Anyone made their own a/c hoses?

[r-mm]

As usual having the right tools makes all the difference. I might post a new thread with all the part numbers etc for anyone searching in the future.

[jeffnhiscars]

I was in Charlotte at the time and I had to top up the system in the spring then another 2-3x through the summer. I would notice a drop in performance within a week or 2 of a recharge.

Ill add (from my soapbox) that if you diy this and have a vacuum pump getting a micron gauge is mandatory for good results. Vacuum should be down to 500microns (1000 is too high) and your manifold shows 30" over about an inch of gauge face. Take one of those tiny hash marks an divide it by 25400 with your eye then tell me where 500 is :)

[Mwishlist]

When I did mine only 1 was NLA but I got lucky and found a pair NIB on ebay & those are the ones I had upgraded. The other 3 hoses I bought in the normal course of things.

While all this was going on I actually spoke to Aeroquip who is the OE mfg and they gave me the specs on barrier vs non barrier hoses. They are rated in grams/hour/foot (or some other measurement) of hose. I believe the difference based on r134 was about 9X and those 2 hoses were leaking over their entire length.

How long did it take you to lose a charge with just those two? I replaced every hose except those but I haven't charged the system yet. Also, I do see that one is available, just not the other.

[jeffnhiscars]

The two hoses above the glove box were NLA last I looked. That's good to know, I didn't realize you could just have the hose upgraded to barrier.

When I did mine only 1 was NLA but I got lucky and found a pair NIB on ebay & those are the ones I had upgraded. The other 3 hoses I bought in the normal course of things.

While all this was going on I actually spoke to Aeroquip who is the OE mfg and they gave me the specs on barrier vs non barrier hoses. They are rated in grams/hour/foot (or some other measurement) of hose. I believe the difference based on r134 was about 9X and those 2 hoses were leaking over their entire length.

[Mwishlist]

The two hoses above the glove box were NLA last I looked. That's good to know, I didn't realize you could just have the hose upgraded to barrier.

[r-mm]

Could use someone's help figuring out what the name of the fitting is where a hose connects to a hard line.

A photo of the hard lines stripped of the hoses would help too. Are these barbed? Is this just a ferrule such as: https://coldhose.com/specialty-fitti...ividually.html

[r-mm]

Im going full DIY here. Crimper will be here
Tomorrow. Just gotta figure the fittings out, will likely buy more than I need.

[jeffnhiscars]

I sent the 2 hoses above the glove box to a hydraulic shop for upgrading to barrier. $75 included return shipping. You just have to find the right shop

[r-mm]

Are the BMW hoses SAE / Inch threading?
Did you use Alum or Steel fittings?

For instance
Alum, SAE threading https://coldhose.com/fittings/oring/...tting-902.html

Steel, SAE threading https://coldhose.com/fittings/oring/...tting-900.html

[nrubenstein]

I’ve used cold hose before.

[r-mm]

Thanks guys. Think I'll go this route. Did you all buy hose and fittings from somewhere like this https://coldhose.com/hose-by-foot/st...rier-hose.html

I'm seeing barrier hose in the ~$2.50/foot range and fittings in the $5-10 each range.

[tomstin]

As I recall, one hose under the dash the shop could not help me with. I had to go to BMW for that hose.

[nrubenstein]

Thanks for flagging this - the tool I'm looking at has the size 6,8, 10, 12 Dies. I've yet to measure all the hoses on the E30 - do you think some fall outside the range that would be handled by these?

https://www.amazon.com/MASTERCOOL-71...ustomerReviews

The standard hoses all appear to follow those sizes. I’ve run across some replacement hoses that were weird. Maybe a metric size?

[r-mm]

Thanks for flagging this - the tool I'm looking at has the size 6,8, 10, 12 Dies. I've yet to measure all the hoses on the E30 - do you think some fall outside the range that would be handled by these?

https://www.amazon.com/MASTERCOOL-71...ustomerReviews

FWIW, I have a crimp tool. It works well and I’ve used it a number of times. One issue that I have found is that many of the BMW hose line fittings end up being non-standard sizes, so you want to be sure that you have the right size hose and coupling for the job.

[nrubenstein]

FWIW, I have a crimp tool. It works well and I’ve used it a number of times. One issue that I have found is that many of the BMW hose line fittings end up being non-standard sizes, so you want to be sure that you have the right size hose and coupling for the job.