A metal ac line snapped on my car, so to fix it and recharge AC I need to change the accumulator drier because it was a few months ago that this happened. This is the 2003 4 cylinder sedan LX. Rather than bolts that turn at the accumulator drier, it has lines that run from the drier to the firewall and condenser.

The condenser is easy to reach and just requires turning a bolt and pulling out the line. The one I can't figure out is the one that goes into the firewall to the evaporator. There's a metal rectangular piece at the firewall that it goes into and the manual says to pull a clip down and then use a quick connector kit to remove the tool. There is no clip that I can see and I see no way to use a quick connector kit to remove this.

Also it's very difficult reaching this connection - can the metal pan (cowl) under the windshield wiper motor be removed, or is it welded to the frame ?

Any help / guidance would be greatly appreciated.

 

That metal rectangular piece is the clip they are talking about. It slides off the coupling. If you can get a flashlight in there, you should be able to see the U shaped part that slips over the line. Slide it out. You can get a quick connector disconnect kit at any parts store. The disconnector slips along the line and is forced into the joint to push open some tabs to allow it to come apart.

Putting it back together is a snap. Just shove the line in and slip the retaining clip over the joint.

 

There are two ac lines going into the rectangular piece I'm talking about. If you have a manual or pic, the manual shows a small square clip around both of these hoses. These are not on my car. Both lines (one wider than the other) go into the rectangular piece that I'm talking about and there's a bolt between the two lines that can be removed.

if you have a picture or manual you'll see two square clips at the base of each line - mine just has what looks similar to the rectangular piece behind the clips shown in the manual and a nut & bolt between the two lines. There is a U to the right side of the smaller tube that I need to get out - in the manual it looks solid with no U. Any - it's late now, so i'll try taking the nut off the bolt tomorrow to see if the piece slides off the line somehow and post what I find.

What's in the pic in my manual looks similar to what's in the car, but it's a little different - if it were exactly like what's in the manual, I'd understand what i need to do.

 

Okay, I've checked my manual. The rectangular block that's bolted in is the expansion valve. It's bolted to a flange on the evaporator core. There are two lines going in. One is the high pressure line and one is the suction line. My manual shows two bolts between the lines. If you're not changing the expansion valve you shouldn't need to remove those two bolts, but since the system was open for an extended period of time, you might want to change the expansion valve while you've got it apart.

If yours doesn't have the clips, maybe somebody failed to put them back, or didn't do it properly and they fell off. At any rate, the quick disconnect procedure is the same. You should get a couple of clips to secure it when you put it back together.

 

is the expansion valve on the engine side of the firewall ?

 

Yes, according to the manual.

 

Ok, I got it out. The rectangular piece I was referring to is the clip, but it's different from the manual so I'll describe what I did in case someone else has the same issue. The rectangular 'clip' on my car is about the same height and width as the expansion valve. On the right, where the smaller dimension tube is that comes from the accumulator drier, is a C shaped cutout of the clip, and there's 1 nut on a bolt between the tube (10 mm). It was hard to reach, but I removed that nut then gently pulled on the wider tube that runs to the compressor and it pulled out along with the clip which is attached to it, The thinner accumulator tube then was easy to pull out as well. The wider one has an O ring, the thinner one doesn't unless it is still in the expansion valve. I can now see two torq head screws/bolts that hold the expansion valve to the firewall / evaporator and it should be easy to remove.

I'm not sure if I should start a new thread on this, but I'd like to test the compressor before ordering the accumulator drier and expansion valve. With the car off, if I run a wire from the battery to the clutch (with the compressor still on the car) should the clutch pull in or click or something when I make the connection to it from the battery + terminal ?

I do ok with replaceing head gaskets, but I just started learning about ac systems since I have a couple of cars whose ac's don't work - hence the questions. TIA

 

You'll probably get a click of some kind if you run battery voltage to the compressor clutch. It shouldn't hurt anything to try with the engine not running. You won't really be testing the compressor as much as you are testing the clutch.

As far as the O-ring is concerned, it's probably still in there if it didn't come out with the line. You'll need to fish it out carefully, a toothpick might make a good tool if you can see in there. Replace the O-rings, they're cheap enough. A/C O-rings are not the same as ordinary O-rings. Make sure you get the right kind.

If you don't have access to a suction pump, probably your best bet, once it's back together, is to take it to a shop and have them pump down the system and add the correct amount of refrigerant back in. If you don't want to go that route, and if you have access to compressed air, you can get a halfway decent vacuum with a venturi pump. It won't be perfect but it should work reasonably well.

 

i found the other O ring - it had dropped to the garage floor under the car.
Yes, it's the compressor clutch I want to be sure is working. I bought a vacuum pump and manifold gauge set a few weeks ago since i have a couple more cars with ac not working - they're older and i enjoy learning how to make things work. Thanks for all the help.