Replacing the condenser didn’t seem like a huge job so I set about that, unfortunately the aluminium pipes were corroded solid against the face of the condenser. I had to use a chisel to separate the pipe from the old condenser.
I managed to free the top hose successfully, however the bottom one snapped leaving half of it still in the old condenser.
The problem with this hose is that it runs from the front bumper up the side chassis rail all the way to the bulkhead..... not an easy job to replace.
In fact, I think the hoses are put in before the engine. I honestly can't see how you can get access to change the hose without taking the engine mount off or taking the driveshaft out.
After speaking to a mechanic friend who said that in the past, he has had a new piece of pipe hydraulically crimped onto the flexible section of AC hose.
I decided to try a slightly different approach by using a donor hose end and joining it to my existing pipe using a brass flare refrigeration fitting.
First, I had to find a donor hose and I found a sorry looking 407 at the scrap yard.
Luckily access was really good and the hose came off with no trouble whatsoever (guess I was just unlucky with my car!)
I cut the hose off the 407 much futher back than I needed to give me options as to where I wanted to make the join.
Here's a comparison of the donor 407 fitting and my corroded one.
I did a test fit and found that I would join the entire length of the donor hose to the end of my original pipe (it would fit well with a 90 degree bend)
Using the flaring tool, I put the end on the pipe:
and then the union:
I did the same with the small bit of pipe I had left at the end of my flexible hose section:
And finally joined them together:
The join held a vacuum and now I will wait to see if it holds before getting it gassed.
I’m not sure if this will work but the alternatives seemed very expensive / impossible, so we shall see!
