Date:         Thu, 17 Jul 1997 22:53:58 -0500
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Tim Marciniak <tmarcini@EXECPC.COM>
Subject:      Need advice re A/C parts and service (long)

Friends,

I need advice on servicing my A/C system.   I have never done any A/C work
before other than tearing a system or two out many years ago.  Anyways I
had my 90 Multivan into my local VW dealer to hopefully just have the A/C
system recharged since the system was just barely cooling the passenger
area and not nearly working as good as last summer.  The bad news is when
they called me back they said I needed three A/C hoses and the
reciever/dryer replaced to the tune of about $1500 for parts and $400 for
labor.  I said thank you very much but know way am I able to sink that kind
of money into the A/C which we use for about 2 or 3 monthes here in
Wisconsin.  The dealer discharged the system of freon and here I am asking
for advice on how to fix this thing.

The good news first, the compressor, evaporator, expansion valve, and
condensor are all in good condition.  The reciever dryer is ok too except
the mechanic at the dealer said he wasn't sure the hoses would come easily
off the reciever dryer so he wanted to replace that as well.

The bad news is the A/C hoses are a dealer only item.  I called around and
thanks to Europarts and Bobs Auto Parts (Limbo member) they both
recommended I contact a shop in my area and have these hoses made.  Well I
did and I found two radiator shops in my town that said they can do this
but that I would have to bring in the old hoses, they will most likely take
the fittings off my old ones and recrimp them onto new hoses.

This is were my questions start:

1.  Once I remove these hoses from my van are their any plugs that you can
buy to plug the holes left open from disconnected the hose.  Apparently you
want to keep dirt and moisture out of these components (compressor,
condensor, ecvaporator).

2.  Would it be a good idea to flush the condensor and evaporator at this
time?  I guess this is an option for me at this point, but it would be a
definite requirement if the compressor was blown.   Am I right about this?

3.  Bentley does not really go into much explanation regarding the removal
of A/C line from the condensor, but my question is will I have to drop the
radiator and condensor at the same time to disconnent the A/C hoses from
the condensor.

4.  If any of the fittings on the ends of the hoses are bad or I ruin them
when I take them off does anyone know if these fitting are available like
from a parts store or radiator shop.

5.  Can I drive my van if the hoses are removed but the holes that are left
are properly plugged?  I dont anticipate having to drive it once I remove
these hoses but its just some thing I was wondering about.

6.  Last question is has anyone had hoses made like this, the dealer prices
are like exponetially high.

I have considered just letting the whole A/C go and not fix it but I find
this hard to do since the rest of the van is very well maintained.

Tim Marciniak
90 Multivan