2004 LS8 - A/C compressor and low side hose leaking - DIY removal safe?

[lsintoronto]

I will have to replace the car soon unfortunately due to the under-frame being rusted and parts getting "soft" (like hoist points) so not looking to spend a ton on repairs now. The A/C stopped working a while back and I had it pressure tested and recharged with dye a couple weeks ago and the A/C worked for about 10 days (maybe 5 or 6 uses in that time) before going warm again (slightly cool now but ineffective). They found a leak at the compressor and also on the low side hose (on the passenger side of the engine bay).

The quote I got from my Ford dealer was over CAD$1,000 in parts so that's a no go but if I can find some working replacement parts at a low price to buy me a little more time I may consider it.

Is it safe to DIY remove the compressor and low side hose at home? Any special tools needed for hose removal? Not sure how hard the parts are to access while on jackstands on a driveway - the compressor looks like it can be easily accessed but not sure about the hose. The Deneau link doesn't have a section on hose removal and I couldn't find anything searching here.

I figure if I could replace the parts myself I can just get it recharged and get me through the summer - or just leave as is and recharge 1 or 2 times to get to end of summer when the cool weather comes back. The car is not daily driven right now otherwise fixing the A/C would be a lot more pressing. I'll likely start car shopping for a replacement at the end of this year/early next year.

 

[joegr]

The compressor leak is probably the o-ring at the back where the control valve is. You don't even have to remove the compressor to change this part.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Scroll-Comp...ash=item51e734a4dd:g:Bp8AAOSwepJXaGsd&vxp=mtr
The catch is that you have lost some compressor oil, so you will have to guess at how much and add some.

There is no separate "low side hose," there are only manifold assemblies with both high and low side hoses. Is it the lower one?
http://deneau.info/ls/s6x~us~en~file=s6xc1012.htm~gen~ref.htm
If it is, make sure it isn't just the valve in the fill port. That can be replaced without changing out (or removing) the manifold. Ford doesn't sell the valve, but the aftermarket does.

Okay, reread, passenger side manifold would be:
http://deneau.info/ls/s6x~us~en~file=s6xc1029.htm~gen~ref.htm

These are expensive and are a pain to change out (might be easier to remove the intake manifold first). Make sure it really is the manifold assembly, and not just one of the replaceable o-ring seals.

 

[lsintoronto]

Thanks! I tried to get a pic of the compressor leak when they had it on the hoist but the pic didn't turn out (showing the dye) so I am going under the car this afternoon to see if the dye is still visible.

I got a picture of the dye on the hose leak but will take a closer look at the hose routing, accessibility, and both ends of the hose, today.

Here is the leak area on the hose (pic needs to be rotated anti-clockwise for orientation):

 

[lsintoronto]

Here is the compressor - there appears to be some dye showing where the 2 hoses bolt into it (first pic) but that could be from the valve/recharge process? Or can the o-rings at this coupling be leaking?

The blurry third picture is the back of the compressor where there appears to be a small plate with 2 screws/bolts - is that where the control valve o-ring is?

 

[lsintoronto]

There is a lot of dye on the lower hose at various points on the passenger side below the shock tower as seen from above and from below. Not sure I can change this hose myself as I can't see the other end of the hose (firewall?).

From above:

From under car:

 

[lsintoronto]

The compressor leak is probably the o-ring at the back where the control valve is. You don't even have to remove the compressor to change this part.

There is no separate "low side hose," there are only manifold assemblies with both high and low side hoses. Is it the lower one?
http://deneau.info/ls/s6x~us~en~file=s6xc1012.htm~gen~ref.htm
If it is, make sure it isn't just the valve in the fill port. That can be replaced without changing out (or removing) the manifold. Ford doesn't sell the valve, but the aftermarket does.

In the picture in the link it appears the tube that goes from this part/coupling and disappears around the passenger side of the engine is the tube that is leaking. Not sure if it is separate from the tube exiting the compressor or one overall piece. Will check with the local Ford parts counter on Monday.

1 — Thermostatic expansion valve (TXV) manifold and tube fitting (part of 19835A)



On the Tasca site it appears to be part #12

12 3W4Z-19835-CA REFRIGERANT HOSE

COND TO EVAPORATOR, 3.9 LITER
$137.92 $79.99
12 3W4Z-19835-CA LIQUID LINE

LS8; AT EVAPORATOR
$137.92 $79.99

http://www.tascaparts.com/auto-part.../hvac-cat/condenser-compressor-and-lines-scat

 

[lsintoronto]

I spoke with another local A/C I was referred to by a fellow Mustang Club member and the shop owner said he's done these (part # 3W4Z-19835-CA) in the past and won't touch one today because he's too old for the hassle...lol.

 

[milehighmikey]

I had to change both manifold hoses last year, it was not too too bad, but I do have a lift. The hoses were available on rockautoparts.com and fairly affordable. One thing you need is a couple of pair of large O rings where each manifold bolts in (one at the compressor and one at the expansion valve on the firewall. Removing the cowl (and shock tower brace rod) is essential to getting to the firewall end of the hoses. There are also some other O rings to change while you are at it, so get the ones from Ford for all of these. My large O rings were flat after 15 years but still sealed before I had to change the hoses. There was no way that they could ever be re-used. There are two bolts on the passenger side transition from the firewall to the front cross member area where these hoses meet that are a little tough to get at but they hold the hose pair together along that side as they connect from the firewall to the front of the car. A new receiver dryer would also be needed. The hoses I bought came with some O rings on them, mileage may vary. There is a set of values for replacement parts and how much PAG oil they need to have replaced when they are replaced, plus the receiver dryer. IIRC, it was around 4-5 oz of oil, so that amount would be the minimum to re-add if you changed these.

