Ac Hose Fix + Recharge? Have U Done It?

[billybimmer05]

Fellow Bimmerheads,

My AC is blowing only semi-cold, so I went over to George Foreman's fav auto place. They said a diagnostic was $70 and if they had to recharge, it was $185.

I figured, ok, diagnose it. Well, the guy did it and says my high pressure hose has a leak and that to fix he'd have to get the part from the (st)ealer to fix, then recharge.

Since it won't be AC season here in NY/NJ area for at least a month, I figured I'd do research on it rather than sign up with this guy and pay him any more money.

Question is: Has anyone out there changed their high pressure hose? Recharged the AC? What's that cost? Looks like the hose might be about $100 if I'm looking at the right ones, but what about the recharge? What's a good price?

Free beer to those who help...

[vincentwashere]

70 dollars to recharge??? you can do it yourself. buy a bottle for like 20-30 bux and stick it in and press the button on the bottle and your canister will be recharged. dont know about the hoses...

[moe19x]

i need help with this also, my a/c was working full blast in october, but after the winter it hasnt been strong. can anyone show me on a pic, where the A/c thing is soi know what to do. and doukno who ships this stuff cuz in canada its not available.

thankz

Originally posted by vincentwashere@Apr 30 2005, 07:12 PM
70 dollars to recharge??? you can do it yourself. buy a bottle for like 20-30 bux and stick it in and press the button on the bottle and your canister will be recharged. dont know about the hoses...

[snapback]339687[/snapback]

[moe19x]

also mine is a 98 328i what kinda recharge thing (coolant or what ever it may be called) would i need???

Originally posted by moe19x+Apr 30 2005, 09:16 PM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(moe19x @ Apr 30 2005, 09:16 PM)</div><div class='quotemain'>i need help with this also, my a/c was working full blast in october, but after the winter it hasnt been strong. can anyone show me on a pic, where the A/c thing is soi know what to do. and doukno who ships this stuff cuz in canada its not available.

thankz


<!--QuoteBegin-vincentwashere@Apr 30 2005, 07:12 PM
70 dollars to recharge??? you can do it yourself. buy a bottle for like 20-30 bux and stick it in and press the button on the bottle and your canister will be recharged. dont know about the hoses...

[snapback]339687[/snapback]

[snapback]339704[/snapback]

[/b][/quote]

[fernguy]

First if you think your system is leaking one thing to remember is that where ever the Freon is leaking there is going to be oil leaking out the same hole, so look for any oily spots on all the tubing,coils,compressor ect.
Most shops use a dye in the a/c system then use a blacklight to spot the leak.
Next if your a/c system was low or empty you need to evacuate the system of any moisture. Evacuating is using a special vacuum pump that draws the moisture out in lameman terms. Its slightly more involved but that basically what it does.Also during this portion of the repairs the tech can tell if there is anymore leaks in the system. It is important that they remove the moisture out of the a/c system or it will not work properly and can corroded some internal components.
So when they tell you recharge they are not just adding freon and cutting you loose.
By the way they do sell do-it yourself cans of R134a freon. That come with a hose and can of freon. But I don't think it is a good idea.
Because r134a a/c sytem is very sensitive to freon pressure. If it is slightly low it doesn't work so well and if it is over-charged it also the a/c system won't work so well.So it is important to put in the exact amount of freon gas.
The a/c freon R12 wasn't so sentive to freon pressure so a slightly overcharge system work okay.
But since there is no more R12 available and most modern cars now have R134a or what cars that have been retro-fitted to use R134a.
Today a/c system really is no longer "back-yard mechanic friendly"
Hope this helps

[moe19x]

thankz, for the info dude, im just gona take it to the garage and pay the rpice and enjoy cold air allsummer.

Originally posted by fernguy@May 1 2005, 09:58 AM
First if you think your system is leaking one thing to remember is that where ever the Freon is leaking there is going to be oil leaking out the same hole, so look for any oily spots on all the tubing,coils,compressor ect.
Most shops use a dye in the a/c system then use a blacklight to spot the leak.
Next if your a/c system was low or empty you need to evacuate the system of any moisture. Evacuating is using a special vacuum pump that draws the moisture out in lameman terms. Its slightly more involved but that basically what it does.Also during this portion of the repairs the tech can tell if there is anymore leaks in the system. It is important that they remove the moisture out of the a/c system or it will not work properly and can corroded some internal components.
So when they tell you recharge they are not just adding freon and cutting you loose.
By the way they do sell do-it yourself cans of R134a freon. That come with a hose and can of freon. But I don't think it is a good idea.
Because r134a a/c sytem is very sensitive to freon pressure. If it is slightly low it doesn't work so well and if it is over-charged it also the a/c system won't work so well.So it is important to put in the exact amount of freon gas.
The a/c freon R12 wasn't so sentive to freon pressure so a slightly overcharge system work okay.
But since there is no more R12 available and most modern cars now have R134a or what cars that have been retro-fitted to use R134a.
Today a/c system really is no longer "back-yard mechanic friendly"
Hope this helps

[snapback]339777[/snapback]