A/C hoses

call Rock at REtro Air in Dallas. 800 840 6162. If you are going that far you might consider upgrade the entire AC with their kit. I did and I am very pleased. To get the hoses out (at least on a 308) you have to pull the right gas tank so as long as you are in there, the compressor is easily accessed. Kit also included new interior circulation fans (may not be necessary on a 328?) and I upgraded the condenser fans. I did pull the new hoses in by attaching to the old hoses and pulling them out.

 

I am not the dude to be like 'use the search function, bro!' but there are so many threads about AC, with so much pertinent info, you should DEF search and aggregate all the best info.

Good luck.

 

I don't know that any of the threads actually say how LONG the hoses are, but he should be able to get a tape measure and get a pretty good estimate.

Also, see my DIY thread (sticky tech thread above) about removing the hoses. Easiest way is definitely remove gas tank and front liner, get new hoses and barb fitting to tie old/new hoses together and one person push and the other pull. Took my brother and less than 5m to get the new ones in.

 

Craig: Rock will know the answers to your questions.

 

"I have two lengths of hose, 20 feet each. I am going to put a temporary fitting on the hoses and connect them up front. Then I will pull them through from the rear. I have to wait until this coming weekend, when I get the fittings. In the meantime, here are some pictures of the hoses where they go into the frame in the front. You can see where the feed in from the back in post #3." --

from this post --> http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/139619445-post17.html

from this thread --> http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/308-328/285203-air-conditioning-refurbishment-my-308-a.html#post139619445

 

I could not get the old AC hoses out wthout cutting off the fittings. And so you know where this goes- I couldn't get the new ones in because the hole at the back of the car is smaller than the fitting. In fact the hole is smaller than the OD of the replacement hose. I haven't solved this yet. I have one hose installed with an end cut off. It is winter so it isn't on my to-do list, but I'm sure I'll be wishing it was this summer.

 

Not the case with my '87 328 or others of that year that I've heard of.

 

If anyone has pictures of how their AC hoses go into the frame channel in the rear of the car I'd appreciate it. I'm not sure what is up with mine being so small. Maybe I can safely make it bigger or it is in the wrong spot or something.

 

I just replaced all the A/C hoses on my Lotus Esprit and found it much easier to crimp all of the fittings on after the bare hoses were installed through the body.

The other advantage was being able to orient the elbow fittings in the right direction without having to twist the hose.

 

Brian: I installed the hoses from the rear toward the front and then put the front fittings on. I have attached one photo, let me know if you need another since I always take a lot of pics. Also, let me know if you need a higher resolution so you can lighten this picture. Rich
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http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/140966859-post4.html

 

I would appreciate a photo of where the hoses go into the passageway to the front. This photo is from the thread that Sean F. linked right above. It is not my car. It shows the hoses going straight into the channel, it would be a straight shot from front to back. Is this what you have? Because I don't. My hoses go into that same channel I believe, but the hole is from the top, sort of behind the felt pad in that picture. I can't see the entry because they snake in behind that triangular piece that the felt pad is on. Is that how yours went?
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Brian: my hoses came out of the channel and made a 90 degree turn to vertical so they went up forward of the felt pad for the gas tank. So the hoses run vertically in front of the gas tank and over the top of the tank to the compressor. I have several pics that show this, this one shows the original hoses coming over the top of the tank to the compressor. I will send more pics.
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this shows the original hoses coming out of the channel in front of the felt pad, going vertical and over the top of the gas tank straps, of course the tank is removed in this pic. Note the metal strap that keep the hoses in place. The rags were evidently placed previously to prevent chaffing against that metal strap. My car is a Euro, hence the chicken wire over the snorkle intake.
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third pic showing my new hoses over the top of the tank and then to the new compressor. I changed the compressor end fittings after this pic was taken to allow better acess for charging. Also, I spaced my compressor towards the gas tank and away from the engine so I could change the belt without having to move the compressor to allow sufficient gap between the compressor and the engine to remove the belt. That is why the belt is on the most distant compressor pulley groove.
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Thanks, Rich. That's exactly how my hoses ran. But the hole is too small to fit both hoses through even with the ends cut off. (I did get one in.) And I have the same Parker Futura hose you have. Probably the hole is hand-cut and mine is on the small side. I couldn't figure out a way to get a tool in there to make it bigger. I wonder if I could cut a hole for the second hose in the back of the channel and go straight in like the other picture.

 

FWIW, retro air (and I think they are superb) has a kit for the 308 but NOT for the 328, which has a totally different condenser. OTOH, the improvements in the blower might be worth looking into so if you can purchase the individual components in the retro-air kit, it MIGHT be helpful for the 328. As noted, there are a ton of posts re this, including quite a few from me re improving the 328 AC. Mine works pretty well, after as LOT of work, though I would NEVER call it "good AC." Compared to the AC in any US car from the 60's on, it's marginal at best. But it does an "almost acceptable job" if the temps are below the mid-80's.

Keep in mind that AC performance is very much an individual taste thing. I like the cockpit very cool. My wife is comfortable at a higher temp. IOW, what is "acceptable" to her, is too hot for me so our 328's AC is generally OK for her but to me it's inadequate if temps are high 80's+. Any higher temp than that and the AC is essentially useless.

 

20 feet is ridiculously long and we all know that is way too much. His question was legit. Sorry it bothers you. Maybe just ignore it next time?

 

Glass work is pretty easy especially since it is not structural. You can buy the materials at home depot for about $30 (wait for the haters). best thing about is if you screw up, 5 mins with an angle grinder and you are back to where you started. Don't think you can do it on the car though. Upside down glass work is a fail every time. Good luck!

 

I almost hate to ask (I've searched a/c lines, a/c hoses etc..) but what is the size of the a/c hoses for 308 qv models ID and OD? 1 pic in this thread shows Parker lines, but trying to zoom in, the shot just pixelates and can't read the info.
I'm Looking at replacing the lines in mine and other than needing 2 20' lengths don't know what size is needed. Looking at getting something like the Conti Galaxy 4890 SLE hoses that should cover my options of which gas to use from the old R12 to the new YF1234.