The Detailed E30 R-134a Conversion Thread/DIY

[efficient]

Wish I didn't go race car on my car cus is hot now

[Klug]

I tried to pull the firewall connections apart yesterday and gave up thinking I was going to break something or just round off the flats of the hexes. Super tight. :(

Thats crazy- in all reality the hose unions shouldn't be torqued down super tight. It just needs to be 'guten tight' to keep the seal of the o-rings on the hoses. Try some heat or PB.

[glucklich21]

Dis^^

[Mark 42]

The two adapter fittings (High & low side) to hook up the gauge manifold to measure
and charge the system... I read somewhere that one of them has to be a 90° fitting
due to clearance with the hood. My question is whether that is true on an M42 E30
(1991 318i), and if so, which one has to be 90°?

I don't have the car with me right now.

I didn't see pictures of the charging ports (adapters) in the write up -
and I have read most of the 288 posts in this thread!

[glucklich21]

It's the fitting on the line that runs along the fender to the dryer. You'll need an adaptor that is as low of profile as possible. Most 90s will not work as they stick out too much. One solution is to get the updated hardline from BMW that came in 93 cabrios. It has R-134a fittings already.

That said, I ended up with a stubby adaptor such as something like this on my car:

http://www.amazon.com/Interdynamics-VA-LH12-Conditioning-Conversion-Adapters/dp/B002G1UO8E/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1435411586&sr=8-14&keywords=r134a+adapter

I can't guarantee it'll work, but it looks extremely similar to what's under my hood.

[efficient]

Just wondering I Seen some people using an adapter bracket for the ac. What's wrong with the stock ac bracket?

[e30 gangsta]

Just wondering I Seen some people using an adapter bracket for the ac. What's wrong with the stock ac bracket?

The old bracket is not designed for the new style compressors, hence why people use the new brackets, to bolt a new style compressor on the m20.

[efficient]

Oh I have both style compressors but no brackets

[efficient]

Just pulled some lines from a junkyard car and was wondering what would you guys use to clean the lines from the inside?
I was thinking of using brake cleaner

[Klug]

Just pulled some lines from a junkyard car and was wondering what would you guys use to clean the lines from the inside?
I was thinking of using brake cleaner

Not sure what the best way would be but I just used purple power and then the air compressor to blow out the junk.

[efficient]

Just noticed that the 1st page says that early models will leak out the r134a because it's a non barrier hose or something. The lines I pulled are from a 85 318. Think I'll be alright?

[jrobie79]

Just noticed that the 1st page says that early models will leak out the r134a because it's a non barrier hose or something. The lines I pulled are from a 85 318. Think I'll be alright?

probably not

[pandaboo911]

Just noticed that the 1st page says that early models will leak out the r134a because it's a non barrier hose or something. The lines I pulled are from a 85 318. Think I'll be alright?

You'll be fine. You just have to top it off every couple years. It's a very slow leak, but still a leak, only a couple psi per year.

[Luke_M]

You can buy an a/c specific solvent for cleaning lines. Just plug each side with a towel after you pour some in and slosh it around. Something like this.

http://www.toolpan.com/Mastercool-91049-32--32oz-AC-Flush-Solvent_p_4513.html?gdftrk=gdfV27228_a_7c824_a_7c2023_a_7cMAS91049_d_32

Autozone etc all should carry something like it.

[GoldMember]

How many cans of R134a do you guys put into a freshly flushed system? I just put two cans in and my pressures seem high. 80ish on the low and peaks at 350 on the high during high RPM.