AC leak in rear (1 Viewer)

[stonepa]

Just got back for a long drive through the desert down south and ended up with a pinhole refrigerant leak in one of the AC hose fittings by the drivers side rear wheel. The leak is in 0ne of the metal fittings between the hose from the front and the rear floor. Toyota only sells the hose and fittings as a complete unit, and it requires the transmission and the exhaust to be dropped to replace. Anyone have this issue before? Are those high pressure or low pressure hoses? Checked everywhere I can online but only found similar issues with Sienna minivans. Considering trying Flex Seal rubber sealant to the fittings to see if that works.

 

[CharlieS]

I had rear lines corrode and have pinhole leaks on an older cruiser, I think it was one of my 80 series or maybe 100. I just capped the rear lines in the engine bay.

 

[stonepa]

The weird thing is, once I blasted all the crud off the fittings look like brand new. But it definitely a pin hole leak in fitting given where the dye is coming from. Frustrating as it will hold a charge for now but I know it will leak out again. Hoping it is a low pressure line and that a spray-on rubber sealant will patch it as I’d rather not spend thousands to fix an easily accessed but hard to repair part.

 

[Leaky2014]

Hey liar.

 

[CharlieS]

Just spitballing, but could you purge it, then have a talented weldor tig the line.

 

[bloc]

You say at the fitting but I'm having trouble picturing the actual leak.. attach a picture?

Just spitballing, but could you purge it, then have a talented weldor tig the line.

I was just thinking that.

 

[stonepa]

You say at the fitting but I'm having trouble picturing the actual leak.. attach a picture?




I was just thinking that.

 

[stonepa]

View attachment 2973308

View attachment 2973309

The white glowing area in photo 1 is where the UV dye indicates the leak. It took about 6 weeks of using the AC all the time after a refill to leak that much dye. When I power washed all the road gunk off the fittings they look like new.

Not sure which one, if any, is a high pressure or low pressure line.

 

[tacoduck]

So is it the connection, or is it the line? If it’s the line, I’d try maybe some jb weld on the hole and see if it fixes it. jb weld is good stuff, and if it fixes it for 10 bucks, it’s worth it.

 

[stonepa]

So is it the connection, or is it the line? If it’s the line, I’d try maybe some jb weld on the hole and see if it fixes it. jb weld is good stuff, and if it fixes it for 10 bucks, it’s worth it.

It is in the metal connection. The line is fine. Challenge is the hole is so small neither the dealer or could find it. Hence the recommendation to try Flex Seal.

 

[nwfl4runner]

Possibly stupid question but could it be the o-ring fitting at the end of the line? I say that only because mine blew out when replacing the carpet

 

[stonepa]

Possibly stupid question but could it be the o-ring fitting at the end of the line? I say that only because mine blew out when replacing the carpet

Worth a shot!

 

[Sinister]

Just got back for a long drive through the desert down south and ended up with a pinhole refrigerant leak in one of the AC hose fittings by the drivers side rear wheel. The leak is in 0ne of the metal fittings between the hose from the front and the rear floor. Toyota only sells the hose and fittings as a complete unit, and it requires the transmission and the exhaust to be dropped to replace. Anyone have this issue before? Are those high pressure or low pressure hoses? Checked everywhere I can online but only found similar issues with Sienna minivans. Considering trying Flex Seal rubber sealant to the fittings to see if that works.

Just fixed mine last Thursday for the same thing in the same spot. Toyota did the work just replacing the O rings and fitting. I only had 1/2 pound of refrigerant left. They also found a pin hole in the middle of the line from rust (gotta love the salt belt) but didn’t wanna mess with it because the bolts are so corroded there is a high risk of doing more damage. The leak is so small they said to just leave it for now.

 

[stonepa]

Just fixed mine last Thursday for the same thing in the same spot. Toyota did the work just replacing the O rings and fitting. I only had 1/2 pound of refrigerant left. They also found a pin hole in the middle of the line from rust (gotta love the salt belt) but didn’t wanna mess with it because the bolts are so corroded there is a high risk of doing more damage. The leak is so small they said to just leave it for now.

Thanks. Dealer told me the fittings only come with the hose but they look fine. I will have them replace the O rings and we’ll see what happens.

 

[Sinister]

Thanks. Dealer told me the fittings only come with the hose but they look fine. I will have them replace the O rings and we’ll see what happens.

O rings at the rear fittings

 

[bloc]

The small line is the high pressure one. Thing is, even the low pressure line will see significant pressure when the system is off and the refrigerant gets evenly distributed throughout the system.

I agree it I’d be throwing an oring at it, but asking for a tech that is very good with attention to detail and knows how to inspect the mating flanges for damage or an issue during production. At these pressures it could be incredibly small.

 

[EverywhereBear]

I had this issue with my 08 LX. Dealer wanted $4,000 plus labour to fix. I ran the truck for at least 3-4 years with the leak before I traded it in. Every other year I needed to recharge the AC with additional refrigerant, which I think ran me about $250.

 

[TeCKis300]

Maybe worth a shot at a low cost fix. Nothing to loose at this point.

It's not unheard of to braze or even use a high strength epoxy for pinhole leaks like that. There's epoxies designed for this, and might just be what the local garage shop uses. I would reach out to one to see what strategies they have.

Here's an epoxy that may work
Amazon product ASIN B001RMITIA

 

[bloc]

Whether to use an epoxy would depend on if they can pinpoint the leak to somewhere other than the mating surface of the fitting. I wouldn't want to go applying the stuff to the whole side of the fitting, lest they never be able to get it apart again. But if it's on the line or weld to the fitting.. sure.

 

[stonepa]

Well the Flex Seal solution didn’t work as well as I hoped and the AC failed somewhere south of Phoenix. Going to have the Toyota dealer try the o-rings next. Any idea what that should cost?