A/C Hose Question, Etc.

Hi Guys! I have gotten back to my '85 Dodge 600 ragtop project after it's sat in the garage for about ten years (consider it suspended animation or something). I'm currently cleaning up the engine compartment and have the radiator out as I scored a T2 unit with an intercooler a while back. I also took a lot of the parts off the sides off the inner fender wells so I can clean and paint.

I pulled the A/C hoses, dryer and expansion valve as the Freon had leaked anyway. I'd like to replace some of the the A/C parts. The dryer and expansion valve are available, as is the discharge hose assembly (Rock Auto has it in both UAC and Four Seasons). What is no longer available is the suction line (The fat one attached to the expansion valve, Mopar 3848943).

I saw that the suction line is still available for '86-'89 cars. It looks like basically the same thing but with some different bends. Does anyone know if it can work on a '85?

Also, any opinions of UAC vs. Four Seasons? The Four Seasons version says it uses barrier hoses but is more expensive. The UAC hose says 'high quality' hoses. I'm not sure what kind of refrigerant will go back in at this point but I'm leaning toward ZeroR. Thoughts?

I put AC in my minivan this year and knew nothing about AC. The guys were super helpful in my thread.

http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/sh...5564-AC-How-To

I looked into the ZeroR stuff briefly after reading your post and some are suggesting that it's just propane. Propane works great if you have a way to get it in the system. I wouldn't pay that when you could use air duster though. I found a few duster deals which is about the cheapest refrigerant I could come by. I've been enjoying AC in two cars as a result, soon to be a third and fourth.

That's a great thread, Cordes, thanks! Tons of information. Hopefully someone can answer my hose question.

I was going to post pictures of an '85 hose vs. a '86 hose and discovered I don't know how. Does uploading an attachment require a paid subscription?

Anyway, the '85 hose has both the large and small tube coming straight out from the expansion valve. The '86 hose has a dogleg in the small (lower) tube that moves it up, back and toward the shock tower. On my '85, the fuel injection lines and the wiring harness are in that area. 'Probably' everything would fit (everything is bendable to an extent) but I wondered if anyone had tried it. At the compressor, the big tube comes off at a different angle but I don't think anything is in the way there.

Everything the hose attaches to, the expansion valve, the compressor and the dryer, are the same from '85 to '86. I have no idea why they changed the hose unless they modified where the wiring harness and the FI lines are between ;85 and ''86.

Posting pictures is kind of a pain on here still. If you click the "go advanced" button at the bottom of the quick reply box, you should hopefully be able to scroll down to a box which says "Manage attachments" that's where you'll click to begin the upload process. From there it's pretty straightforward, but be warned that the maximum file size is pretty small by modern standards. I think it's about 1.8 or 1.9 meg.

Thanks. I couldn't make that work as it says I don;t have image permission. Then I remembered I had an Imgur account from long ago and can post links. Here's what an '85 hose looks like: https://i.imgur.com/4HOnbMr.jpg

This is the '86 hose with the bend on the small tube where it connects to the expansion valve: https://i.imgur.com/skqMUN8.jpg


On both, the expansion valve flange is on the right. When installed, the fat tube is on the top.

I can only imagine that the difference is in where they mounted the receiver/drier assy.

I since noticed that the newer '86 unit has a service port on it. The '85 does not. It has one on the compressor and one on the high pressure line.

They didn't change the location of the receiver dryer, did they? On my '85 it's on the inner fender well in front of the vacuum valves.
https://i.imgur.com/13b9F5R.jpg

I think that's pretty much where they all are. I wasn't sure if they moved it just a little bit back and forth.

If K's were a little more common in the junkyards, I'd go find an '86-'89 and look at that corner where the expansion valve, hoses, wiring harness and FI hoses are. Then I could see how things fit together to find if they changed anything after '85. As is, maybe I'll just order one of the newer hoses for about $50 from Rock Auto and take a chance that it'll fit.

Or maybe I'll get one from the local auto parts store and return it if it doesn't work.