How Do You Repair An A/C Hose Assembly Issue?

A Hole in One of the Lines

Let’s pretend that your auto A/C condenser is leaking. The problem was caused by a hose—it is connected to the condenser—that frequently rubbed against your car’s frame. This made a large incision on the line that goes into the condenser. Now, fixing the whole condenser itself may cost you a few hundred dollars. Instead of spending that kind of money, it would be wiser to fix it instead. All you need is a splice kit to repair the line. To ensure you purchase the correct kit, measure the diameter of the A/C hose. If the hose is half an inch, and a half-inch wrench fits over it, you just need to get a half-inch kit.

Now you are ready to cut. Get a pipe cutter and cut each end off (one above the hole and one below the hole) so there is enough room to fit the splice in. When installing the splice kit, make sure you put on the nuts first before the copper component. The next component is the rubber washer. It is needed to keep the junction in place. Next, create a tight seal by turning the nut and junction together securely. The first end is ready! Proceed to tighten the remaining bolts on the other end of the condenser hose. Once done, bring the other piece in and tighten them up with a wrench.

Leaking Low-Pressure Hose

Most modern cars feature a closed-loop A/C system. These systems contain low-pressure hoses that are designed to carry refrigerant back into the A/C compressor. They are also often attached from the A/C evaporator to the A/C compressor. Next, these hoses help to circulate cool air throughout the car. However, occasionally issues occur with these A/C low-pressure hoses, e.g. a leak. In this situation, they need to be replaced. You can confirm the leak with the help of a UV light source and more refrigerant.

The key materials you need to fix this hose assembly issue include A/C line attachments, refrigerant replacement, new fittings, a new low-pressure hose, an A/C manifold gauge kit, and more. The replacement procedure is quite similar to the above, but there may be extra steps such as recharging the A/C system.

Replacing One A/C Hose and the Entire Hose Assembly are Two Different Things

Auto A/C hoses can be costly to replace. It depends on the severity of the hose assembly issue. In many cases, it is just the hose that is leaking. There is no reason to replace the entire unit. As explained in the example above, one of the most common areas for a car air conditioner hose to leak is located right at the hose ferrule crimp. It is more economical to just replace that part of the tube that is leaking.