Since I rebuilt my a/c system a few years back it’s been working great but I thought I’d check it anyway. Decided to hook up my a/c manifold gauges to make sure all the pressures are where they should be.
Hey … It’s 108F outside and I need all the cooling I can get. So no problem right …
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First I couldn’t find my old 3/8" female adapter that fits the HIGH side service port (I still have the original R-12 system and good luck on finding that 3/8" size fitting anymore). I did finally tracked down online a 6 piece adapter kit that had the one piece I needed. The fitting threaded on perfectly but wouldn’t push down the schrader valve in the service port (groan). Turned out the new fitting’s depressor wasn’t long enough so I had to remove it and make a new one … God bless the Dremel.
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Next I couldn’t remove the cap on the LOW pressure service port. The hose had slightly rotated so that the service port was now hard up against the high pressure hose above it and I couldn’t even unscrew the cap (groan … groan). So I needed to slightly loosen the nut bolting it into the expansion valve and rotate it back into the proper position.
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Everything around the expansion valve is so crowded that when you install the top and bottom lines you have to put the bottom line in first (more room without the top line installed) and then you install the top line. The problem now is that the 23mm wrench that you need for the bottom nut won’t fit in there with the top line in place (groan … groan … groan).
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Ordered a 23mm box wrench and cut out a part of the top so that it just slipped over the line and onto the bolt … VOILA I now have a 23mm flare wrench that easily fits in there and did the job nicely.
Tomorrow I’ll hook up the gauges and see what I shall see 
