DIY: replace your A/C condenser, vacuum & re-charge

[stretch1982]

Five years after the original post (which by the way was awesome), and 8 months after the last post, here I am digging this thread....

My question to the community is: how can I tell whether I have an R12, or the 134a thingy? And I am asking this, right below the response that says that if the car is 93, then it is the 134a, if earlier than that, r12.

Well, mine happens to be right in the middle! It was built in december of 92, but as it was sold in 93, it is considered to be a 93 model!!! I have the car since 07, I think the ac never worked, but i didin't really care. My mom is coming in town now though, so I would like to at least have some ac (especially now that the windows are frozen, too). And all this in SoCal!

The couplings are different for 134. I believe the high side is bigger.... If it is R12 I'd recommend getting a 134 adapter (sold at any local parts store) & just filling it with 134. The oil is a little different, but I haven't heard of any problems, & I have done it to a few cars now.

[flyfishvt]

The couplings are different for 134. I believe the high side is bigger.... If it is R12 I'd recommend getting a 134 adapter (sold at any local parts store) & just filling it with 134. The oil is a little different, but I haven't heard of any problems, & I have done it to a few cars now.

Doing it your way will eventually cause the compressor to die. Do some research on converting r12 to e134a. It won't happen tomorrow or next week but its almost garunteed to destroy your system. How long did you own the cars AFTER you swapped in 134a? You shoud purge the system and drain as much oil as you can before you add 134a.

[atlantisvip]

Just go to your parts store and get the 134 retrofit kit. Its a simple screw on adapter that goes over the r12 plug. Then use the refill can especially formulated for it. It contains some kind of lubricating agent. You need to have any old R12 in the system bled I believe.

[Jacksone30]

Great thread - used it today and boy did it make life easy!
Thanks to the original poster and others this board the BOM

[TheDurk]

I just did this two weeks ago. My son hit a 'coon and cracked the condenser over the winter. I got a new condenser and receiver/drier from Pelican, as well as all the O-rings needed. (Their rec./drier comes with O-rings, btw, so I ended up with extra.) I could swap the condenser with the bumper left on, just follow any good DIY for the aux, fan, then the condenser is easy. I invested in a 2-stage pump and manifold/gauges from Harbor Freight. Great price and they worked fine. The condenser looked equivalent to the old one, but the speed nuts were of seriously crappy quality. I pried them off, and replaced them with the originals from the old condenser. It was the only way things would go back together. I swapped every O-ring on the engine side of the firewall, just to be safe.

My research said you should purge the yellow line when switching from vacuum to R-134a. Before you open the manifold blue (low side) valve, crack the nut on the yellow line at the manifold, then slightly open the refrigerant can tap. When you see refrigerant exiting at the cracked nut, tighten it back up, then fully open the can tap. Then open the blue valve. This keeps the air in the yellow hose out of the system. It's been working perfectly now for two weeks, and real cold. I also stripped one M8 hex bolt on the drier, but was able to match at ACE hardware.

[extremebimmer]

I know this is an older thread but figured it might be a good place to ask about this. I was told by the previous owner of the e36 that I got recently that he replaced some of the AC system parts. He also told me that the AC was working before but the car was parked for a while. The AC was only blowing out warm air so I figured that there might be a leak since he said that he had the AC system repaired and the coolant charged. I bought a RC134a recharge and Stop Leak all in one bottle from Advanced Auto parts for about $22. I already had the recharge valve connector from when I recharged my wife's car a couple of years ago.

As soon as I started to add in some of the contents from the bottle I immediately heard and saw it leaking out. It almost definitely appeared to be leaking out from where the left side allen screw is located as shown this photo.
2017-04-04_2056.jpg

I am hoping that someone can help point me in the right direction here. Is this a common location for coolant to leak out of? I am hoping that I can just pick up some o-rings tomorrow and replace the o rings or gasket where this connection is. I did make sure that I had the car running and the AC controls turned to full blast. I also know I was connected to the correct charging port because it was the smaller one and the recharge hose connector would not have fit the other port that is closer to the passenger side headlights.

Thank you in advance for the help!

[bidzej]

Great description. I actually registered just to say how much I appreciate it!

I replaced my condenser just this last weekend. Thats a great DIY. I was able to replace mine without removing the bumper at all.

Well, tried it - with M52, the replacement is NOT DOABLE without removing the bumper and the left lamp (assuming that all plastic covers, especially on the auxillary fan are in place). You just cant reach the 2 most important screws, which join the fan shroud, the condenser and fix them to the cross member and the top-left one. Removing the bumper is actually a few nuts and screws and makes the job waaaaaay easier.

Be sure to check if the fan fits the new condenser's mounting points and adjust them if necessary BEFORE mounting anything on the car. Also, I bought some aftermarket condenser and it turned out, that I had to replace all the mounting screws with bolts, because the original screws did not fit the new condenser at all (these metal thingies with thread in them were totally different)

[leahjanine]

Do you know what exactly the Allen screws are that hold the AC lines to the Condenser? Mine are missing in my 2000 323ci and I need to replace them but not sure what to buy to reattach them to the condenser... Thank you!