Hi,

Yup, the lines are disconnected as far as I can tell...in fact they are not there.

I ordered the last line we were discussing. Should be here by Friday, so maybe the weekend for an install and vacuum down...?

Thanks, I won't put anymore dye in the system...I am wondering how much of it actually got through the mufflers, lines etc. I still can't tell if it has a leak anywhere. I guess the dye is more for if the system is running, but not all that well...so the dye can be pushed around through the entire system.

Finger's crossed this line helps the vacuum get to 30mmHg...and stay there...

 

Look at those other lines and see if you can find where there used to be a tee.. I know the high side was cut on that line you are replacing but I believe that was where they had a temporary pancake filter installed to filter the system after someone had replaced the compressor the last time. The suction line on that hose you are replacing, it has the muffler and then another filter spliced in. That filter is the permanent filter that you leave in place after changing a compressor.

The high side line that went to the rear AC had to be tied in after the condenser, not before, I marked it #2. Somewhere on that line that goes under the battery, and connects to the evaporator, there has to be a tee unless they changed that line already... The second place to look would be the suction line connection I marked #1.
I hate to say this but if your system has leaked down empty for any length of time, you might want to think about changing the accumulator again even though it is new.. It has a desiccant inside it that absorbs any moisture in the system after it is all back together and charged. When you have the system open for more then a couple of hours, it is recommended that you change the accumulator because the
desiccant will absorb moisture from the air, it was only designed to remove the moisture that would normally be in a vacuumed closed system. When refrigerant and moisture mix it creates a acid that can damage the condenser and evaporator over time. The accumulator is also a part I would not buy online as there is no telling how long it sat on the shelf.

I would also recommend flushing the system again that way you will have a clean system and can be sure you have the right amount of oil in the system, that is critical. like the dye, too much oil takes away from the refrigerant charge capacity while too little will ruin your compressor!

You need to somehow test your evaporator and condenser while you have the system apart... If your leak is in the evaporator it would be impossible to find with dye as you cant see it...

 

Update!

Got the line connecting to the compressor (hose #1) installed last night: flawless! Perfect fit and am so excited it went on perfectly.

Now a bit of bad news; vacuumed it down for 20 minutes and I could not get it to go down below 24 mmHg...:/

Oddly enough it held pressure of the dye/R134a for the last two weeks quite well.

Not sure what to do next, but line #3 (from below) still has a spliced in tube in it that looks old...so probably replace that with your recommendation.

I suppose I also should dive into the evaporator and condenser to see their condition. How long does that take you estimate?

Thanks!

 

Good work! It feels good to be making some progress..
I remembered something, so I went and looked at your profile and see that you live in the beautiful land of Oregon. When I visited Oregon I remembered you have some real mountains there. What is the elevation where you live? According to this chart, if you are around 6000 above sea level, 24hg is all you can achieve on the vacuum.
Effects of Atmospheric Pressure on Vacuum Level

AS to the evaporator. Yes you need to flush it and check it for leaks. It is best to remove it and would take you half a day or so because it is a bit of a job to remove the evaporator housing from under the hood. It can be flushed in place and then blown out with clean dry air but since you have gone this far in doing it right, it would be best to remove it so you can turn it around in several positions while flushing it out.
As to checking it for leaks... I think I mentioned this before. You need an electronic leak detector if you cant find the leak with the dye. I don't know if the parts stores loan them. If you know a shop, perhaps they would check for leaks and not charge you but I did that with my van right after i got it together and they found leaks all over the place when i only have a small leak at the compressor shaft seal and my AC is still working a year later without adding any R12. Because mine is R12, I am going to take mine to the shop and let them pull out the R12. I am going to replace the seal and then have them to put the r12 back in.

The other method is to find something like rubber test tube stoppers and disconnect hoses one at a time, plug the ends of the lines with the stoppers, and pull a vacuum till you find the part that is leaking. That works great but is a little time consuming.

BUT that would work really great for checking the evaporator and condenser. You are not concerned finding where a leak is in the evaporator or condenser but rather if they have a leak.
If you were to disconnect the high side line from the evaporator and the suction side line from the accumulator, then plug the high side of the evaporator and the suction side fitting on the accumulator, you can hook your gauges up to the fitting on the accumulator where the pressure switch screws on and pull a vacuum. This would isolate the evaporator and accumulator from the rest of the system. The only place you could possibly have a leak then would be the the evaporator or the connection where the accumulator connects to the evaporator.

To check the condenser. Disconnect the high side line from the condenser that connects on the battery side and plug the line going into the condenser. Disconnect the new line you just installed from the suction line that runs across the firewall and plug it. Now connect your gauges to the high side port on that new line you just bought and pull a vacuum. That wold tell you if there is a problem at the compressor or the condenser,,, or the fitting where the high side line connects to the condenser.

If I remember correctly you may need a adapter fitting for your hoses to connect to the high side port on that new line you bought, mine did.. That fitting on the high side was smaller then the suction line port.

