Should you wrap it in some heat shielding?
AC stopped working
- Thread starter nakman
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nakman said:
Right now zip tied to that canister. I'm going to switch to a hose clamp bolted to the fender. There seems to be enough flex for the motor.
hkeller said:
It couldn't hurt but I don't think I wouldgo out of my way.
Great post Rob! I checked mine last night and while I had about 1" clearance (and no damage) I did zip-tie the line back up to the same bracket you're on.
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Ok, since the DT Headers are all the rage now, I'm going to go ahead and over-document this sucker.. hopefully this helps the rest of you with headers can learn from this and do a 5 minute fix, which will save you hours and a few hundred bucks.
Here is the offending area, you can see the AC line right next to the header in the first pic (the screwdriver is pointing right to the spot that will burn). In the second pic, this is the part number of a replacement hose.. and the final pic is the hose removed.
Here is the offending area, you can see the AC line right next to the header in the first pic (the screwdriver is pointing right to the spot that will burn). In the second pic, this is the part number of a replacement hose.. and the final pic is the hose removed.
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The hole in the AC line is pretty obvious.. I had to improvise and used some rubber material as a spacer for the clamp, since the stock one has some squishy tape on it, that won't come off without being destroyed. Turned out this clamp has been the worst part so far, almost impossible to get the bolt in the engine to line up again.
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I snapped that little bolt while trying to get it back together... was using the bolt to pull in the bracket, rather than man handling the bracket into place then use the bolt just to secure it. 
So the out came the drill, I wallered out that hole pretty good, but managed to drill and tap some 1/4-20 threads further down, enough to get a socket screw in there. If you follow my steps here, try to avoid this bonus 2 hours, it's not required. 
So the out came the drill, I wallered out that hole pretty good, but managed to drill and tap some 1/4-20 threads further down, enough to get a socket screw in there. If you follow my steps here, try to avoid this bonus 2 hours, it's not required.
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- #28
With that side of the engine nice and rust-proofed from its recent WD-40 bath, I finally secured back the new AC line with the biggest zip tie I could find, attached to a little gold bracket thing on the fender that had an extra hole. There is still quite a bit of travel in the line, so I'm not worried about the engine twisting, and it's not that tight, so shouldn't cause any kink in the hose.
I would suggest everyone who's doing the DT header take a similar preventative step here- tie back your AC line so there's a few inches of separation from the top bend of the header, and so the AC line can't droop down and come in contact with the header. What happened in my case was the AC line was up and out of the way, but unsecured, so it was presumed it would be fine but after a few hours driving for whatever reason the line drooped down, and onto the header it went.
I would suggest everyone who's doing the DT header take a similar preventative step here- tie back your AC line so there's a few inches of separation from the top bend of the header, and so the AC line can't droop down and come in contact with the header. What happened in my case was the AC line was up and out of the way, but unsecured, so it was presumed it would be fine but after a few hours driving for whatever reason the line drooped down, and onto the header it went.
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- #29
Tomorrow' challenge is changing out the AC Drier filter.. I have a new one, but haven't ever messed with AC before- trying to search for anyone who has documented this, coming up empty. Anyone have a link? 
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Alright well unable to find any posts about swapping out the drier, I decided to go for it anyway. Was a pretty simple job, despite the instructions being in mostly Japanese, with broken translations.. hardest part was finding the thing, but at last I found it tucked next to the radiator on the passenger side.
edit: here are the part numbers of the top hose and drier filter one more time, for reference.
edit: here are the part numbers of the top hose and drier filter one more time, for reference.
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Getting the little plastic filter thing out was just a matter of jiggling it, until it could fall through the threads. to remove the old filter, I made a tool out of a utility flag that was in my front yard.. pretty nasty when you compare the bits that came out, with the stuff going in. I now have a shiny new bolt on the underside of my truck, will get covered up by the front skid plate tomorrow.
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- #32
So now it's just a matter of getting one of those recharge kits from the auto store, and I'm back in business right?
A simple recharge will work, although you are technically supposed to pull the system into a vacuum to boil off any moisture (humidity in the air etc.) that may have entered while the system was apart for repairs. You probably want to add a little bit of oil back into the system that was lost from replacing the old components (mainly the drier, I'm sure you noticed it was pretty well soaked in oil when you replaced it, technically the system will be slightly low on oil if you don't add any during the recharge). Some of the DIY R134 recharge kits may include oil with the refrigerant, honestly never investigated it since I've had the luxury of using an AC system evacuation/recharging station during the AC work I've done.
So long story short, yes, a simple recharge with a DIY kit will most likely work ok, but is not 100% by the book if you're particular.
So long story short, yes, a simple recharge with a DIY kit will most likely work ok, but is not 100% by the book if you're particular.
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- #35
appreciate the suggestions... i ended up getting two 18oz cans with the oil & stop leak & hose and jyst went for it. my rationale was it's not very humid here, i found replacement socks for $12 while shopping for driers, and both places i called today for a service wanted $180... so screw it, did it in walmart's parking lot, drove home with cold ac. done.
Thanks for documenting all that you did, will make this job a lot easier for others if they run into this problem again!
A word of caution. From what I'm reading, air / moisture left in the system will create an acid which will attack the aluminum parts. If you want a long term fix, it seems best to remove. But, maybe the new drier bag alone will remove that residual air / moisture.
I've read one procedure where a tech suggests charging the system with R-134A and purging the air at the same time. Charge through the low pressure purge through high pressure until the refriegerant begins leaking from the high pressure port.
While not good for the environment, it probably is a better procedure than leaving the air.
Doug
I've read one procedure where a tech suggests charging the system with R-134A and purging the air at the same time. Charge through the low pressure purge through high pressure until the refriegerant begins leaking from the high pressure port.
While not good for the environment, it probably is a better procedure than leaving the air.
Doug
