Unofficialbmw.com

[Woody325]

So I'm as deep into my engine bay as I've ever been in any car. I've removed the intake manifold and everything around it, the exhaust manifold and everything around it, the radiator, fan, just about every hose and countless other items that I'm sure I'll be asking how & where to put them back on sometime in the future.

I keep looking at the AC and all of it's hoses, and wonder why not just yank it all out while I'm in there? It hasn't blown cold for at least 7 years, and chances of me ever putting money into it to make it blow cold are zilch. I could care less about the +2 hp gain, or the 30lbs of weight savings - The hoses and hard lines are rusted and look like crap, but most importantly I would really like to not have all of that crap in my way when I'm working on my car.

What issues are there with removing it? Anything I should know about before I yank it all out of there?

And, how do I evacuate the R12?! Or, I should say who can I get to evacuate it for me? I can't drive the car to the shop ...

thanks.
_________________
1990 325is
Arctic Silver & black

[85-325e]

Hi Woody...

OK, first of all, I doubt you have any R12 to evacuate, and if you do, it's infinitesimal. You said it hasn't blown cold for years. Now, that could mean that the expansion valve is clogged, or there's a leak and that R12 is gone anyway.

With that said, you can just yank it all. If the compressor is working, you may be able to sell it. You need to remove the receiver/dryer (up by the front right fender), the compressor, and the lines up to the firewall. I don't think you should screw around with the expansion valve or the evaporator (which is behind the console), Of course, all this is tied to the condenser up front, and yo ucould probably remove that as well, but you have to leave the secondary fan.
_________________
Cosmo - 1985 BMW 325e, Single Owner, 265,000+ ORIGINAL miles and still going strong! But now on the East Coast and the salt air corrosion is eating my beautiful car alive...

[idanity]

325e...yup, what he said.

to add.
If you want to get your R12 license it costs about $15 to take
the test. The test merely involves passing a short
multiple choice, OPEN BOOK test that you take online or via mail.
you can look up the answers to the test, it's
impossible to fail.

heres the site
_________________
..........

[Woody325]

Thanks guys.

Is there a way to tell if there is any R12 left in the system? The 'presta' valves on the low & high pressure lines are not really presta so I can't put a pressure gauge on them.

I guess I could 'toot' the valves to see if there is any pressure in them, but that would release less than a hairspray can from the 70's worth of CFC's into the atmosphere, and we've all seen the movie "The Day After Tomorrow" - I wouldn't want to be the genesis of all of that mayhem.

So let's say I do have pressure in there because after all it is a BMW. And, I take the test (and pass ) - now what? I still need a vacuum and container, and somewhere to dispose of it ... seems like a lot of expense and hassle for something I'm going to do once. I guess i just don't know enough about it.

Is it too much to expect to find a service that comes to my house to evacuate it? I've searched but couldn't really find anything.

Thanks much.
_________________
1990 325is
Arctic Silver & black

[85-325e]

Woody... There's a Shraeder valve for the low and high side. You can try either. The one closest to the battery is the easiers... unscrew the cap and press the little valve in the center down. These valves look exactly like tire valves or bicycle tire valves.

It's unlikely you'll find someone to come to the house with the proper evacuation equipment.

IF there's pressure, then I wouldn't rip it all out. If there's enough pressure for you to detect by ear, the system is holding gas, so it's probably the expansion valve. You COULD revive the system for a hundred or two if that's the case.

In any case, regardless of what you want to do eventually, I'm betting that you have no pressure and that you're not going to take the earth's atmosphere down by releasing what's left of the gas in your system... And I'd venture a guess and say that you already released that gas over a period of time.
_________________
Cosmo - 1985 BMW 325e, Single Owner, 265,000+ ORIGINAL miles and still going strong! But now on the East Coast and the salt air corrosion is eating my beautiful car alive...

[idanity]

its not as bad as bug spray


honestly, even a1 Guernsey cow is more devastating globally, by releasing methane then all the freon in all the e30s in america

just sayin
_________________
..........