is there a site where it shows you how to prperly evacuate yhe system and all the tools you need ? or if one of you knows how it would be greatly appreciated have a couple of vehicals that need working on cant afford the shop bills right now gotta diy

 

its not "legal" but you can just press the low side schraeder valve with a ice pick or small screw driver/philips. but before you refill it you gotta put a vacuum to it. 30min then you can refill it. i think harbor fraud, i mean harbor freight has them. check the website though.

 

harbor does, venturi vacuums that use air compressors... look up venturi if it dont ring bells.

to evac it see if a shop'll suck ya ac out for free. dunno if they would but your not suppose to vent to atmosphere, maybe they treat it like antifreeze an waste oil.. never tried. I dont see why not, its extremely easy to do. or find an EMPTY AC tank and drain what you can. ozone depletion and all (unless you don't believe in that)... junkyards and some people just open/cut the lines to drain the stuff, doesnt make it right but if your AC system had a leak already you should find the leak and fix it before refilling it.

use heat on a can to push the refrigerant out when charging btw. if they have been exposed to air I'd use a flush on them, new receiver drier, new oil. measure the old oil or look up the capacity. better slightly rich than lean on the oil - rich'll hurt ac performance to a degree depending on how rich but at least compressor would be lubed. shaft seal and condenser are the two most common leaks I've seen from use: something hits the condenser and punctures it. Also the low and high side caps also serve as a seal to the valves so dont just throw them away. tape any lines off or plug them somehow if you need to remove a component, moisture is your enemy.

UV Dye works great for finding leaks, install it even if you dont leak for the future when ya might. but you'll have to charge the system again, IIRC refrigerant has smaller molecules than ambient airs mix so using shop air prolly wouldnt work except to push out the dye..

only real tools you'd need would be


semi-"optional":
*recovery machine (borrow it, can use it to evac or charge. if the system is empty you dont need it at all)
*flush if its been exposed to air for a while (water+ refrigerant oil = nasty corrsoive crap)
*new receiver drier, replace them if its been exposed to air at all. measure oil that comes out of the old one before throwing it away... fill new one with that much oil, maybe add a lil extra
*high & low gauges - helps diagnose problems during install, and helps when charging the system.

needed:
*vacuum
*refrigerant cans, rating is near hood latch, 2 1lb cans should do ya and then some per vehicle . pre-uv-dyed/oiled cans might be for sale in your area... use good judgement when going with these, dont overoil if it can be helped but definitely dont under oil either. heat the cans up to aid in charging.. pressure goes from high to low - heat makes the can higher pressure than the system


pretty tired - 3.30am but thought i'd give ya a hand. this list isn't comprehensive but someone can add to it. temperature to pressure charts are available onlin for r-12, r-134a, etc. converting r12 systems to r134a isnt hard either, evac & adapters for the valves to fit r134a, oil & orings (not always necessary)

if your around oregon i can lend a hand..