still kicking around the idea of plumbing the a/c stuff from firewall forward with hard line... been googling soldering/brazing aluminum tubing...need to study up on types of fittings I need... it's all very confusing to me..

anyone do this that can educate me ??? pros and cons ?? seems we've discussed this some time in the past but I've cleared memory

thanks

john

 

Ultimately you will need flexible lines to connect to the compressor/engine. Aluminum does't like to be in a moving/bending application. It work hardens and will crack if not rigidly mounted. If you run the flex between the engine and the firewall in a hidden location then back to pipe, you should be OK.

 

so are you saying I need rubber both at the firewall and at the engine/compressor or just at the engine

 

It depends on whether or not your belt tensioning occurs at the compressor or at a different location. If the compressor is stationary, hard lines are acceptable to the point where they leave the engine. I would also recommend flex at the condensor and leaving the evaporator, these are floppy old trucks that flex quite a bit. Building a trailer queen is one thing, buiiding something that's going to be on the road quite a bit is another.

 

It may not have to be rubber, exactly. Steel braided line would work. As Beav said, there's a lot of flexing going on in the front of these trucks. Solid line still needs to be supported, but since there's really no part on front of the truck that's totally stationary, it's going to be difficult to support solid lines.

 

I got hard lines out front and rubber to firewall-- going to get rid of hard lines and going rubber and put my drier and trinary switch inline and fasten to pass inner fender---

 

I ran braided stainless lines...pricey but they look nice and they flex. I went with rigid lines under the dash...Vintage Air sells all the lengths of AL tube that you will need along with end fittings. I invested in a nice Rigid tubing bender, made the job much easier.

 

How about crimping fittings and such? How is that handled? Are AC fittings pretty much all the same?

For instance I want to run my compressor that is on my 4.9L and not use the aftermarket one supplied in the kit. Are than any issues getting that hooked up or are there pretty common fittings out there?

 

Aluminum doesn't like vibration either. Make sure that you have tubes properly braced between fittings. Also you have to use Al tubing with the correct wall thickness. But I agree with CharlieLED, I would just use braided SS.

 

Another option if you're wanting to DIY is the vintage air EZ Clip system. It's a build on site high pressure hose system that aeroquip makes. I used it on my truck. Install the ends on the compressor etc, route the hoses to the ends, cut to length. Install the EZ clips on the hose ends with the "special" tool and it's done. It is rubber hose so it lacks the cool factor of polished aluminum. It's a little pricey, but it's very easy to do at home. No worries about clocking the fittings as you build the lines right on the truck. Aeroquip/Eaton make this system in a variety of hose types for fixing equipment in the field.

 

emailed with the Vintage air tech guy asking about braided line fittings and such.. he replied with a catalog page number (not quite helpful) but cautioned that braided lines "could" leak. Well, heck.. any line "could" leak... Some of yall use braided a/c lines ??? experience ??? any precautions I should take That I don't know about (and I don't know nuthin about nuthin). Ya'll chased me off hard lines so help me with the braided stuff !!

 

 

thanks Pete, the VA guy gave me the same link... I had found them but need to compare cost of their kit to individual fittings and hose... I need quite a few fittings. The A/C line LOOP with the dryer and trinary switch to the condenser and compressor and back to the firewall alone had 9 fittings... assuming I did it right, ADD four more for the heater line (without the control switch in line) I was just looking for info on the actual install and what to look for afa problems... you know, real life experience that you get from screwing things up the first time and doing them over !!!

 

I ran the braided stainless lines (Gotta Show is the source) mainly for looks and secondly for space consideration. Here is the setup on my current project, hose retainers still need to be installed but overall you get the picture.

 

Thanks Charlie for the pic

it seems those SS braided lines are crimped like the regular barrier hoses... I was assuming they were like AN type fittings ! Did you crimp yourself or send back to GS ?? they are very specific about the crimping specs and I don't see where they offer a tool to do it.
the difference in polished vs non is about a hundred bucks. I think I could polish my own for less than that. Still gotta map mine out and price out the fittings... did you find the kit was cheaper than individual pieces or was it just more convenient ??


thanks
j