Sometimes I wish I could kick my own ass...

[Big Ray]

Last year I rebuilt my a/c in the burb. New compressor, lines, orifice tube, and a parallel flow condenser.

It hasn't exactly been cooling too well, it only got down to 50" on a good day. I played with the pressures, and even got to the point where I dumped the 134 and tried the Enviro Safe replacement.

The pressure was backing up to the point the compressor clutch would slip and squeal like a pig.

I figured there was a blockage, so I took it all apart.

Damn it if I didn't have the orifice tube in backwards...

Of course it broke while I was trying to take it out, so I've been digging it out a piece at a time. Got it all but the very end with the tabs on it. Hate the thought of having to replace the evaporator too.

I've done quite a few of these, I don't know why I did this one wrong...

That's my dumbass attack for the year.

 

[muddysub]

we had a guy at the last shop i worked at who did that to 4 buses. i got two of them that night in for a/c complaints and had to dig out the orifice tubes, i feel your pain.

 

[Greg Ducato]

Well the good news is that you should be cooling well soon!

 

[Big Ray]

I've tried blasting the damn thing out with 150 p.s.i. of air, still hasn't budged.

I'm getting good airflow either from either end I blow the air through, so I'm tempted to leave it & try it again...

I tried hand drilling it out with a 12" drill bit, that's what broke it into bits. Just can't grab onto that end piece.

 

[FAB454]

Maybe a piece of mechanics wire with a hook on the end?

 

[Big Ray]

Didn't work...I have a rivet gauge that's has a barb on it, it's a sturdy enough piece of steel, it didn't work, tried hooking it with a loop and then a barbed piece of wire, it didn't work. Gonna leave it in & give it a try.

 

[FAB454]

Didn't work...I have a rivet gauge that's has a barb on it, it's a sturdy enough piece of steel, it didn't work, tried hooking it with a loop and then a barbed piece of wire, it didn't work. Gonna leave it in & give it a try.

That is so frustrating.
Well.... if ya got flow. I guess that's the important part. Worst case if you get blockage symptoms you know where to look.

 

[Cucv_M1008]

Kill it with fire ?

 

[muddysub]

Kill it with fire ?

Hmm, try heating the tube and softening/melting the plastic inside.

 

[Big Ray]

hmmm...I'm going to try filling it again. If it doesn't work then I'll swap the evaporator core. It's the only thing I didn't change when I rebuilt it last time.


hottest weather we've had so far this year and of course I have no a/c...

 

[Big Ray]

Conclusion: I tore the evaporator coil trying to dig out the old orifice tube, need to get a new one.

Maybe I'll get it going for next year.

Dumbass...(me)

 

[Greg Ducato]

Don't be too hard on yourself Ray, at least you had the gumption to try and fix this yourself, there aren't too many folks left in this world that would tackle a job like that.

 

[Big Ray]

I've been replaying it over in my mind over and over why I put the first o.tube in backwards...I put it in like the old one came out.

I had trouble putting the new tube all the way in today.

The bottom leg of the evaporator had a kink in it, just enough to keep the tube from going in properly. Looks like the evaporator needed replaced anyway.