Under car aircon pipes

Hi gang. I threw together a quick vid to help guide someone replacing the underbody aircon pipes. I found a couple of useful threads on here whilst tackling it but thought something visual may help. https://youtu.be/Tyde7r0uzj8 I ran it by deMort first and he's kindly added some pointers: The a/c dryer .. you fit that last so that its going straight onto a sealed system .. you would need air tight bungs in the open pipes to stop air ingress .. Its a minor point but you might get picked up on it . - Abe note - this was left sealed until the day of regassing, sorry, didn't explain that in the vid. The fuel filler neck .. you rotate it towards the front of the car to get better access .. Carbon canister bungs .. fit them into the car .. spray with wd40 on the inside and then fit the canister .. its helps if you lubricate them otherwise they can just push through . O rings .. only lubricate them when you are just about to fit them and again new seals are kept in the bag until ready to be fitted . NEVER try and reuse an old a/c seal .. it swells up on contact with pag oil and will never fit again . Maneuvering the large pipe out .. it's a bit of a mission on the floor .. might want to make that clear . The plastic clamps .. when removing its not uncommon for the allen key " bolts " to round off .. you use a trim tool to lever them down .. at times you have to start under the plastic block itself as these can be a pain . Rear connection bolts for both sides often seize in place .. Never EVER use heat to try and get them out .. the gas / oil impregnated with gas so i'm told when heated will turn to mustard gas .. first world war very nasty poison gas .. it also stinks !!! It's got a low boiling point as well .. just not something mechanics tend to do . can't say for certain but thats what ive been led to believe . Anyways the bolts often have to be cut out .. drilling out is best .. You must Not damage the rear pipe in any way .. it's an engine drop to replace that one . Just some things i thought of whilst watching it anyways - deMort

Great video, I've probably got this to do as I think I've got a small leak in the same place. You've now got me wondering, since it looks like a fiddly PITA job, whether I could just disconnect the pipe at the rear, clean it up and fit new O rings? Maybe worth a try?

Good luck getting that joint apart without damaging the pipe. The pipe becomes perforated along the full length of it (if it hasn't already been split by some kack handed tyre fitter).

As Alex said, I thought the thinner of the two pipes was going to be fine but actually it was showing corrosion along its length under the plastic coating so decided to do that one too. I didn't explain very well on the video but I had to carefully cut one of the rear bolts with a dremel as the bolt has seized inside the joint. I was hoping to just replace O rings, but as the video shows, the seat had corroded badly where the O ring sits. Fiddly job, just need to be patient to avoid damaging anything. Obviously you could try just replacing the O Ring if the mating faces look ok and the rest of the pipe hasn't corroded once you inspect it, I'll be surprised if it hasn't. 😁

If anyone is needing to do these pipes I have a brand new one surplus to requirements.. I'd take £100 for it (£179+vat at Design911) It's the larger diameter outer one nearest the drivers sill. Part No 996 573 091 01. Pics attached DM me if interested. Both the pipes had been botched on my 996.2..the unions had been cut as I assume they couldn't get the bolts out in an attempt to replace the O rings.. Regards Johnny

Dammit 🤣 Could have saved myself a few quid. 😄

:thumbs:

I've tried in the past .. doesn't really work to be honest .. either the seal face for the O ring is too corroded or the pipe has started to bubble up and leaks . Worth a go .. i guess . I'm afraid at work we have to guarantee what we do hence an attempt to fix an issue is not really an option for us .