Warning about Dodge Caravan A/C Hose Leaks

I just had the A/C suction hose on my 1995 Grand Caravan with dual-A/C
develop a pinhole leak which eventually dumped all the refrigerant. It
was caused by the hose making (apparently occasional) contact with the
front (passenger side) motor mount. In seven years, the motor mount
wore through the insulating foam, the outer rubber hose, and the
barrier layer. If you look at the hoses with the car sitting, it is
not apparent that they touch. But they must touch when the car is
moving or bouncing.

Fixing this is going to be a royal pain. A new hose assembly for the
dual-air system (like mine) is $300-plus. If you have someone do it,
it is a $500-plus repair. I am going to try to repair my existing
hose, but I STILL have to remove the hose and take it for repair. This
means both the suction AND high-pressure hoses must be
disconnected...in three different locations! And finding six O-rings
or gaskets to fit. I had no success finding anyone who would repair
the hose ON the car.

A local A/C repair place told me (without my inquiring) that he sees
this ALL the time with Dodge Caravans. So:

Warning! If you have a 1995 Dodge Caravan with A/C and 3.3L engine,
look at the A/C hose routing. Ensure that the A/C hoses come NOWHERE
NEAR the motor mount!!!! If there is any sign of rubbing or damage,
re-route the hose or add some additional barrier.

Myron

 

You may want to check the motor mounts also. Could be that the motor
mount is shot and allowing more motion that intended. Obviously, I'm
assuming there is a rubber vibration damper in the mount, but since I
haven't looked closely at a 95 Caravan, I'm not certain of their design.

Matt

 

Not fun, to be sure, but could be a whole hell of a lot worse.

Oh, now come on. It is not. If that's all you can put on the table if
we're comparing royal-pain fixes, I'm gonna win without even trying.

....not a difficult job...

You're whining. This isn't a tough job. Three *whole* fittings to
disconnect? C'mon.

....right off the shelf of any major parts house, for pocket change
apiece...

Because it cannot properly be done ON the car. The hose assembly must be
removed.

DS

 

Another spot to look at is on the 1999-2001 models where the wiring
harness that goes through a hole in the front motor mount bracket.
Stick your head under the front of the car and look up.

It is in a loom and taped with electrical tape, but the bracket is
very sharp and looks like it will start to wear the wires away over
time.

BTW some of these wires go to the starter motor

psycho

 

Do you mean to tell me that you only go 8 years out of the part? For shame!

So your A/C is going to cost you 500 bucks to repair. $500/(8x12)=
$5.33 per month - compare that to new car payments so you can get a
"repair-free" new A/C system.


Besides, you can't have an 8 year old Chrysler product. They don't last
that long! Just ask anyone on the foreign car newsgroups.

Over 8 years, everything starts to sag a little bit. Especially long
runs of un-supported tubing, attached to a fixed point on one end and a
moving point on the other.
Dan

 

Jeepers...isn't anybody allowed to whine here?

Seriously, what makes this really frustrating is that it is entirely
preventable if you know about the problem and provide some additional
separation of the hose and the motor mount. I'm hoping this post might
save some other poor soul from having to do this repair.

I'm no noob on PITA car repairs. Try changing the whole rear axle on a
1970 Buick LeSabre sometime...by yourself...in a freezing garage...and
then finding out that the junkyard KNOWINGLY sold you the wrong part
(one inch too big)...and having to remove it and do it all over again
with the correct part!

I don't like taking sealed freon fittings and tubing apart when they
are functioning perfectly at the moment. The suction tubing that tees
at the front H-Valve is pretty small and the attached tubing is
several feet long (rear air, remember?). If I (or the guy repairing
the hose) bends it and it cracks, I'm out $300+ for a new part, plus
the wasted time and cost of the first repair. And it's still 110
degrees in my garage here in Phoenix....

 

Let me warn you about this.

A lot of A/C shops that repair hoses do it by _cutting_off_ the fittings
and then brazing on new barbed ends. This is instead of carefully
cutting off the factory crimp then slicing off the rubber hose. They
do this to save time and also because sometimes the factory fittings
aren't barbed.

While the end result may work (assuming whoever did the brazing
did it right and didn't leave poinholes) it's a hack job and looks like
hell. Make sure you ask on the phone how they intend on getting
the old hose off the metal fittings and if they are going to do a hack job,
remove the hose yourself. Careful work with a wheel cutting tool will
get the factory crimps off without damaging the fittings. (and if it turns
out
they aren't barbed, then you can have them braze on barbs.)

Ted