 

[lsintoronto]

I had to change both manifold hoses last year, it was not too too bad, but I do have a lift. The hoses were available on rockautoparts.com and fairly affordable. One thing you need is a couple of pair of large O rings where each manifold bolts in (one at the compressor and one at the expansion valve on the firewall. Removing the cowl (and shock tower brace rod) is essential to getting to the firewall end of the hoses. There are also some other O rings to change while you are at it, so get the ones from Ford for all of these. My large O rings were flat after 15 years but still sealed before I had to change the hoses. There was no way that they could ever be re-used. There are two bolts on the passenger side transition from the firewall to the front cross member area where these hoses meet that are a little tough to get at but they hold the hose pair together along that side as they connect from the firewall to the front of the car. A new receiver dryer would also be needed. The hoses I bought came with some O rings on them, mileage may vary. There is a set of values for replacement parts and how much PAG oil they need to have replaced when they are replaced, plus the receiver dryer. IIRC, it was around 4-5 oz of oil, so that amount would be the minimum to re-add if you changed these.

Thanks - I'll get under the car again this weekend and see if I can undo some of the fasteners myself as well as get to the firewall bolt. The shop I called (above) said that they had to undo a several things on the passenger side to get the metal tubes out of the car and get the new tubing back in - that's why they didn't want to take the job and said it would be too expensive anyway 5+ hours. The instructions on the deneau link talks about removing the wire harness and coolant lines (draining coolant also) on the firewall before removing the A/C tubing. I assume you had to do all that too?

 

[lsintoronto]

Got the o-ring for the compressor. Is there a trick to replacing it? Before I got it I loosened the 2 bolts to check socket size and whether they were seized. Some green oil (dye I guess) leaked out and I tightened it again.

If I remove the cover completely will a lot of oil come out or just a trickle? Is that oil safe to handle with regular gloves? I assume it's not actual refrigerant since that must be all gone now - car is blowing hot air only and the dual line has a lot of green dye all over it where the leak is.

 

[joegr]

How much oil comes out depends on how quickly you change it.
The (okay, one of the) problem you are going to have is not knowing how much oil to put back. The way around that is to drain all the oil from the compressor and then pour the full amount back in (since you will be replacing the receiver/dryer too). Unfortunately though, that requires the compressor to be removed and reinstalled.

BTW, the valve behind that cover is spring loaded.

 

[milehighmikey]

Thanks - I'll get under the car again this weekend and see if I can undo some of the fasteners myself as well as get to the firewall bolt. The shop I called (above) said that they had to undo a several things on the passenger side to get the metal tubes out of the car and get the new tubing back in - that's why they didn't want to take the job and said it would be too expensive anyway 5+ hours. The instructions on the deneau link talks about removing the wire harness and coolant lines (draining coolant also) on the firewall before removing the A/C tubing. I assume you had to do all that too?

Yes, you will need to drain the coolant because you need to remove all three heater hoses just to allow the old and new a/c manifold pipes to slip through. Ditto on the wiring harness, but that is not too bad to disconnect. The hardest part of this may be getting the shock tower/firewall brace free without breaking too many of the bolts off.

When I had to do my manifold hose replacements last year, it was due to the fact that the slip coupling on the passenger side of the front crossmember had gotten water in the junction and expanded to the point of not being able to slip into the garter spring cup to disconnect it. At that time it seemed like I could save one side of the fitting, which is the common junction between the two manifold hose assemblies, but indeed, both sides of that slip joint were rendered unserviceable due to the swelling and significant expansion. Prepare to do lots of cursing.

 

[lsintoronto]

Thanks guys! I was trying to get access to the firewall connection on the weekend and eventually could once I removed the cowl and brace so I know how to get at that bolt now - All 3 bolts for the brace on the firewall have sheared off and one on the driver side strut tower. I picked up seven new bolts at a dealer so just have to figure out how to get the broken bolt pieces out of the car now.

 

[Shoop006]

02 Lincoln ls Ac help

Hi I have a 02 LS 3.9 and I'm going to replace Ac compressor dryer condenser and was wondering if I needed to re add the oil if I had a shop do a complete evac and fill when I was done

 

[LS4me]

Hi I have a 02 LS 3.9 and I'm going to replace Ac compressor dryer condenser and was wondering if I needed to re add the oil if I had a shop do a complete evac and fill when I was done

If the compressor comes empty just let the tech know that he needs to add the oil. If it comes pre-filled let him know that also. I would get an empty compressor as adding the correct amount of oil can be tricky...

 

[joegr]

Better to have it filled (protects against corrosion while it is on the shelf), then drain it. It's best (way easier) to refill it to the correct amount before installing it.
A complete evacuation of air and moisture (by pulling a full vacuum) is not optional. It is required. Do note that the evacuation will not remove any oil to speak of.

 

[milehighmikey]

Thanks guys! I was trying to get access to the firewall connection on the weekend and eventually could once I removed the cowl and brace so I know how to get at that bolt now - All 3 bolts for the brace on the firewall have sheared off and one on the driver side strut tower. I picked up seven new bolts at a dealer so just have to figure out how to get the broken bolt pieces out of the car now.

Shocking! I had to just drill through the center of the old bolts and re-tap the threads. What a pain!