Hi everyone, I was working in the engine bay today when I mistakenly disconnected one of the tubes off the AC compressor thinking it was something else (dont ask) and blew the line off. The freon went all over my face and filled up the garage. I am fine but I am wondering what the next step is. Should I just recharge the system? Or was there any damage done by this mistake. It is the middle of winter here in NJ so I dont need AC as of right now but I would like to fix the system before the spring comes along.

 

No real harm was done but I bet you had to change your shorts afterwards! That's a violent event. Assuming you closed it right away then you could probably just refill it. If you want to err on the side of caution, get a new receiver drier for $20 and then have the system recharged. Whatever you do you should do it soon. You don't really want it to sit with oxygen in the lines if you don't have to.

 

If the system was open to atmosphere at all, ie: all the pressure let out before you could seal it back up, the the correct way to repair it, is to evacuate the system and pull a vacuum on it for at least 20 minutes to remove any non compressible gasses (water vapor, humidity). Otherwise, you run the risk of a damaging the expensive compressor, or at the least a badly operating system due to freezing up metering devices. Just pay a trustworthy shop to evacuate and recharge the system properly for you, it's like $150, and cheap insurance to damaging the compressor. The other issue is the oil charge that was released when the system was opened, and you won't know how much or little was lost without the machinery at a shop, so again, you gamble with the longevity of the compressor. If you simply let a little spurt out and wanna charge it yourself, that is safe to do, but if you let the system discharge and fill your garage like you said, this needs to be done properly to save a big bill later.
I'm an ASE certified mechanic, with 15 yrs of shop exp, to qualify where I'm coming from

 

^^^ This is 100% right. When I said refill it I meant by a qualified shop, however it sort of sounds like I was suggesting some cans from the parts store. I was speaking about the integrity of the system's components as a result of the event, meaning that "refilling it" was all that it would need as opposed to replacing additional parts. Having seen these systems discharge before, I doubt it's possible to get it sealed back up with any meaningful charge in there. There is no "little spurt" when you disconnect a line, it's a violent event that's pretty much all or nothing for 75 or 80% of what's in there. Especially if you're not expecting it. Whether or not you change the drier really depends on if there's some small amount of positive charge in there, which would mean that at least no oxygen entered the system. But again, for $20 it seems foolish not to replace the drier, at which point oxygen would definitely enter the system. Someone posted something about a RockAuto clearance the other day and I noticed the driers were <$7. That's the only variable in my view, having it professionally recharged is not optional if you want the system to last.

 

I fully agree with what the others have said here - replace the receiver-drier and have the system professionally evacuated and recharged. Unless you happen to have the right tools and equipment for the job, it's not worth trying to do it yourself on several fronts. I've seen posts and videos showing how to rig up DIY vac equipment to evacuate the system, but for how little it costs to get the job done professionally it doesn't seem worthwhile to go DIY. I had a mobile mechanic come to me a few years ago and he charged ~$100, I recall. And, there's nothing unique about the A/C system in the DII. Any qualified mechanic can do the job.