Date: Fri, 3 Sep 2004 12:46:05 -0500
Reply-To: "David J. Bohannan" <david.bohannan@VERIZON.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "David J. Bohannan" <david.bohannan@VERIZON.NET>
Subject: Re: Air conditioning hose
In-Reply-To: <C8BD93C2F627184A9BF36BAA339B292B87E542@mtnexc01.na.lennoxintl.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
When we got our 85 a couple months ago, I went to charge up the AC and
noticed (after a pound or 2 of gas) that the hose going from the engine
compartment to up front had been rubbing up against the "firewall" of
sorts..
It blew...I removed the hose and took it to an AC/radiator shop for them
to make me a new hose...it cost 150 bucks in labor, hose and fittings...
Upon reinstall, I went ahead and zip tied it AWAY from this location...
So check around all places where it could possibly rub against something
and wear away. The hose on mine was almost 20 years old (high side) and
so I think that's why the small hole created the "weak link" so to
speak...
Dave
85 GL
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
Of Woten, Rodney
Sent: Friday, September 03, 2004 12:03 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Air conditioning hose
John,
First of all make sure the fan up front is working on all speeds. When
you were moving, air was flowing across the coil semi-sufficiently
enough to cool them. If your fan isn't working, that flow stops when
you stop moving. This causes the system to retain heat, over pressurize
and blow at the weakest point in the system. This is exactly what blew
ours. Replacing the fan resistor up front should take care of the fan.
If, on the other hand, your fan's working, then you need to figure out
what caused the pressure to build in your system and fix that.
Be sure to check the hex bolt atop the receiver dryer in the driver's
side rear wheel well. On our '87, this bolt is drilled and filled with
a lead plug designed to blow out when the system over-pressurizes, thus
saving your expensive hoses. Based on your description of the vapor
cloud, I've got a pretty good feeling that's what it is. If it
is...good news, just replace your receiver/dryer and have the system
recharged. If not...bad news, you'll have to pull off the damaged hose,
take it to someplace that makes hydraulic & A/C hoses and have them
fabricate a new one using the fittings from the old hose, i.e.
expensive.
If the fan's working properly, and the safety plug hasn't ruptured, it
might just be that the hose got old enough that it failed where the leak
is. The age of the A/C hose has been mentioned a few times just this
week on the list, so I assume that's a valid scenario also.
Let us know what you find, and best of luck to ya!
Rod Woten
'87 Westy
Des Moines, Iowa
-----Original Message-----
From: John Wallace [mailto:jwallace@MSAD43.ORG]
Sent: Friday, September 03, 2004 11:27 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: [VANAGON] Air conditioning hose
Help...
The air conditioning on my 87 Vanagon was working fine (just bought it
in
June).
I had been using the van all day and I had It idling (with the air on)
and
I ran back into the house to get something.
When I came back out there was a cloud all around the mid to back of the
van. thought I'd lost the engine but it was running fine. It appears
that
it blew a hole in one of the A/C hoses and it was refrigerant that made
the cloud. I can't tell if it just wore through where it goes through
the
frame or the pressure got too high in the hose?????
1. Anyone got a clue on what might have happened?
2. I can't seem to find any listings for these long hoses that run from
front to back...can I splice a piece in?
John Wallace
Rumford Maine
