Uh oh . . . Hacked Through the A/C Hose
 

Well . . . I finally got around to switching out the seized engine in my 300D. There was a very large A/C line going across the front top of the engine that prohibited the engine from coming out. I tried everything I could think of . . . liquid wrench, heat, heat then cold, hammer . . . nothing would make the large nut holding the rubber tube to the metal tube free! So, out of desparation I cut through it with a hacksaw and figured I'll repair it next summer when I need the A/C. What have I done? Will this be a terribly expensive or time consuming replacement? The nut is quite large (like inch and a quarter, inch and a half) and sized so that it doesn't slip over the flanged end of the hose. The hose itself is also fairly large diameter and disappears into the firewall to the other side in the cabin.

The car is an '81 300D. I'm concerned that I will have to dive deep into the A/C system on the inside of the car . . . which I've heard is a nightmare. Anybody know? Anybody have any idea how I'm going to be able to loosen that nut on the donor engine?

Thanks,
Eric

'71 220D 135,000 miles
'81 300D In Progress

Try a flare nut wrench if you can find one in that size.

Worst case a pipe wrench will work but it will mar the nut so save that for last.

The hoses can be replaced, it's better that you cut the hose than metal tubing. Block things off, keep them as dry as possible. A/C systems hate moisture.

Scooby says Rutroo................


Hope you cut through the hose and not the metal pipe. You can have the hose rebuilt provided you didn't cut through the metal pipe. If you cut through the metal pipe, I would suggest you pull one out at a pick-UR-part place AND have that one rebuilt. DON'T cut through that one, the rebuilder needs to know the turns and angles. Leave it intack.

Why didn't you just follow the hose down to the next fitting and disconnect it there?

Also, when you have fittings that are frozen together, try using a pair of pipe wrenches. The harder you pull, the harder the wrench grips.

I removed this hose a couple of weeks ago. It wasn't stuck through. But two big pipe wrenches would have busted that fitting free.

If you can get both pieces of the hose and fittings free, you can probably take them to the local hydraulics joint and have them make up a new hose. They will reuse the metal part and replace the cut hose with new barrier hose (R139a proof). Probably not cheap, but a solution. I had to have a bunce of A/C lines made up for a Suburban I had a few years back. It was so old the original hoses were no longer available from GM. They just took the old ones and put new hose on the fittings. Worked great.