A couple of things:
1. For anyone that has not yet had their TN kit installed i would heat wrap excessively all of the pipes by the AC line.
2. I would spend the $50 dollars and take the AC line that TN supplies to a shop and have them add about 5" to the hose to make routing it easier. (i added 8" and i think taht was a little excessive, and too long)
Ok, getting to it.
I did this with another forum member, (bryan feel free to add anything i miss) and it took us about 5 hours on the first day and 6 hours on the second day. I think if we had to do it again it would take maybe 8hrs or so total.
I recommend doing it in 2 phases. First, Removing the AC line that turbonetics supplies and take this line to a place to have it remade. This way you will pretty much have to do it in 2 days. What I did was I took the original line that was on the stock car to a place and used those fittings to have a new line made. But the TN fittings are slightly different than the stock ones and we had to bend the crap out of stock ones to make them fit. Bending and testing the fittings easily took 1.5 hrs.
Required tools:
10 mm socket / wrench
17 mm socket / wrench
7/16 socket / wrench
14 mm socket / wrench
zip ties
AC removal tools (you can buy these at an auto store, or rent them there)
jack stands
oil pan
Recommended tools:
ramps (to drive up on)
cordless drill/driver
oil filter/washer
6 qts of oil
set of crows feet
case of beer
creeper
1. Drive up on to the ramps. Leave the car in gear, put the ebrake on, and put some ramps or blocks in back of the back wheels.
2. Jack the car up in the center (the jack point is about 1.5 - 2 ft aft of the front bumper). This way you dont have to jack each side individually.
3. Place the car on jack stands.
4. Remove the front left wheel (not completely necessary at this time but it will be later on, so I would do it now. and remove the fender cover as well.
5. Remove the protective cover under the car (all 10mm)
Ok the setup is done, ready to start tearing away parts....
6. Remove the strut bar (i think these are 14mm but not positive)
7. Remove the engine cover.
8. Remove the charge pipe ( one fitting up by the throttle body, one down by the belts / radiator and a big mofo bolt (17mm) that helps hold it in place)
9. Underneath the car there are two places where the down pipe has to be disconnected. (also i think this will vary with your exhaust) but one is about midway down the car, and the other is about halfway between that one and the turbo itself. Removing these will allow you to get to the AC compressor and allow you to remove the turbo. Sorry no pics under the car.
10. Drain the oil, disconnect oil return line (the line going from the turbo into the oil pan), I recommend doing this from the bottom since it will be easier to put back on. (i couldnt get this friggin line off and it took about an hour).
11. Remove the turbo. (easier said than done) a total of 4 bolts, all strategicaly placed so that you have enough time to drink a beer in between each one. Actually if bryan hadnt done these i would probably still be working on them. Also you have to remove the fitting that goes to the intercooler and the one that comes from the air intake.
12. Once this is done you should be able to slide the downpipe back and pull the turbo out.
13. The lower AC line is right below the turbo. In order to disconnect this line you put the attachment on the fitting and push and it shoudl just pop off.
14. Follow this line around to the where it hooks into the compressor. There is only one bolt holding it on to the compressor. I am not sure if we got the bolt from above the car or underneath it, but it was a huge PIA.
And that is it, the lower AC line is removed.
15. When i had my new line made i bought DEI cold wrap ($20 at checkers) and a new heat shield/sheeth (also $20 at checkers) and i also used the old sheeth that TN supplied. I routed my new one so that it is not touching any hot piping, and any place where it is close, i put an extra layer of heat wrap around the pipe.
If you take your old fittings to have the new hose made, i recommend putting new O-rings on teh old fittings.
Putting everything back together is the opposite of taking it apart, just make sure whne you are putting the clamps back on that when you put them on they are ina position where they can be tightened.
I also recommend vacuum drop testing it prior to recharging. Just ask the shop if you can let it sit for an hour with a gage on it, to make sure it is holding.
DIY TN lower A/C Line repair
Is this the line that always breaks on TN kits?
