Active Interchiller flare question - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

Mighty1 · 01-18-2019, 03:51 PM

It looks like I've tightened this fitting too tight and I've warped the flare so now it keeps leaking. Does anyone know what type of AC flare is used to make this? It's the 1/2 inch aluminum line that comes from the firewall area in the kit.

I'm trying to get the car ready for the Street Car Drags on Feb 2 and this fitting is making me crazy.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Yes I've reached out to Dave and I'm awaiting a reply but I'm just trying to get this repaired ASAP.

d454brisson · 01-19-2019, 08:38 AM

I'll look at my line and see what it looks like as my kit is still incomplete and uninstalled.

Best of luck if you need a new line as I am going on 30days with an incomplete kit.

DB

d454brisson · 01-19-2019, 08:50 AM

Darn it mine looks like it was flared by a 3 year old also, I have no idea how that will seal.

Mighty1 · 01-19-2019, 04:41 PM

Well then maybe I didn't mess it up. That's what mine looked like too.

This is what the end is supposed to look like. I found this piece at a local ac repair shop however I won't be able to attach to my line by compression fitting as the piece I bought is metric and the line I have is 1/2 inch.

I'm going to have to remove the whole line from my car and take it to this shop to have the proper end welded on.

d454brisson · 01-19-2019, 06:07 PM

Thanks for the pic, I may do that to ahead of time if i don't return the kit and file a paypal claim. This is pathetic

I just ordered a flare tool kit from amazon hoping to fix the end.

Mighty1 · 01-19-2019, 07:27 PM

Make sure you use the correct attachment as it's not the standard 45* flare.

d454brisson · 01-19-2019, 08:20 PM

i am going to take it to a local AC guy first, the only bad thing is I am missing the AC hose line it should connect to. I am hoping the AC shop will have one to compare.

try this

d454brisson · 01-23-2019, 09:17 AM

Were you able to get it sealed? I am still missing parts from the kit, past 30days after it arrived wth

Mighty1 · 01-23-2019, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by d454brisson

Were you able to get it sealed? I am still missing parts from the kit, past 30days after it arrived wth

I took it to an AC shop I found and they cut the damaged end off and welded on a new o-ring end. I haven't had a chance to get the system charged yet. It's supposed to rain here tomorrow and I don't want to drive the car with the front cap off and no wheel wells on wet streets so I may have to wait until next week to get it charged.

Dave still has not replied to my email asking what to do about the damaged end. It's a good thing I was able to work it out myself or I would be extremely pissed.

I'm sure you'll be able to get the correct hoses/lines locally. The solenoid setup may be a different story though.

Mighty1 · 03-06-2019, 06:48 AM

So I was finally able to get my leak sealed by replacing the hose that goes from the chiller to the flared aluminum line. I had the chiller system working for a whole day before another problem happened this morning on the drive to work.

The system was in dual mode for AC inside the car and chiller. My chiller water temp was staying around 52*. I then switched to competition mode to see how low the chiller water temp would go. It got all the way down to 25* which was great. I then turned competition mode off so it should be back to dual mode. The cabin AC was working but chiller water temp went higher than ambient along with my IAT2 going above ambient as well. The chiller was no longer cooling the water but my cabin AC was working.

Anyone have any ideas on what could be wrong? My guess would be the bypass valve which I can't get to unless I remove the front of the car again. Could the vacuum solenoid cause this?

d454brisson · 03-06-2019, 09:08 PM

Mine did a similar thing but i attributed it to not having the charge correct and it being to cold outside, so cold that the AC was cycling due to sensor temp not charge pressure.

I have also seen the expansion valve freeze in position due to charge being incorrect or coming in too fast.

I haven't been able to retest since the weather here is in the 30s.

Mighty1 · 03-07-2019, 06:38 AM

Do you think your freon charge was too low or too high?

It did the same thing this morning with outside temps in the 50s so I turned on competition mode and it dropped the chiller water temp into the 20s again.

I forgot to mention that I needed to change the hose that goes from the chiller to the aluminum line we've been talking about too. It had a crack under the o-ring landing.

So Dave finally sent you the parts you were missing?

d454brisson · 03-07-2019, 07:44 AM

Finally got the parts and released the paypal holds.

For what I have experienced with Camaro AC systems if you charge too fast (which I am impatient) the expansion valve freezes and causes a restriction. Then the gauge pressures go all over the place.

You then pretty much have to let it sit and reset and balance out, the gauge pressures will equalize. This also happens if the charge is too low. Something with the camaro exp valve causes a pocket and it restricts. I have to think with the chiller its not helping the issue.

Initially my charge was too low, i have been letting it sit and will put the gauges back on this weekend and let you know. I put them on this morning but its too cold for the AC compressor to kit on long enough for a good set of readings (25 degs out). At least I knew I had a good 30-40 psi low static pressure so no leaks.

The biggest thing I changed was I made the whole kit manual, with 2 switches in the center console, one bypasses the HX, and one sets it to Comp mode just the chiller with Freon.

