggle room, adding to my frustration. There’s just a dozen or so bolts holding your front clip onto the vehicle plus two screws at the bottom of each wheel well. It is well worth it to take the extra 15-20 minutes to save so much frustration down the road.

Although the drier can be accessed by removing the cover connecting the fender liner and front bumper lip, I had to lie on my back to access it and again, had very little room to leverage the wrench for loosening the nut. The line running from the drier to the firewall is also at an odd angle, requiring a “blind approach” to getting the wrench on. With the front clip removed, there is more than enough room to access, loosen, and tighten the lines to the condenser, drier and a/c pressure switch connection.

I followed the first 11 steps of this DIY for a MK3 VR6 to identify everything I needed to remove

3.Replace the condenser too

Although my reasoning for replacing the condenser was a stripped nut and broken connector, anybody replacing their a/c components might as well replace the condenser as well. It’s an extra $50-80 for some additional piece of mind and, if the front clip is removed, is literally four small bolts to unmount it.

4.Use the opportunity to inspect other things

While the front clip was off, I used the opportunity to inspect my intercooler for oil (no problem there!), replace a burnt out side marker bulb, and a couple plastic bits missing from my front bumper. After I removed the condenser I inspected the radiator for any built-up debris and blew out any fuzz/bug carcasses.

I did source all my parts from RockAuto and chose neither the cheapest or most expensive options available. Aside from the flare nut wrench, the only other item I purchased was canisters of R134, a spare kit of a/c rubber o-rings, and PAG oil. A gauge set and vacuum pump were rented from a semi-local O’Reilly Auto.

Glad to hear it went well. It can definitely be a lot of work.

I’ve got a car that I’ll be tearing into soon, and I’m not looking forward to it. Bought the car with a bent condenser, from a minor front end collision, in late 2013. I didn’t want to open the system so I bent it back and topped it off every year. I’m now thinking my TXV is getting flakey, so it’s been sitting until the weather breaks. I’ve got spare parts that’ll be flushed, then swapped to help lessen the down time.

I recently bought a Rein TXV and it was an italian made TGKE in the box. I believe these were OE.

The other car has a leaking high side service port, which will require a full dismantle and flush. When I removed the cap, it was under pressure and shot into my hand. I’ll probably just wait until the AC stops working. I’m thinking it can limp into fall.

-Todd