Air conditioning hoses question

[xjarayax]

On the 3.8's the AC lines are ran very poorly, and it spreads the excess hose out in front of the engine. Well alas, I need that room to mount the turbo.

If I take off the AC lines at the compressor- is it pressurized? Is there anything I have to keep in mind about?

I will be using a pipe bender to bend the piece of aluminum that the rubber line goes into out of the air conditioning unit, between that and the compressor.

It will straighten out, and then I will cut the hose and it'll be out of the way.

But like I said, I need to know if by taking off that AC hose I'm going to have a huge mess or not.

Thanks

[PiLOTLiTE]

It is under pressure, there is about 1.5 pounds of r-134a sitting inside those lines. While r-134a does not harm the o-zone layer like the previous r-12 (also known as freon), it is still prohibited to release it in the open air. That said, you can release the pressure at any point where the ac lines are joined by a bolt. When you crack them open, just be careful not to have your hand get caught in the spray for too long, or you'll get immediate frostbite. :D