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I am an idiot

longbedder

longbedder

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I was installing a new battery in the Burb ('94) and the wrench touched the A/C line while tightening the positive terminal. :mad:

These things are aluminum, right? I'd go find a magnet but I'm pissed. I just watched umpteen dollars of refrigerant go SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss...............

Photo0245[1].jpg
 
Eh, it'll TIG...

The recharge does suck donkeyballs though (and the vac now that it's open).
 
It could have been worse. I can't find it ATM, but somewhere on youtube there is video of a guy causing an explosion with leaking refrigerant and a lighter.
 
If you are going to get it fixed soon. Like tomorrow, then don't bother.

But, if its going to be a few days, grab yourself some good quality vinyl electrical tape. Clean off the oil around the hole with some denatured alcohol, and tape from about a half inch above to about a half inch below the hole stretching it a lot and overlapping it half way.

When you get it covered once, go back over it angling the tape in the opposite direction.

DO NOT use duct tape.

This will not fix the leak, but it will keep moisture out of the system. Even though you will still have to change the drier and pull a vacuum on the system, trust me, its always better if not moisture gets in there to begin with.

J.
 
Don't feel too bad... other folks have done that before. I once had to put that line on a '95 for the very same reason (the customer did the damage, I just fixed it).
 
Disconnect the ground first, and hook the ground up second.

Martin
 
my boddy got in a hurry once putting his starter back in and arced his battery lead to the oil pan. and just like that his afternoon turned to sh!t as 4 quarts of oil dumped in the parking lot of his apartment complex. and he now had a shiny new hole in his oil pan. LOL!
 
those hose assemblies usually aren't too badly priced, and by that i mean not several hundred, you may spent close to $100 though, but look at it this way, now you have reassurance the hoses won't fail in the near future or leak from age and you'll have new seals too :D

Not sure on yours, but awhile back i priced a new hose assembly for my '89 and it was something like $75 or so, but had to be ordered, i just opted for the local Napa to have mine repaired for alittle less than that, then all i needed was new rubber hose sections though.

It's r-134 so it's not "horrible" with the price of freon, hopefully at least you learned something from this little mistake? :D
 
Fordum said:
If you are going to get it fixed soon. Like tomorrow, then don't bother.

But, if its going to be a few days, grab yourself some good quality vinyl electrical tape. Clean off the oil around the hole with some denatured alcohol, and tape from about a half inch above to about a half inch below the hole stretching it a lot and overlapping it half way.

When you get it covered once, go back over it angling the tape in the opposite direction.

DO NOT use duct tape.

This will not fix the leak, but it will keep moisture out of the system. Even though you will still have to change the drier and pull a vacuum on the system, trust me, its always better if not moisture gets in there to begin with.

J.
Click to expand...

good advice here to get the hole covered and sealed asap, i was always told though it's not so much the moisture that causes the problems, it's dust and dirt/debris that causes the major problems. It's more difficult to get the dirt out than the moisture, this is why you pull a vacuum, it boils off the moisture in the system.
 
back when i was a pup of 19 i was working on the wifes car, Nissan Pulsar :eek1::haha:


I just put a battery in that was on the charger all day... then i was working on something else, dropped a 3/4 combo wrench, and where did it land? right across the terminals! that focker sploded into a million pieces and a cloud of acid..... :doah:


hehe, I still have that wrench to this day tho! big ole arc burns and all.... :haha:
 
Who hasn't done it atleast once or twice. Some of us more. Not thinking of anyone in particular.
 
i ahve a mark on the under side of my arm from doing that on my cummins. was leaning over fender tightening the neg cable back on and swung the wrench right into my arm. lol . doh!
 
We use to have a battery cart in the truck shop I worked in,,, It had 4
Group 51 tractor batteries on it to jump start trucks etc...

One day I slapped the pos / neg cables together just to see if the batteries were " hot ".....

the resulting explosion and acid bath taught me to respect working around batteries....:eek1::eek1::eek1:

good thing I wear glasses is all I can say....
 
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