Rear A/C leak options?

[jamesbradbury]

Hi guys,

Didn't want to create yet another thread on the rear AC but ah well. I've got a leak in the usual place above the fuel tank. I know I have the option to cap it off and just move on without the rear ac. The other option seems to be to fit some flexi hose between the front and rear to potentially bypass the rusty pipes. Has anyone DIYed or had a garage successfully do this?

I'd rather keep the rear AC functional and have seen someone in the US do this but the guide isn't that clear.

If I get the front capped off is it likely the back will never work again or would it be possible at a later date to try and reverse this to get the rear back. Thanks guys

[steve2006]

Pretty sure I read a post regarding the flexible pipe option that was fabricated by an AC specialist but not sure if it still involved the tank being dropped.

[JamesIS220]

15 minutes ago, steve2006 said:

Pretty sure I read a post regarding the flexible pipe option that was fabricated by an AC specialist but not sure if it still involved the tank being dropped.

A good post on the subject.

 

PIRTEK also, make AC hoses. Only issue need to know length and what fittings need to be crimped onto the ends to make up a new pipe. If the joins are visible and can take a photo shop may know what fittings are needed.

James 

[MLW]

This happened to me. An air con specialist rang Lexus and the two pipes going to the rear were about £950! Fitting would also be difficult and costly.

He capped it off for me (near the battery) and regassed it for £240 incl vat.

Only then did I realise I have hardly used the rear as there are usually only two of us. To be honest over the years I have never noticed. Cold air will go to the back any way just like a 'normal' car. You will loose the small fridge box but I never used it anyway.

[cichydawid]

yo man. I just literaally repaired this leak for 45$ like 3weeks ago maybe.

What do you need :

 

x x2 - in Poland (where I am from) it costs 60PLN = 15 USD

 

1m of aluminium pipe - 1 USD in Castorama

 

x1 around 50PLN = 12 USD

then these things :

 

50PLN = 12 USD

 

 

= 60x2 + 50 + 1 + 50 = 221 PLN = 45 USD

it took me maybe 3 hours but I restored few screws holding some covers just in case.

It's easy as hell o course if your faulty one is the smaller one(aluminium, not with rubber) . Simply you cut off the original pipe before and behind the tank. There is completely enough space to do it. cut it off, fit new pipe, use leaklock, use metal connection and voila.

In Poland nobody wants to repair it for me (I wanted to someone replace whole pipes for me) and after 15 calls only one guy said OK but it will cost 10k PLN = 2,5k USD. WTF.

And I got annoyed and did it myself. for 45$.

If youwould need any questions, fell free to ask.

[jamesbradbury]

I've decided to get it capped off but I took it to a garage who the same procedure to my friends Shogun and they said they couldn't get the pipes apart to cap them. They also think I need a new compressor and condenser. Does anyone know of a garage (Bristol area) that would be able to cap them off for me as I'm not paying for other parts before I've actually sorted the leak. Do the pipes need to be unbolted or can you just cut and weld? Cheers guys

[steve2006]

On 5/15/2024 at 6:17 PM, cichydawid said:

yo man. I just literaally repaired this leak for 45$ like 3weeks ago maybe.

What do you need :

 

x x2 - in Poland (where I am from) it costs 60PLN = 15 USD

 

1m of aluminium pipe - 1 USD in Castorama

 

x1 around 50PLN = 12 USD

then these things :

 

50PLN = 12 USD

 

 

= 60x2 + 50 + 1 + 50 = 221 PLN = 45 USD

it took me maybe 3 hours but I restored few screws holding some covers just in case.

It's easy as hell o course if your faulty one is the smaller one(aluminium, not with rubber) . Simply you cut off the original pipe before and behind the tank. There is completely enough space to do it. cut it off, fit new pipe, use leaklock, use metal connection and voila.

In Poland nobody wants to repair it for me (I wanted to someone replace whole pipes for me) and after 15 calls only one guy said OK but it will cost 10k PLN = 2,5k USD. WTF.

And I got annoyed and did it myself. for 45$.

If youwould need any questions, fell free to ask.

Cheers for this info, could you provide more details on the fittings/ connectors like the size/thread type and the pipe diameter please?

Pipe cutting and bending I am very familiar with as an ex Gas Safe fitter.

[jamesbradbury]

4 minutes ago, steve2006 said:

Cheers for this info, could you provide more details on the fittings/ connectors like the size/thread type and the pipe diameter please?

Pipe cutting and bending I am very familiar with as an ex Gas Safe fitter.

Bear in mind he has an LS600h so might have different sizes to us.

[steve2006]

Very true, the wheels certainly are.

[cichydawid]

I dont know what size of AC hoses are in 460, but I really believe it should be the same. If you open the hood, just find the place with AC refill valve (it's under one plastic big cover on driver side - my car is LHD). There you see 2 AC hoses which comes to rear AC, one is thinner one is fatter. In my situation, the faulty one was the thinner one. So I just took the "caliper" (I dont know if google did well translation, but I mean the device which allows you to measure the pipe diameter in milimeters) and measure the thinner hose next to the AC refill valve (I didn't need to lay below the car to measure it:P ) and it was 8mm pipe - diameter was the same on the whole pipe lenght - I had it broken over the tank

So I bought 8mm pipe, pipe bender has range 6-8-10mm, pipe cutter range 3-22mm and connector was strictly on 8mm diameter and it's lenght was 36mm but it's doesnt matter how long it is, because you insert aluminium pipe as long and you want to.

connection specitifaction here (but it's in polish, you need to translate the website)  https://climatools.pl/pl/p/Zlacze-proste-skrecane-do-naprawy-rurek-8mm/3958

 

in additional - I forgot to mention it - I has to use pack of broken bolts sockets', because screws which holds plastic cover from the bottom were rusty as hell and I couldn't unscrew it. like this

 

PS. After almost 2 months, AC is still tight, no leak, everything works fine, driving on AC all the time - so if you don't  want to spend thousands of money on replacing rear AC pipes this way is very recommended by me:) and rear fridge rocks 😄 

[BigBoomer]

The thinner hose/pipe is the high pressure liquid feed to the cooler unit in the rear.
The fatter pipe is the low pressure vapour return from the cooler to the compressor.