leperboy

Rob, seriously, you're nuts.

Matt

borland

Good going! Heinrich was the first to remove one, but he never reinstalled it.

If your A/C man can put a union in, that would make reinstallation easy from below. Another 0-ring wouldn't hurt considering how many are already in the system.

Good luck with the install.

Rob Edwards

Matt-

You're just jealous 'cause you didn't get to spend 12 hours in the garage today....

leperboy

Yes, that's true.

At least in another year I won't have to tear apart relatively new and perfectly working parts because I have a compulsion and already replaced ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING on my car, whether it needed it or not.

Also, congratulations on solving that A/C line puzzle. I can imagine how rewarding it felt to get it out. keep us up to date on how you get it back in.

Matt

Rob Edwards

SOCD (Shark obsessive compulsive disorder) is a terrible disease. I took apart the A/C compressor tonight to re-seal it and replace the shaft seal, drove out the old seal and discovered I have the wrong shaft seal kit. Oops.

Maybe I should remove and clean the CE tonight, or install the PorKensioner that's been sitting in the garage for a year+. Or, or, or......


My name is Rob. I have a problem.

dr bob

Chorus: !!Hi Rob!!

Mark Anderson

Scotts Porsche in Anaheim can crimp new hose on that for you. I'd tell you they can also do it in the car but you probably don't want to hear that.
(714) 634-2027

Rob Edwards

Mark-

Thanks for the suggestion, I know it can probably be done in the car but I can't see how they could get to it without pulling the radiator, the block-off panel that covers the A/C lines just behind the drier, several of the coolant lines, etc. I'd bet the labor would be significant, at least 3-4 hours worth. (Not like what I had to do, of course, but I'm getting better at taking this Rubik's cube apart.) I took the old line to B+F Auto Air in Costa Mesa this morning, $55 to have it rebuilt. They said they need to braze new fittings at the ends of the rubber portion, we'll see what they come up with. I'll post a pic when I've got it back later today.

How important is the foam insulation that covers the rubber section of this hose? I'll probably just put some pipe insulation over it.

borland

I used a similar length of pipe insulation I found at Home Depot.

Aluminum brazing with propane couldn't be easier now with the newer brazing solders. Check out these videos...

http://www.docsblocks.com/VideoLibrary.asp

This company also has some unions that you could braze in place ...

http://www.docsblocks.com/products.asp?cat=19

Rob Edwards

Well, I managed to get the rebuilt line back in and reattached without breaking it.
The guy at B+F Auto Air rebuilt the rubber portion of the old hose, he had to braze new connectors and then crimped new barrier hose over them, and then pressure tested the line. The total was $55:



I then maneuvered the hose back into the car, it only took about five minutes, once again lifting up the harness and threading the part to the exp valve back under the harness. I left the adjacent suction line loose so as to make the pressure line easier to jiggle around. i had a nervous moment after getting it back in when I realized how much I'd bent it while extracting it. Here's what it looked like with the drier and rear A/C pipes re-connected:



I gently pulled the line bto the expansion valve back into position, feeding it back into the rubber line clamps along the top of the firewall. There is a clamp low on the firewall that holds both the pressure and suction lines as they come up from the connection to the rear A/C. I got the rubber spacer back on it but there's no frickin' way the black plastic cover is going back over it.....

The shop did not have the insulation for the rubebr section, so here's the Home Depot equivalent, in situ:


Now all I have to do is reinstall the airpump, compressor and its lines, new drier, diverter valve, cats, reservoir, fuel vent line, coolant Y-pipe, coolant bleeder hoses, right-side radiator block off plate, right headlamp shroud, radiator, fan shroud, and re-fill the system. Easy peasy.....

dprantl

Those look like hydracrimps...

Dan
'91 928GT S/C

Rob Edwards

They do, don't they? When I picked it up I was worried because the fitting to the drier was pointing almost 180o the wrong direction. The guy says, you can just rotate it around with a pair of pliers. I figure if I'm going to break it, I'd do it while I'm still at the shop, so I turned it right there- the whole fitting just turns relative to the bubble crimped area. Weird. They said they pressure tested it, we'll see tomorrow when I get the compressor back together and back in.

dprantl

Hmm, when I do my crimps I must be doing them REAL tight because there's no way I could turn the fittings when I'm done. Maybe I do mine too tight, but the oldest one I've done is about 3 years old now and doesn't leak.

Dan
'91 928GT S/C

Leon Speed

Darn. Looks like I forgot a line to pull.

fbarnhill

God, I can't believe I didn't replace the AC lines while I had the engine out. Of course, the PO told me the AC worked great and I couldn't tell until I had the engine back together. I am 57 and old enough not to believe everything I am told no matter how nice the person seems. I am going to see if I can get away with just new o-rings this time around. I have new compresser, expansion valve and dryer. This is my next week job as it is getting HOT here in NC.

Thanks guys for all the pictures and discussioin. It realy helps to see this before starting. Of course, I don't have rear AC so mine shouldn't be quite so bad..