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Hello,
Was bending one of my ac lines to fit with my greddy vmount kit / JP3 battery mount kit and it happened to snap while making the bend.
Would it be possible to weld these lines or are they too far gone to weld?
If they are too far gone, is there a shop that remakes these lines?
I suggest you find and call a local automotive a/c shop and ask them. Some may suggest repair if they have someone skilled to weld that. Some may suggest to just replace the line with a new stock or custom line.
Looking at the picture of the broken line & diagram, the 1st thing I'd try is to source another used piece & try bending it again, though to be honest I think bending the existing lines to force them to fit is a dumb idea, despite whatever it says in the Greddy V-mount kit instructions. The better "easy" solution would be to splice the two good ends of that hard line together with a suitable length of -6 Reduced barrier A/C hose "Reduced" barrier hose has the same ID as "standard" barrier hose, i.e., -6 = 3/8" ID, but the OD of the reduced barrier hose is less than standard, making it easier to route in a tight engine bay.
1. On each end of the broken hard line, you're going to cut the tube clean & flush at a point that makes sense, and prep it for welding on a new beadlock hose fittings. Since the tubing is aluminum, you'll want an AL weld-on fitting - Here's an example of the kind of fitting I'm talking about: https://coldhose.com/products/6-weld...35532239601824 It joins a -6 AL hardline tube (~3/8" OD) to a -6 reduced barrier A/C hose. You'll need to acquire a beadlock hose crimping tool (about $100 on Amazon) or find a local shop that can crimp them for you.
2. Temporarily re-install each end of your existing line ends to whatever A/C components they were originally connected to (i.e., dryer, condenser) to to mock up your install, and figure out exactly how much hose you'll need/best routing. The hose should be long enough to insert fully into the hose fitting end, but not so long that it is putting stress on the connections at each end (i.e., if hose is cut too long). Cut the hose to length, put it back in the fittings and use a sharpie to put an index mark on each end of the hose and corresponding fitting end for clocking/alignment. You can now take it all off the car, and take it to a shop to crimp the hoses on each end or DIY the crimps if you acquired the tool.
Looking at the picture of the broken line & diagram, the 1st thing I'd try is to source another used piece & try bending it again, though to be honest I think bending the existing lines to force them to fit is a dumb idea, despite whatever it says in the Greddy V-mount kit instructions. The better "easy" solution would be to splice the two good ends of that hard line together with a suitable length of -6 Reduced barrier A/C hose "Reduced" barrier hose has the same ID as "standard" barrier hose, i.e., -6 = 3/8" ID, but the OD of the reduced barrier hose is less than standard, making it easier to route in a tight engine bay.
1. On each end of the broken hard line, you're going to cut the tube clean & flush at a point that makes sense, and prep it for welding on a new beadlock hose fittings. Since the tubing is aluminum, you'll want an AL weld-on fitting - Here's an example of the kind of fitting I'm talking about: https://coldhose.com/products/6-weld...35532239601824 It joins a -6 AL hardline tube (~3/8" OD) to a -6 reduced barrier A/C hose. You'll need to acquire a beadlock hose crimping tool (about $100 on Amazon) or find a local shop that can crimp them for you.
2. Temporarily re-install each end of your existing line ends to whatever A/C components they were originally connected to (i.e., dryer, condenser) to to mock up your install, and figure out exactly how much hose you'll need/best routing. The hose should be long enough to insert fully into the hose fitting end, but not so long that it is putting stress on the connections at each end (i.e., if hose is cut too long). Cut the hose to length, put it back in the fittings and use a sharpie to put an index mark on each end of the hose and corresponding fitting end for clocking/alignment. You can now take it all off the car, and take it to a shop to crimp the hoses on each end or DIY the crimps if you acquired the tool.
^That type of hose & compression fitting could work, but the one you linked is for actually for a much larger diameter tubing (-10 or 5/8" OD tubing). For your dryer/condenser line, you'll need one with compression fittings that fit over either a -6 (3/8" OD) or 8mm OD tubing. MEASURE your tubing's OD first to be certain & order once, especially since Mazda liked to use different sizes in its A/C plumbing (Denso, MANA, etc.)
If it turns out you have the 8mm OD tubing and can't find any vendor to provide one of those hose/compression fitting rigs to fit the 8mm tubing, you can use the weld on -6 beadlock fittings & hose as I described in my previous post. The 8mm OD tubing is slightly smaller than the -6 (3/8"OD) tubing, but the weld will make up for that and seal up fine.
Last edited by Pete_89T2; Jul 23, 2024 at 01:09 PM.
Reason: added info
