Handling of Refrigerant Lines and Fittings

CAUTION: Refer to Breathing R-134a Caution in Service Precautions.

^ Ensure that the metal lines do not exhibit the following conditions.
This will prevent the loss of system capacity due to line restriction:
- Dents
- Kinks
^ Do not bend the flexible hose line to a radius of less than 4 times the diameter of the hose.
^ Do not allow the flexible hose line to come within a distance of 63.5 mm (2 1/2 in) of the exhaust manifold.
^ Inspect the flexible hose lines regularly. Replace the flexible hose line with new hose if one of the following conditions exist:
- Leaks
- Brittleness
- Deterioration
^ Before disconnecting any fitting in the refrigeration system, recover all of the refrigerant from the system. Refer to Refrigerant Recovery and Recharging. Service and Repair
^ Once you open a refrigerant line to the atmosphere, cap or tape the line immediately.
This will prevent any of the following items from entering the line:
- Moisture
- Dint
^ Use the proper wrenches when you make connections on the O-ring fittings.
Back-up the opposing fitting with a wrench in order to prevent distortion of the following areas:
- The connecting lines
- The components
^ Tighten all of the tubing connections to the specified torque.
Too much or too little torque may result in the following conditions:
- Loose joints
- Deformed joint parts
- Refrigerant leakage
- An inoperative A/C system
^ Ensure that the flat washer, O-rings and the seats are in perfect condition.
A burr or a piece of dirt may cause a refrigerant leak.
^ Install new O-rings that you have lubricated with clean 525 viscosity refrigerant oil.
Do not wipe the threads with a cloth.
^ Keep PAG synthetic refrigerant oil off fitting threads. Long term contact of PAG synthetic oil on threads may cause future disassembly difficulties.