A/C Accumulator Box Arrived Rough

[TallGuy]

I'm replacing my ac system.

Today my replacement Accumulator arrived and the box is pretty rough. Would you install this or send it back? It is from Amazon. I planned to tackle the project this weekend but I don't want to install if it's questionable. Small dent with scratches on the component.

Not sure if this is cosmetic nonsense or not.

 

[Chris]

It would almost certainly work but I'd send it back just because I'd rather play things safe.

Nothing like having to drain and fill an A/C system twice.

 

[Daryl]

I wouldn’t accept that from my local store and would not accept it from Amazon either.

 

[Unique Username]

Ain’t nothing inside it. If it was me and I was on a deadline I would install it. If you don’t like the look of it, send it back. I’ll bet a local store has one available tomorrow. As of late, O’Riley’s has beat Amazon on pricing in Arizona. You can also call and have them order it for pick up. Not AutoZone. You have to go in and pay for them to order it.

 

[Longwhitejeep]

I would send it back. I had to send a condenser back to jeep Air once because they stuff the drier in the condensor box which bowed the condenser.

 

[NskLJ]

Ain’t nothing inside it. If it was me and I was on a deadline I would install it. If you don’t like the look of it, send it back. I’ll bet a local store has one available tomorrow. As of late, O’Riley’s has beat Amazon on pricing in Arizona. You can also call and have them order it for pick up. Not AutoZone. You have to go in and pay for them to order it.

There should be a desiccant bag inside, but from Amazon who knows

 

[Unique Username]

There should be a desiccant bag inside, but from Amazon who knows

I used to cut them open and make coolant overflow tank out of them and never once did I find anything inside. Maybe they have since added something or I was possibly getting cheap aftermarket stuff.

 

[KennethS]

I used to cut them open and make coolant overflow tank out of them and never once did I find anything inside. Maybe they have since added something or I was possibly getting cheap aftermarket stuff.

Two versions I found online:

 

[Unique Username]

Two versions I found online:

View attachment 690626


View attachment 690627

Doesn’t look like anything that would be affected by a dent in the side.

I would still run it and not look back.

 

[NskLJ]

I used to cut them open and make coolant overflow tank out of them and never once did I find anything inside. Maybe they have since added something or I was possibly getting cheap

I used to cut them open and make coolant overflow tank out of them and never once did I find anything inside. Maybe they have since added something or I was possibly getting cheap aftermarket stuff.

The location of the dryer will depend on the system. If the system has an expansion valve the dryer will usually be in the liquid line between the condenser and expansion valve. Commonly found mounted to the condenser. The CCOT ( orfice tube) systems will have the dryer in the suction line accumulator commonly mounted at the firewall. My only concern would be if the bag got damaged. If the desiccant bag got damaged it is basically sand which gets run through the system, not good replace or flush everything.

 

[Unique Username]

The location of the dryer will depend on the system. If the system has an expansion valve the dryer will usually be in the liquid line between the condenser and expansion valve. Commonly found mounted to the condenser. The CCOT ( orfice tube) systems will have the dryer in the suction line accumulator commonly mounted at the firewall. My only concern would be if the bag got damaged. If the desiccant bag got damaged it is basically sand which gets run through the system, not good replace or flush everything.View attachment 690682

For sure, my money would be the bag is fine. If you have ever held one you would know they are very flexible and don’t damage easy. That little dent in the OP photo wouldn’t have made contact.
AC manufacturer rule is you replace that drier any time any part is replaced. I personally have opened hundreds of AC systems and not replaced it and the system still hit 500k miles and was sold without issue. Having spent most of my life maintaining a fleet of over the road trucks I have installed a crazy amount of questionable driers with bent lines, dents, scraps and i would install this one. Most modern equipment has an expansion valve but most of the older stuff I once worked on was all orifice tube and that desiccant material would settle in the bottom of the dryer as with any other contaminant in the system. We always buy a drier but with how hard they are to get on some equipment we only replace them if the system has contamination. 7/10 go in the trash and are only purchased to please the manufacturer of the compressor. You can see in the picture how the inlet tube is way up high and everything else including oil stays in the bottom. Like an oil bath air filter.
That being said, I still stand behind my original statement. If it bothers the OP, head down to the local auto parts store and scoop up another one.

I tried to find one in the garage to open up for some photos but can’t locate one. I’ll see if I can scoop one up.
I don’t have one from any of my Jeeps as I never replace them if the line flush clean.