What ever you use for stoppers/plugs, they must not be able to be sucked into the lines or you will have a big problem!
something like this perhaps
New Rubber Stopper Bungs Laboratory Solid Hole Stop Push-In Sealing Plug 15 Size | eBay

this is the adapter I had to buy to go on the high side line port. On the older fords the high side line port is 1/4" I don't know what is on your gauges..
UAC New 1/4MFx3/16FF w/o Swivel Straight R12 Service Adapter | eBay

 

Hello,

I am hoping someone can help me locate HOSE 3 from below. According to posts above and FordParstGiant I need E9UZ-19867-B, but this is discontinued. I only see it with Walmart for 200 dollars. I see an eBay listing for E8UZ-19867-D that looks mighty promising. Can someone please help? I contact OMEGA for that hose above but they told me no. I have the part in my van - should I just reuse that part (I am attempting to replace every component in the AC system). Appreciate any help.

 

Hello!

I'm almost sure I got that hose on ebay...but check through the old posts...Anneleigh was a HUGE help when I was doing that project.

Hope you get 'er back up and running!

!!

 

Hi Rohls! Glad to see you still around and hope your AC is still working great..

Econolinelover, Does your van have front and rear AC? I have changed computers since this post and don't have all of the part numbers from when i rebuilt my AC system but the E8UZ-19867-D hose is for a duel system front and rear. That is why it has a 3rd fitting in the 90 degree bend.

If I had to do it all over again I probably would have looked for a shop that makes AC hoses. Till last year there was an independent auto parts store near my house and they made AC and hydraulic hoses. You might want to check around in your area and see if there is a shop that does that. Maybe check with a shop that restores cars and ask who makes their lines.

 

try this. Hose #3 for a single front AC system
Hose # 3 = Motorcraft part number SUCTION LINE E-VAN 88-91 YF-1990 or E9UZ19867-B

https://www.ackits.com/88-91-e100-350-yf1990-47597
$168.00

Using the above site part number "HA 10277" and doing a quick search I found

https://www.polarbearinc.com/index.c...----------.htm
$62.03 but there is no pic so call them and ask about the part numbers and fitment..
1-800-365-3516

The new hoses are smaller and are newer type hoses. The stock old hoses are non barrier hoses. They work just fine for R12 with mineral oil. There used to be some rumors that R134a would leak through the non barrier hoses because the molecules in R134a are smaller then in R12. What research has found though in retrofits is that the mineral oil permeates the inner material of the non barrier hoses and basically seals it so that the smaller molecules of the R134a can not pass through.

One more lead..
https://www.rearcounter.com/YF1990-parts211718.html

https://www.rearcounter.com/E9UZ-198...rts113024.html

 

much respect for being patient and giving good info!

 

I have been sitting here all morning steadily reading this long thread. Now towards the end there is no more updayes on ur progress! what happened with your AC system? really what happened? Did it end up holding vacuum did the thing end up working did you flush everything please update! now all my reading was for nothing and this is a very long thread and I was hoping to get help with my AC and so far this has been very thorough and very good. Now I’m left hanging
thanks in advance. Annaleigh and u, were doing such a good job 👍🏼

 

According to statistics, Rohls last activity here was "Last Activity:04-19-2021". Perhaps Rohals is no longer monitoring this thread.
I can give you some advice from my own experience though.
​​​​​​​My system lasted a bit over 6 years after installing everything brand new. I had opted to buy a Factory E6DH compressor. The first compressor I received appeared to be locked up. The second one sent to me was the same. I was told that it is not uncommon for the this to happen if it has sat on the shelf for a long time. Theassembly lub will dry up and you have to use a bit more force to un-stick the compressor. All seemed to be fine but what I didn't think about was the front compressor shaft seal being old as well. That is what failed on my system. I could see a slight dampness behind the compressor pulley but it was never a great amount. by the 7th year the AC was no longer working. When disassembling the system I noticed there was a lot of brownish tan chalky material in the hoses and they were very dry without any oil residue.

​​​​​​​Here is a pic looking at the installed orifice tube in the evaporator tube

-
I decided to have the condenser and the high side hose professionally flushed cleaned at a radiator shop, that was a mistake. the rest of the parts were new. This time I used a new seasons compressor and evaporator. I also went back with R12 because I had one fill on hand. All was working great till I found that the evaporator had a very small leak. Taking the system apart, I found it full of a tan colored sludge. The hose and condenser I had flushed was still full of crud. I know they don't recommend flushing new style condensers but this one is a "Fube Fin" type which is commonly flushed, the shop just did a bad job in my opinion. I should have bought new.

So my next mistake was being in a hurry to repair the AC and instead of waiting for the more expensive parallel condenser, I ordered a cheaper one that was in stock. Yes I bought a parallel condenser and was going to convert to R134a. The cheap condenser was damaged i shipping but I was able to straighten it. The issue though was that the snap lock fittings were very poor quality and one of them leaked when testing. By this time it had cooled down outside and I no longer needed AC. My plan this year is to find a shop that can cut the snap lock fittings off of the original Ford condenser and weld them onto the new aftermarket parallel condenser.

So you see I had a bit of bad luck with the new evaporator leaking but my two mistakes were getting the original condenser flushed and buying a cheap replacement condenser.
My advice if you want a dependable system is to use all new parts. Follow the proper leak test procedures and follow the manual specs for oil and refrigerant charge. Hopefully you will get many good years of dependable service from it.

I have not put my system back together yet but plan to this spring. because I am using a parallel condenser and converting to R134a, the refrigerant specs will be different.

Hope some of this helps
​​​​​​​

 

Thank u Annaleigh!! Got evaporator out flushed it till clear (4times). It was dirty.

Then condenser till it ran clear. not really dirty or any crud…
putting it all back together tomorrow. Will update just in case someone might read it…