Long story short I had to tear apart my car and repair some broken pieces in the air mix box. (Giant white box in the Evo under the dash)

Basically I am at the point where I HAVE to have someone evacuate the refrigerant from the A/C system.

My plan of attack is to have someone evac the system, me do the repair and put all the parts in and put back together and then take it to them to recharge and have a working system again! Yay!

But before I can tear it down to repair it has to be evac'd. This means approximately $50 at a local shop and then I can begin my end of the repair. However, the guy told me when I bring it back he has to repeat the original $50 evac because it needs to remove the debris before he can recharge it and be done. I completely understand and agree and I want it done right.

My question is, (I love the environment, don't get me wrong, and the newer R-134 instead of R-12 is better for the environment) but can I just accidentally evac the system into the air , do my work, and then take it to the guy and have him put the vacuum on properly and then recharge? Is there really a need for the first evac or am I wasting money?

If you are confused, I understand, and I'm sorry.

 

IF you dont care for the environment then go ahead.. others may frown upon this but it save you 50..

 

I hear you. And before someone does post about that, I did read up on it here. It seems times have changed since we use R-134 as opposed to R-12.

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/re...ies-d_145.html

 

I know people at repair shops do this all the time. Also, think about all the junked cars and such. I bet none of them pay to properly evac the system.

 

Bump for more opinions and visibility.

 

if a car is sent to the junk yard they are "supposed" to evac the system properly. Since have my EPA cert in AC&R. There is a law where if caught venting an excesive amount of refrigerant it is 5 years in jail. However there is also a saying that you can vent a deminimus amount of refrigerant into the atmosphere. Meaning a few ounces. If you really want to save the $50 make sure you do this in your garage (out of sight) and have it well ventilated(have a fan blowing towards the outside). Remember also that refrigerant is flamable and hevier than air so dont go near the ground for a little while.

 

Thanks for the input. I know it makes me sound like a conservative and general cheap a** but my real problem is having it towed to the shop, evac'd, towed back to the house, repaired, and then towed back to the shop again and evac'd and recharged. The logistics are the real problem, not an extra $50...

 

All legalities aside if you let him evac it he might charge you less to refill it because he is gonna end up reusing your refrigirant. And do make sure he puts it under vacum before he refills it because it boils all the moisture away otherwise you are going to have corrosion and poor ac performance.

 

Thanks. I was also told that I need to plug my A/C lines due to the dryer being exposed to air? Is this true?

I had it evac'd and now I have finished my repair. However, I did put a towel over the refrigerant lines and kind of plugged them. Do I need to worry about anything else on my system being that it was exposed to air for an extended period of time?

I plan on having it evac'd, have a vacuum put on the lines and then recharged later on by a shop. Won't that take care of everything?

 

I think a bunch of a/c system get vented when someone uses the stop leak or other diy a/c refrigerant sold at various auto stores since no one wants to contaminate their equipment with the junk.

 

I'd have the refrigerant removed before I started the project. But since you need a tow (actually you need a flat bed wrecker), I'd vent it in the garage.

Be careful. Liquid refrigerant will burn the skin. Get liquid refrigerant in your eye and you have a very serious problem.

Try to keep track of the amount of any oil you drain. That amount needs to go back in when recharging.

 

I would never personally just vent it to the atmosphere. Not that I hug mother earth, quite the opposite.
When you buy a car, there are responsibilities that you sign up for. And if you have the system open for an extended period of time, might as well replace the desiccant bag/dryer while youre at it.

 

The ozone hole over the South Pole is an R12 and other older refrigerants problem. People in Australia are having to wear sun block and hats or risk cancer.

The current refrigerant is a green house gas but so is the CO2 coming from your exhaust pipe.

 

they wouldnt reuse the refrigerant....

just vent it to the atomosphere and save yourself money. do you really think that little bit of refrigerant is gonna do any more damage to the earth then whats done already?

 

That's exactly what I was wondering about the dryer...could you explain why I would need to replace that or how I would know. I am an expert on the interior part of the Evo HVAC system, not so much the compressor and engine bay side!