You will use less than a qt. Most parts supplies sell a kit for this which isnt very expensive. When you flush you'll know you got a clean start.

Good luck

Alan

Alan,

I'm on it this weekend, hope it works. The old bomb has a few other issues.... like it won't blow air out of the dash vents. Likely has a busted mechanical linkage and I dread tearing into the console and dash. Gonna get it cold first.

Dave

Arright!!!! I pulled the car into the garage today and peered down into the right front fender well behind the wheel well looking for the accumulator/ dryer, and shore-nuff, thar she was. Looks like they built the whole car around it. I got my good ole Hayes '63-'82 Corvette manual out . It said (after disconnecting all the lines) "Loosen the mounting brackett bolts and lift the accumulator out." Sounds simple... but there is maybe 1-1/2" of room to remove a 3" dia x 10" long vessel.

Surely there's gotta be some way of getting this can replaced short of cutting the fender off, which will surely scratch my new paint. Any of you smart guys out there have any suggestions to simplify this task???

I took the vent on the fender out, that way you can remove the line from the dryer by reaching from outside the fender with your wrenches.

Take the strap off the dryer, remove the coolant tank, then you should have room to take out the dryer.

Good luck, it ain't fun, but, it's worth it!

Denny

You have to hold your tounge funny and say the right words (NO not THOSE words)

If you have a short set of wrenches, it helps.  You may need the long ones to break the lines loose.  Be sure to hold a wrench on each side of each fitting, or you could do some damage.

Well CRAP! I gotta feelin' I'm gonna use a lot of THOSE words and bite my tongue off B4 I get 'er done. Nothing resembling a vent on the '78, just a big black box on the right hand side of the firewall with hi and lo refrigerant lines going in and out that must be the evaporator, and the coolant tank in the way. Looks like it might be possible if I get the coolant tank out of the way. It has several lines in the way that gotta be removed to pull it, but once it's gone, looks like I can get in there if I put a spare universal elbow in my forearm. Hope I don't have to pull that black box. It almost looks like it is molded into the firewall!!

I guess there's no smart easy way to get it out. Looks tougher from the top than pulling the engine and tranny!!! Almost think it would be easier to just sweat a lot again this summer.

Dave

I'm not sure what your fender right behind the wheel on the outside looks like, but , can you take it out?

Denny

Denny,

Nope! Mine's a solid molded inner fender well....maybe if I pull the wheel, I could open up an access hole with a Sawzall but........ no guts. I promise... they built the car around the accumulator/dryer. What year is yours with the vent???

I put a complete after-market A/C unit on my '59 Chev Biscayne in about 4 hrs (not including the time it took to fab a compressor/alternator mounting bracket). That job looks like a piece of cake compared to what I see on this '78. Now I know why the previous owners never fixed this one. I'll keep you posted on my progress over the weekend if I can do it without using THOSE words. It may not really be THAT bad, but it sure looks that way.

BTW... I'm a kinda lazy shade-tree wrench....

Dave

Dave,

Sorry, I thought you had a hole between your wheel opening and door like mine. I have a 1982. I called it a vent, I guess it's a fender louver grill. Three screws and it's out. Sure makes it easy to unhook the line from the dryer.

Hope you don't have too much trouble.

Denny

I might just go out and trade it for an '82 on Monday!