I have a 99 ram van 1500 with 5.8l v8. I plan on rebuilding my ac. I have front and rear and will be tackling the front for now. I plan on replacing the compressor, accumulator and most likely the lines as well.

How do I discharge the system? Is there anything I should be aware of or check due to common failure. I figure the evap core might need replacing too.

Also what size manifold guages do i need, mine dont fit?

thx in advance

i know this is fairly general questioning so any links to vids or resources is appreciated. I have the haynes manual too.

thx

 

You need recovery equipment to properly drain the system of refrigerant. Gauges should fit on the low and high side ports. Not sure why yours dont fit. Why are you replacing all those components? If the compressor went bad and filled the system with metal pieces then yes, replace everything, including the drier. Little background would help.

 

You need to do both front and rear at the same time or your just wasting your time and money.

If the compressor went bad, as mentioned, then you will need to replace the compressor, condenser , expansion valves or orifice tubes(which ever your system has) , dryer, and evaporator coils.
Get a flush kit and flush all of the lines, flush and flush and when you think that you are done, flush again. Most condenser and evap. coils today can't be flushed well enough to get out all of the crap out.
Be sure to add the correct type and amount of oil back to the system. pull a vacuum and let it set for at least 30 minutes (I recommend an hour) to remove all of the moisture from the system and to check for leaks.
If all is good then refill the system with the correct amount of new R134a refrigerant.
There should be a tag under the hood that will tell you how much refrigerant, amount and type of oil your system requires.

Plan on spending a full day or longer for the project.

 

Thx all. I was told by a mechanic that the compressor needed to be replaced. He couldn't do the job but recommended someone who could. As for the other parts like drier, I've seen some fairly cheap online. I dunno about the evap core but i will look it up.

Since I can turn a wrench, I figured i would try and rebuild the whole system. Parts look fairly affordable compared to having a mechanic work on it (no offense to any mechanics, i just have more time than money nowadays lol).

Any good resources out there like, youtube vids or something. The manual I have doesn't explain the discharge process. Should i just have a shop discharge it and then do all the work?

thx.

 

Procedure is pretty much the same for any automotive AC system which uses R-134A. I'd start with searching for topics such as "AC system overhaul", or "ac compressor replacement". See what comes up. I'v replaced an entire system on a 94 Z28 I bought that the previous owner deleted the AC system from. Had to replace every missing component except for the evaporator core under the dash. Compressor, condenser, receiver/dryer, orifice tube, even the lines. It's not extremely difficult, just time consuming. I'd recommend after you get it all back together to take it to a shop to get it evacuated properly and refilled. It's not that much money to have that done especially now that spring is coming, a lot of places will have spring time "ac tune up" specials.