01-18-2019, 03:51 PM	#1
Mighty1 Drives: 1967 Camaro RS; 2013 Camaro ZL1 Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Miami, FL Posts: 93	Active Interchiller flare question It looks like I've tightened this fitting too tight and I've warped the flare so now it keeps leaking. Does anyone know what type of AC flare is used to make this? It's the 1/2 inch aluminum line that comes from the firewall area in the kit. I'm trying to get the car ready for the Street Car Drags on Feb 2 and this fitting is making me crazy. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Yes I've reached out to Dave and I'm awaiting a reply but I'm just trying to get this repaired ASAP. Attached Images

01-19-2019, 08:50 AM	#3
d454brisson Drives: 2014 ZL1 Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Baltimore MD Posts: 345	Darn it mine looks like it was flared by a 3 year old also, I have no idea how that will seal. Attached Images

01-19-2019, 04:41 PM	#4
Mighty1 Drives: 1967 Camaro RS; 2013 Camaro ZL1 Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Miami, FL Posts: 93	Well then maybe I didn't mess it up. That's what mine looked like too. This is what the end is supposed to look like. I found this piece at a local ac repair shop however I won't be able to attach to my line by compression fitting as the piece I bought is metric and the line I have is 1/2 inch. I'm going to have to remove the whole line from my car and take it to this shop to have the proper end welded on. Attached Images

01-19-2019, 08:38 AM	#2
d454brisson Drives: 2014 ZL1 Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Baltimore MD Posts: 345	I'll look at my line and see what it looks like as my kit is still incomplete and uninstalled. Best of luck if you need a new line as I am going on 30days with an incomplete kit. DB

01-19-2019, 06:07 PM	#5
d454brisson Drives: 2014 ZL1 Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Baltimore MD Posts: 345	Thanks for the pic, I may do that to ahead of time if i don't return the kit and file a paypal claim. This is pathetic I just ordered a flare tool kit from amazon hoping to fix the end.

01-19-2019, 07:27 PM	#6
Mighty1 Drives: 1967 Camaro RS; 2013 Camaro ZL1 Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Miami, FL Posts: 93	Make sure you use the correct attachment as it's not the standard 45* flare.

01-23-2019, 09:17 AM	#8
d454brisson Drives: 2014 ZL1 Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Baltimore MD Posts: 345	Were you able to get it sealed? I am still missing parts from the kit, past 30days after it arrived wth

03-06-2019, 06:48 AM	#10
Mighty1 Drives: 1967 Camaro RS; 2013 Camaro ZL1 Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Miami, FL Posts: 93	So I was finally able to get my leak sealed by replacing the hose that goes from the chiller to the flared aluminum line. I had the chiller system working for a whole day before another problem happened this morning on the drive to work. The system was in dual mode for AC inside the car and chiller. My chiller water temp was staying around 52. I then switched to competition mode to see how low the chiller water temp would go. It got all the way down to 25 which was great. I then turned competition mode off so it should be back to dual mode. The cabin AC was working but chiller water temp went higher than ambient along with my IAT2 going above ambient as well. The chiller was no longer cooling the water but my cabin AC was working. Anyone have any ideas on what could be wrong? My guess would be the bypass valve which I can't get to unless I remove the front of the car again. Could the vacuum solenoid cause this?

03-06-2019, 09:08 PM	#11
d454brisson Drives: 2014 ZL1 Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Baltimore MD Posts: 345	Mine did a similar thing but i attributed it to not having the charge correct and it being to cold outside, so cold that the AC was cycling due to sensor temp not charge pressure. I have also seen the expansion valve freeze in position due to charge being incorrect or coming in too fast. I haven't been able to retest since the weather here is in the 30s.

03-07-2019, 06:38 AM	#12
Mighty1 Drives: 1967 Camaro RS; 2013 Camaro ZL1 Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Miami, FL Posts: 93	Do you think your freon charge was too low or too high? It did the same thing this morning with outside temps in the 50s so I turned on competition mode and it dropped the chiller water temp into the 20s again. I forgot to mention that I needed to change the hose that goes from the chiller to the aluminum line we've been talking about too. It had a crack under the o-ring landing. So Dave finally sent you the parts you were missing?

03-07-2019, 07:44 AM	#13
d454brisson Drives: 2014 ZL1 Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Baltimore MD Posts: 345	Finally got the parts and released the paypal holds. For what I have experienced with Camaro AC systems if you charge too fast (which I am impatient) the expansion valve freezes and causes a restriction. Then the gauge pressures go all over the place. You then pretty much have to let it sit and reset and balance out, the gauge pressures will equalize. This also happens if the charge is too low. Something with the camaro exp valve causes a pocket and it restricts. I have to think with the chiller its not helping the issue. Initially my charge was too low, i have been letting it sit and will put the gauges back on this weekend and let you know. I put them on this morning but its too cold for the AC compressor to kit on long enough for a good set of readings (25 degs out). At least I knew I had a good 30-40 psi low static pressure so no leaks. The biggest thing I changed was I made the whole kit manual, with 2 switches in the center console, one bypasses the HX, and one sets it to Comp mode just the chiller with Freon.