Did I ruin my A/C receiver drier??
 

While refurbishing the entire A/C system on my '85 3.2, i made the newbie mistake of connecting the receiver drier to the a/c hoses about 2 weeks ago and am about a week away from pulling a vacuum and then charging the system.

All that said, the system is essentially 'closed' as all the a/c system hoses are connected to their respective components, but since the drier was in essence exposed to the elements of air during this time, albeit the small amount that's floating around in the barrier hoses, do I need to replace the drier, and if so, what are everyone's thoughts on the $39 Uro brand, vs. Kuehl's $69, vs. Hansa's $150 version (i'm not considering the ProCool due to price).

Thanks to all in advance for your feedback.

How old is the receiver drier? If its brand new I would think the minuscule amount of air in the hose should not affect it to a significant degree. If it's the original one I would not use it.

I can't comment on the different brands.

+1 - Keep only if brand new.

If only a few years old, treat as if original and discard. Not worth the risk given other work you have put into the system.

The drier was indeed brand new when installed. It was exposed to the 'elements' for about 5 min. while I hooked up the hoses so it seems from what i'm hearing i should be ok. I'm still interested in folks opinions on the different drier makes and if one is indeed better/worth-the-money than either of the others.

Thanks for the feedback so far guys, much appreciated.

Hans,

Just go through the proper evacuation procedure and you should be OK with your drier; unless you left it out in the rain.

A friend works for Chryco on the production line, right beside one of the great lakes. (very humid in the summer) Technical bulletins would circulate all the time about receiver drier issues. Some initial tests showed that up to 7% of them from the factory where 100% used up and the majority where at 60%+ used up......I would say your good to go.

"....100% used up..."

Reduced to operational level during system evacuation.

Thanks for the feedback everyone - I'm going to stick with it (not replace) and see how it goes.

H