where in the hell is my AC leak?

[diesekte]

89 325is with M52 swap, so M52 compressor.

I am converting to r134 since the AC didn't work anyway. When I started taking it apart it didn't have any pressure in the system.
I replaced receiver, expansion valve, and condenser. Took all the lines apart and cleaned them.
Now the car won't hold vacuum AT ALL. I'm talking -28 to 0 in under 5 mins. I shot a can of refrigerant with dye in it through the system. I can't find dye ANYWHERE.
I took everything apart, and I mean everything...down to the condenser, and made sure I remembered to put new o-rings everywhere (I had) and put it all back together. Still a huge ass leak. I found out the shrader valve on the high side seemed bad (was letting air in audibly). I took it out, replaced it. Still with a )*@#$%ing leak. Sometimes after I vacuum and take the high side vacuum hose off the high side port, its wet with oil. Its also not that easy to put on and has to be aligned just right. Did I get a shitty high side adapter or a shitty manifold gauge set, or is it really an enormous phantom leak?
What in the shit did I do wrong? I don't hear hissing, I don't see any dye anywhere. I don't know if it cycled fully through the system bc any pressure you put in goes right back out, so I'm not sure the compressor even saw enough pressure to kick on (I see dye in to expansion valve but it stops there).
I've seen claims this is a 4-6 hours job and I've literally put about 18 hours into it with nothing to show. Do I give up and pay out the ass to have someone fix it, or is there some step I'm missing or some tip anyone has? Anyone in DFW that can lend a hand?

[jalopi]

That is strange... real strange. The whole lack of dye part - though from what i remember the system has to be fully charged (or at least partially) for the dye to really get in and cycle through.

Pics of your A/C machine? If no pics at least tell me what you've got, also where did you get your gauges and hoses/fittings from? Some can be a real whore to get the fitting on properly.

[diesekte]

M52 compressor, parallel flow condenser (new), e36 receiver (new), e30 evaporator. The lines were there when I bought the car, but all seem to fit properly and I don't see any frank damage to them. Micro cracks or something are always possible but they at least look presentable.

Gauges/hoses rental from vatozone. Fittings/adapters from there too (same ones as oreilly as well).

I'll try and get some pics up in the next day or so

[jalopi]

So what kind of A/C machine do you have? How old is it? Maybe the vacuum pump is beat to shit? That could be what's leaking vacuum?

[diesekte]

One of the loaners from vatozone - brand is called OEM I think. It actually pulls vacuum and holds at -28. Seems a bit quieter than some I've seen in the past but it looks new-ish and appears to work. If I close the manifold gauges then take either the high side or low side hoses off it seems to hold more steady than if i leave them on. I suppose I could try exchanging them (gauges and pump) and see if exchanged ones give me the same problem.

[DesertBMW]

the way I find fathom leaks is I pressurize the system using shop compressor, up to 150psi, then I spray the cleaner on the whole system then the air will bubble the soap at the leak source unless the leak is on the evaporator core.


Instead of doing 134a adaptor conversion, I just use a product called "freeze12" and I load two cans and it works great in Arizona.

[jlevie]

Pressurise the system to +100psi with dry nitrogen or argon. Then use soap solution on everything to find the leak.