2016 3LT - A week ago, on my way home from work on Friday, In the phoenix heat, my air started to sputter like it was getting warm and cold and warm as if I was going WOT. Then she gave up the ghost. The rolled down the windows and when I came to stops, I could smell the unmistaken smell and taste of refridgerant....

Only place in Phoenix area was a vAutoZone in Mesa and I was not driving out to mesa for it, so they offered free next day delivery. I opted for it at 6pm, and they boxed it up and FedEx grabbed it and it sat in a Tempe wearhouse for 6 days.... I was hoping to get my AC Done that week. But when it didnt arrive, I went online and purchased a new kit from Rock Auto, where it included dryer pack, complete Orings, Compressor, Oil, Condenser, expansion valve, where the autozone one was just a compressor and expansion valve. Rock auto, with the EXACT same model/part numbers (four seasons) was 1/3 the cost with twice as much items included! (becasue no one in phoneix area has a condensor for it) so I purchased rock auto and WHEN Fedex finally delievered the kit, I returned it.

I then spent all day sunday during the cool spell in our weather (only 99 yesterday) putting in my new compressor and items.... Gotta say, the vette was relatively easy! I have a lift at my disposal tho. Compared to my GTO LS2, the vette is a ton of room... in the front! lol.

However, I broke the back of the compressor wire clip on the car, the old compressor slipped and hit the plastic and she broke, so I had to rig the CV connector on the rear of the compressor. I found a place on ebay for a new pigtail, so waiting for that to come in.

Question.... Does anyone know where the expantion valve is?!?!? On every vehicle I've worked on, its on the firewall where the Evaporator is bolted to the firewall on the inside. and ussually Stupid simple to replace. I can not find it anywhere!!!!! I followed the lines back and behind the engine, but the engine is SO CLOSE to the firewall, I can't see or even get my fat mitt's back there. So I hope the old evap is fine. I prefer to flush the lines, but I couldnt do that rully. The old AC didnt granade and send shrapnal all over inside the lines (had that happen many times before) So I think it will be okay. And to the engineer that designed the Low presure side valve between the firewall/coolent container/Coilpack/Valve cover/Plastic pretty covers/etc... you deserve a special place for that!!!! I had to take everything down to even the coil pack off to fit my finger tips to ever so slightly push the connectors on. Then removing it, i had to wait HOURS for it to cool off with an industrial fan on top of the engine laying down on it with a tornado of hot PHX air to make it cool enough to unplug. But yeah, if anyone can point me to the expantion valce, I would really appreciated it, incase I do have to replace it.


Side note, at 42k miles, my surpentine belt was looking dried and cracking, so new one on order, again, vAutoZone is $85 (even with commercial acocunt its like $60), when Rock auto acdelco OEM belt is $23. However, a twist! The belt tensioner was blown out and hydraulic fluid leaking down and nasty staining everything, Cleaned up, and RockAuto is more expencive @ $164 and vAutoZone is $103 (Special Order)!!! LOL.

 

My guess is the TVX is located on the evap coil itself, that where I'd look for it in a service manual of course.

 

It should be next to your brake booster on the firewall…how did the compressor fail ???…if internal damage and you see metal particles coming out of it you should be changing more than just your compressor…you will be sending this junk through the system and flushing will not get it out…watch the video.

 

Thank you for this!!! Nope, I thought it failed internal &external since living in Phoenix, I always see compressors fail by blowing up and locking up or internal blow up and send debris and junk. I've grown up doing mechanical work and have replaced so many ac systems before. It sucks but not hard. Only hard when it blows up and debris end up in the EVAP and you have to tear the dash apart to replace the evap as well. But every time I do a system I always replace the compressor condenser dryer, for ours the dryer is actually a sack of silica gel that is inside the condenser. That was a first for me.

But since I always see the compressor blowing up and having issues I assumed it was that in ordered everything. I start to take it all apart and it was still charged which took me by surprise. And so I evacuated that Yes I have an evacuated for it. And then I noticed that it was the clutch that actually completely blew up and disintegrated on it. Since my car has just under 40,000 mi And I have everything there with me since I already ordered it all, I decided to just go ahead and replace it all because with my luck I'd replace the clutch and then the AC compressor would blow 3 weeks later lol.

So I think it was just a clutch so there's no stuff inside the internal system. I still flushed with AC flush and all the lines as much as I could because I couldn't find the expansion valve so I had to do the individual lines and hope that that was good. But I've since got everything in up and running and working, but just have a question about the capacity. Since you sent that screenshot, I'm hoping you have access to the manual? And if you could tell me what the capacity is for R134A. Not sure if the sticker that I have on the side of the fender that says .600 kg or 600 g that equals to, or what it's for. Because it's unlike any AC capacity sticker I've ever seen. Usually the stickers are red and white and have a lot of words on it saying caution blah blah blah blah and a table of the refrigerant type and amount saying R134A x.xx oz, And then the oil type and amount as well. But the sticker just says a snowflake that says r134a and then underneath it didn't orange numbers it says.600kg So I don't know if that's an operating pressure or a capacity or what. And I've looked on the forums and there's multiple threads and every single one of them say a different thing for a C7 Corvette. So I don't know if there's multiple types of AC systems depending on the model or what. But mine is just a 2016 C7 3LT.

 

Go to your other post !!

 

Thank you! Replied! And showed a pick of the sticker on my fender. Your grid corresponds with my .600kg / 600g sticker!!

Also, here is a pic of the expansion valve "next" to the break booster. That picture shows it close and easy, it is literally behind the engine and the only way to get to it is engine out. It's the silver thing way back where the light is hitting it in my pic below. So thankfully it was not an internal grenade of the system. Lol.

My 05 GTO had an internal explosion failure. And it took me forever to flush all the crap out with a gallon of AC flush and compressed air.

 

Ha, ha GM thinks of everything. But they are not alone. I used to work as a Lexus tech. One time someone in the shop needed to do AC or heater work which needed to pull the big plastic box from the dash side of the firewall. So he got into the repair manual to get some clues. Step #1; Remove engine. Lexus had mounted that box w/ 2 studs and 2 bolts. The bolt heads were on the engine side of the firewall and couldn't even be seen w/ the engine in the car.

 

I stand corrected, C5 gets it right again.

 

^^Out of curiosity, what year/model Lexus was that?