1988 4964f A/C problems

Funny story, I had these on my first Truck, a WS. It started leaking at the condenser. While trying to tighten it, the weak hose blew! Loud noise, big cloud of dust. Mechanics said they thought I was dead. Lol. I wasn’t hurt. Later when trying to convert my Freightliner, I stopped at a Local Carquest, tried to explain what I needed. They were clueless. Said no such thing exists. I assured them, I had them on another Truck. Meanwhile a Customer says, “ sounds like a bs story to me, It’s too much pressure “ Lol. I gave up and left. 20 yrs later, still p##### me off!!! Bunch of smart ### know it alls!

 

Correcr me if im wrong but youre essentially converting the #8/#10 ac fittings that go to say your condensor, compressor etc into hydraulic hose ends and then you can just get male or female hoses made up anywhere?
I think thats what youre describing, but im not quite picturing it

Found this elsewhere, cuts out the ability to just get cheap hydraulic hoses done but pretty sure you could have someone crimp a hose on this fitting and be money ahead replacing the whole thing over what a hose place might normally charge, guessing close to half (because most places seem to think their fittings are made of gold) (and heck, the site even has a crimper for 250$ so you could just buy hose lengths and ends which probably would end up way cheaper even on 1 or 2 full ac hose jobs...
Its a thought.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/vta-35532-vug?rrec=true


Just went straight to vintage airs site and looks like the t fittings for getting ac to your bunk as well may be the most expensive bits, theyre pretty proud of them , scroll down, the site is a bit weird at least on my phone.

Hose Kits and Fittings - Vintage Air

 

And while im at it, is there any reason to have an ac core in the bunk as well? It feels a bit like if the front is doing its job, it should have enough cooling capacity to pop a fan on the dash and get the cool air back there. Adding extra lines, evaporator, expansion valve, just feels like its creating more points of failure.

Anyone run ac on the front and "passively cool" the back this waybor am i just being cheap and wishful?

 

The fitting I used only need a piece of hose to work. The original fittings are welded to a fitting that screws into the reusable fitting. Look close at the picture I posted where it’s leaking. You can Definitely buy and a crimp tool to make your own hoses. Vintage air is a great Source. They even sell and suggest buying Chinese Knockoff Sanden Compressors, they claim perform just as good as US made. I wouldn’t buy one myself. I’m only cheap to a certain point, not worth the 20% savings. As far as skipping the bunk air. I’ve went without heat, for a couple years. No problem, Cab compensates. But A/C is a different story. Got to have it in a bunk. Mine at least. Most bunks already have the set up. And if for some reason there’s a problem with one, like a hose or expansion valve, you at least have the other. Ofcourse if the compressor or condenser goes bad, both are down. The factory lines to compressor are expensive, making your own saves hundreds. Along with the fact that using 2 couplings and a threaded coupler, you can repair a hose that’s been rubbed somewhere and blown at a weak point. Much like a repair coupler for an air line. Rare, but it happens.

 

Here’s the pic again. Look below the green dye. Original pad mount A/C lines from an old line set are welded to a threaded female fitting, that you screw the swivel end of the reusable fitting onto. It’s welded a bit too much, barely can get a wrench on it, because its been welded on a different fitting, once already, when I had a different compressor. I had to put a pipe wrench on it to stop the leak. The right way to weld it is like the other one in the pic, plenty of room for a wrench. I had to cut the damaged hose end off, along with the old fitting, and put a new one on because the hose was damaged at the end, it got kinked and had a weak spot, from moving the compressor during an inframe. Reusable fitting has a swivel end. It can be taken off, put onto new hose. And installed. Bulk hose line is all that’s needed. best to have an extra fitting on hand, as old hose really gets stuck in the fittings. Some heat, and a small screwdriver may be needed, to get the old hose out, making the fitting reusable again. I was struggling with that, so I got a new reusable fitting from the T/A, they had one. Now I have a spare, if needed for a quick repair. Beats spending $$$ and hours in a shop.

 

Pretty sure its about 6-10% pag 100 to r134a

Someone should have better data, im fairly sure i remember 7% and err on the side of slightly less than more, but take that for what its worth