328 AC hoses

I can't help with specifications but can say that A/C hoses and fittings are straightforward.

I'm renovating the a/c on my other sportscar (1987 BMW 325ic) which had hellacious leaks. I have taken apart pretty much every joint in the whole system (one leak was on the side of the expansion valve!). Have learned a lot. I am down to a pressure loss of 1 psi per day at 100 psi N2 (and I think I found it).

Here is a website who lists the specs for the various fittings. They also make hoses. I've bought a bunch of stuff from them. They seem like nice people, although I've never met them (they are in Florida/I am in California): https://coldhose.com/

 

I had all my AC hoses and fittings replaced, my mechanic had to send them out, they came back better than new, make sure you use the hoses for whatever refrigerant you use where you live.

 

I did that. I had a shop make up new hoses and fittings. And then I couldn't get the fittings through the hole in the frame rail. In hindsight I should have made the hole bigger. Instead I cut the hose with the intention of splicing it back together. It went worse from there. So I've been without AC for a few years. I plan on running new hose and crimping the connectors on after the fact now.

 

I just found a big gash in my suction hose at the aft end and since the engine and tank are out I’m doing them now. Brian and I are splitting the cost for the crimp tool. I’ll be getting my stuff together this week and will post it. This is for a QV so it might not be exactly the same as 328. The hose and fittings can be gotten online or locally at any hydraulic hose shop. I don't see any way to snake the hoses through with the fittings on them. If you want to run R134a you should get barrier hose.

 

I used a kit from Classic Air https://www.classicautoair.com/shop/1977-ferrari-308-lhd-air-conditioning-system/ to renovate the air conditioning system in my 308 GTB. Their hoses came with one fitting attached to each hose. The second fitting needed to be crimped on after the hoses had been pulled through the rocker-panel space. I found a local air-conditioning shop that had the crimper. I asked them to do that and then charge the system. It works, now.

 

Looking at mine right now I can't imagine how it would be possible to route these hoses with the tank in place. There is a Chinese knock-off of the crimper for $200 but it's a crap shoot, I don't know if it will work but I'm thinking of getting it on Amazon and trying it. If it turns out to be crap I'll just return it. It looks exactly like the $600 Mastercool tool, you just never know with this stuff sometimes it IS identical. Other option is to have the rear fittings put on by a shop, run the hoses then take the car to a shop and have them do the front end fittings.

 

Okay maybe this will help. Again, this is for my 1983 308QV

The big hose from evaporator to suction port of compressor is 1/2 inch #10 with two straight female o-ring fittings with 7/8x14 threads. I bought 12 feet.

The smaller hose from condenser to discharge port on compressor is 13/32 inch #8 with one 90 degree female o-ring fitting at the compressor and one straight female o-ring fitting at the condenser both with 3/4x16 threads. I bought 12 feet.

There are two short hoses from condenser to dryer and dryer to expansion valve that are 5/16 inch #6. The longer one uses two straight female o-ring fittings and the short one uses a 90 degree and a 45 degree female o-ring fitting all with 5/8x18 threads. I bought two feet.

The only receiver/dryer I found is about an inch taller, haven't ordered it yet as I'm still looking

I ordered my stuff from coldhose.com and I decided to go with reduced barrier hose to make it a bit easier to route through the tight bends.

Haven't decided on the crimper yet but will before the end of the week.
Total for everything so far was $175

 

Highly interesting to hear. Was this stock from factory? But made me think about my welding gas bottles, where we have even higher pressures if I open the valves completely, and hose clamps.

Best from Germany
Martin

 

I wouldn't use standard hose clamps for AC lines.

 

Me neither. But nevertheless interesting to read, that they seem to be capable to hold such pressures.

Best from Germany
Martin

 

When I did them on my 82 GTS had the fuel tank removed, attached them to the old AC lines via electrical tape (after I had Cut the old fittings off that attach to the compressor) Soaped them up with Dawn dishwashing liquid and pulled them through easily with the old hoses. Once I got them situated upfront, just had one of the guys from Napa auto parts come out with their crimping tool and put the new ends on upfront. Would think it impossible to pull these hoses through with fittings attached. Didn’t have any trouble finding someone at Napa to come out and spend some time with the Ferrari!

 

The Nippondenso compressor on my '86 Porsche died around the turn of the century. I replaced it myself and used ordinary hose clamps on the lines. It has never had to be recharged. The joints on the lines were made using copper tubing and hose clamps. This vehicle served as my track car that was driven to the events so AC was needed.

 

I had an A/C on a Fiat held with regular clamps, they would leak and once one blew off due to high pressure.
Wouldn't recommend regular clamps, first because they don't hold tight enough and secondly because of thermal expansion... with time they tend to loosen.
On my 328 I had a couple custom made, copying the original. They were the long ones, from the compressor. Price was 60 Euros per hose, and before I removed the old ones, with the hoses disconnected I introduced a steel wire through the hose and attached it to the closest chassis structure. This helped as a guide when installing the new hose.

Just my experience.

John.

 

Mike, have you heard about this kit?
https://www.classicautoair.com/shop/1984-ferrari-308-lhd-air-conditioning-system/

 

Hi John,

did you manage to pull the new hoses through the car with the fittings already attached?
That's the biggest concern.

Best
Martin

 

When I joined sections of AC hose on my Porsche I inserted the copper tubing into the AC hose sections several inches then used two clamps on each section. Coefficient of thermal expansion of copper is about the same as stainless steel. And for the temperature changes experienced, the expansion difference is negligible. As previously mentioned I made the joint quite a number of years ago and the system is still working fine. It's a back yard fix but it is working for me. Your results might vary.

 

Hello Martin,
Yes, I pulled the old ones out, had some new ones custom made (exactly the same as originals) and installed the new ones. I used a guide as stated before and also used "baby powder" to make installation easier.I did not have to remove the fuel tanks.

Hope this helps, I can send a drawing of how I set up the guide if this helps or leads to "brighter" ideas.

Best from Spain,

John.

BTW we're hitting 39 Celsius right now...I love it