Get apart cooling system lines

[SupercoolBill]

Hey everyone. I am looking for advice on getting apart the AC lines up front in the car. I can barely get a wrench onto any of the fittings let alone turn them. I posted on the FB page and people said Crows Foot. I bought a metric and SAE set but they don't go up big enough to fit the larger size fittings so now it looks like I need to buy a 1/2" drive set for like $70 just to use once.
Just double checking that this is the only way to get these apart or if I am missing something before I order them.
Also does anyone have have pics of correct positioning of everything to get these cracked loose?
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[jangell]

I checked my notes, and I used a 22mm crows foot to get it apart. After a lot of Kroil and PB Blaster. You'll also eventually need 27mm and 32mm wrenches in addition to the 22mm wrench. I believe I bought an individual crows foot on Amazon, although my notes for the others say Home Depot. There are some pictures at my link that show more or less what I did, but it's not exhaustive.

I'm probably doing some of this again before spring. My A/C is leaking down in 36 hours, and I can't find any leaks with the 4 cans of dye I've put it in since the leak started. Best guess is the evaporator, so it all gets to come out again... <sigh>

-- Joe

[Bitsyncmaster]

I had to use one wrench on top and the other under the car on the accumulator. Buy some cheap wrenches and bend and or grind them so they fit. The line at the condenser I had to cut a little of the shroud to fit the wrenches. Bend your wrench by heating it.

[SupercoolBill]

I had to use one wrench on top and the other under the car on the accumulator. Buy some cheap wrenches and bend and or grind them so they fit. The line at the condenser I had to cut a little of the shroud to fit the wrenches. Bend your wrench by heating it.

Ok I'm not crazy then. That was my next step.

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[SupercoolBill]

I checked my notes, and I used a 22mm crows foot to get it apart. After a lot of Kroil and PB Blaster. You'll also eventually need 27mm and 32mm wrenches in addition to the 22mm wrench. I believe I bought an individual crows foot on Amazon, although my notes for the others say Home Depot. There are some pictures at my link that show more or less what I did, but it's not exhaustive.

I'm probably doing some of this again before spring. My A/C is leaking down in 36 hours, and I can't find any leaks with the 4 cans of dye I've put it in since the leak started. Best guess is the evaporator, so it all gets to come out again...

-- Joe

Joe thanks so much for your reply. I followed the link.. lots of great info there.

I have been soaking everything down with Kroil.
I have thought about just cutting the accumulator side of the fittings because a new one is only $28 and it probably would be a good idea to replace it anyways but then I don't know if cutting out the accumulator would help me any since the evaporator tube would still be in a tight spot. It seems like it would be a lot easier to get wrenches in there with the accumulator gone though.
Likewise,..if I am planning on replacing the rubber AC lines I suppose that I could just cut the flex line but once again I'm not sure that it would gain me anything.
We're the crows foots that you ordered 1/2" drive?

That sucks that you have a leak. I know how it is. I own a HVAC company and was a refrigeration and HVAC tech for 20 years. It sucks having a leak that you can't find or fix easily.


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[jangell]

Pretty sure the crows foot was 3/8". I don't see it in my Amazon orders, so I'm thinking I did wind up getting it locally, although I don't know if it was at Home Depot or somewhere else (it's been a couple of years now).

-- Joe

[iflights]

Got my wrenches for this project at Harbor Freight. Also, you should replace the accumulator if exposed to atmosphere.

[SupercoolBill]

Got my wrenches for this project at Harbor Freight. Also, you should replace the accumulator if exposed to atmosphere.

Yeah I am assuming it has a coalescing core in it.
No luck at HF at least for crows foot that large.

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]Attachment 67764

[SupercoolBill]

Well, I just spent 2 hours trying to find a metric, crows foot, flare, set in the large sizes. I can find nothing in North America. On Ebay they have them in UK but $150 + $50 shipping and a bit of a wait.
I can individually buy 22mm and 27mm in the JTC brand for around $16+$5 shipping each. But I can't find a individual 32mm.

NOW,...I CAN much easier find a NON-FLARE large crows foot set or individual crows foot in those sizes. I am worrying about using non-wrap around style though. Thoughts???
Anyone know anywhere in the US I can order a full large set (20mm to 32mm) for less than $120 delivered??

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[Bitsyncmaster]

My lines were not tight at all. The line at the condenser was even what I consider loose. So I used standard flat wrenches, not line wrenches.