 

[NskLJ]

For sure, my money would be the bag is fine. If you have ever held one you would know they are very flexible and don’t damage easy. That little dent in the OP photo wouldn’t have made contact.
AC manufacturer rule is you replace that drier any time any part is replaced. I personally have opened hundreds of AC systems and not replaced it and the system still hit 500k miles and was sold without issue. Having spent most of my life maintaining a fleet of over the road trucks I have installed a crazy amount of questionable driers with bent lines, dents, scraps and i would install this one. Most modern equipment has an expansion valve but most of the older stuff I once worked on was all orifice tube and that desiccant material would settle in the bottom of the dryer as with any other contaminant in the system. We always buy a drier but with how hard they are to get on some equipment we only replace them if the system has contamination. 7/10 go in the trash and are only purchased to please the manufacturer of the compressor. You can see in the picture how the inlet tube is way up high and everything else including oil stays in the bottom. Like an oil bath air filter.
That being said, I still stand behind my original statement. If it bothers the OP, head down to the local auto parts store and scoop up another one.

I tried to find one in the garage to open up for some photos but can’t locate one. I’ll see if I can scoop one up.
I don’t have one from any of my Jeeps as I never replace them if the line flush clean.

I have done thousands of A/C system on automobiles. I don’t think it would be an issue but the downside if the bag is damaged is not worth it. Most automobiles I have seen are still using orfice tube system, expansion valves work better but are more expensive to produce. The desiccant will travel through the system and plug the orfice or expansion valve and the contamination is not easy to flush without special equipment.

 

[Unique Username]

I have done thousands of A/C system on automobiles. I don’t think it would be an issue but the downside if the bag is damaged is not worth it. Most automobiles I have seen are still using orfice tube system, expansion valves work better but are more expensive to produce. The desiccant will travel through the system and plug the orfice or expansion valve and the contamination is not easy to flush without special equipment.

For sure, it’s always a possibility.

Fun story. The company I worked for for well over a decade had over 100,000 trucks on the road. While manufacturers recommendations were always reviewed, we had inner company policy that superseded manufacturers recommendations. Do to pressure from shareholders to reduce SRT and increase equipment utilization we had to find measures to meet the requirements internally. We stopped replacing the driers as well as a few other parts during regular maintenance and were able to meet the requirements set forth. None of the locations nation wide reported an increase in repairs on AC units. The few times we would replace them was when a unit was under warranty and we had to send the dryer in with the other parts.

This type of repairs became expedited during covid. We were getting seriously crafty to keep equipment on the road due to parts shortages. JB welding cylinders heads, mixing motor oil types and plugging tires on heavy equipment. It was bad. Unfortunately this led the bean counters to get excited as they saw just how much money we could save by being this cheap. They loved how we cheaply repaired equipment. From that point there was no turning back, they were not gonna listen to any reason as to why we should go back to the old ways. That was the end of my career in over the road trucks as corporate America had become the cause of shady maintenance standards.

 

[TallGuy]

Great feedback here, thank you. I never knew what these were made of inside. The dent was concerning but now I think I'm ok with how this looks. I'll go ahead and hook her up as is!

 

[NskLJ]

For sure, it’s always a possibility.

Fun story. The company I worked for for well over a decade had over 100,000 trucks on the road. While manufacturers recommendations were always reviewed, we had inner company policy that superseded manufacturers recommendations. Do to pressure from shareholders to reduce SRT and increase equipment utilization we had to find measures to meet the requirements internally. We stopped replacing the driers as well as a few other parts during regular maintenance and were able to meet the requirements set forth. None of the locations nation wide reported an increase in repairs on AC units. The few times we would replace them was when a unit was under warranty and we had to send the dryer in with the other parts.

This type of repairs became expedited during covid. We were getting seriously crafty to keep equipment on the road due to parts shortages. JB welding cylinders heads, mixing motor oil types and plugging tires on heavy equipment. It was bad. Unfortunately this led the bean counters to get excited as they saw just how much money we could save by being this cheap. They loved how we cheaply repaired equipment. From that point there was no turning back, they were not gonna listen to any reason as to why we should go back to the old ways. That was the end of my career in over the road trucks as corporate America had become the cause of shady maintenance standards.

The accumulator probably will be fine. The manufacturers changed the procedure under warranty not to replace the accumulator dryer which was a cost cutting measure. I did have the experience of working for Ford when they had the Black Death failures ( look it up ) it would coat the inside of every component with black goo. Oil failure causing compressor failure if every component was not replaced or flushed the goo would turn to liquid and destroy the new system. Each component would take over an hour to flush. Had a limo with 5 evaporators in it. Total pain.
You talk about patching equipment, after Ford I went to the waterfront (port of LA/LB) the equipment runs 18-24 hours a day, we patch together everything until it comes in for service. We had a manager that extended the routine service bad idea. The equipment got bad pretty quick. My partner and I found some hoist chains where the pins were coming out. The manufacturer engineers came out, around 26 machines went down that day. From there it went to tires and turbos. Needless to say that manager wasn’t around for all that.

 

[Link]

It should be sealed. The dents don’t bother me. What DOES bother me is the possibility someone installed it and then removed it. If they opened the ports for any substantial length of time, moisture got in and absorbed into the desiccant. The desiccant can’t take too much moisture before it’s saturated. I’d return for replacement not because of the dents but because it’s possible it’s been open to the atmosphere.