With a lot of these not available etc., has anyone made up their own? I was thinking of buying one of the crimping tools and trying it. Mine are leaking, and then when I eventually put a V8 in the truck, it would probably need to be a custom hose at that point anyways.
Just fishing for experiences and opinions.

 

I had some old metal ones remade by the local hydraulic hose shop. Cost about $250 between the two of them.

No, at the pressures involved, I decided to let a pro do it instead.

RwP

 

I ordered my AC hoses from Rockauto.com. The ones I ordered were good, just make sure the picture looks like your current one.
Napa usually has hard to find items.
Next option is Junkyard

 

I was able to find v6 ones for my 96 but not V8 ones, new. I know the 93 is a different setup, had one of those too. 93 is same setup as my current 92. kind of a weird looking compressor.
94-up til '00/02ish (I know 2 different gens of Dakotas) take same evaporator. just replaced the evap in my 96 like a couple of months ago at most, remember going thru the lookups looking for best deal....

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by RalphP

I had some old metal ones remade by the local hydraulic hose shop. Cost about $250 between the two of them.

No, at the pressures involved, I decided to let a pro do it instead.

RwP

Hey Ralph,
Appreciate your input. The problem I have is I am 30 miles east of Washington DC, Labor in this area is hard to find, and when you do, its stupid expensive to get anything done.
About 20 years ago, I put an aftermarket AC in a 90 ford truck.... I did as you said, took the lines to a shop (napa at that time) and they crimped them for me. They are under new management and no longer do it.
I have been reading on another forum of people using the crimpers to make their own hose assemblies, mostly with success.
I am a HVAC contractor, so I have everything to leak test after the repair.....
Im thinking I may try it.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crazy4x4RT

I ordered my AC hoses from Rockauto.com. The ones I ordered were good, just make sure the picture looks like your current one.
Napa usually has hard to find items.
Next option is Junkyard

My truck is a 87. Rockauto has a listing but has not been available for a long time. IMO a junkyard is not an option, unless as a last resort. These hoses were not barrier hoses and over time they just start seeping....
In addition, I plan to add 5.9 magnum to the truck and at that time will need to mate the newer style compressor, and location of compressor to my 87 system.
But thank you for your input!

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by volaredon

I was able to find v6 ones for my 96 but not V8 ones, new. I know the 93 is a different setup, had one of those too. 93 is same setup as my current 92. kind of a weird looking compressor.
94-up til '00/02ish (I know 2 different gens of Dakotas) take same evaporator. just replaced the evap in my 96 like a couple of months ago at most, remember going thru the lookups looking for best deal....

Sorry, my user name 93 ragtop is not for this truck. Its the internet name I have always used for the last 15-20 years. My truck is a 87 V6 4wd.. But thanks for your input.

 

*nods*

That was one reason for having them rebuilt with new hoses.

If it helps any, a 88/89 hose will fit; the 87 actually runs THROUGH the 88/89 SMEC (it's bigger than the ESC was), so it was routed up and above the SMEC. Should fit fine in a 87 with the ESC.

RwP