[BigMF]

All, I'm an idiot. There, I've said it so you don't have to.

Second, I'm very new to working on BMW's. I have a couple of years of experience working on my Lexus LX570 but that is the limit of my hands-on experience.

I was working on my daughter's 2013 X3 X35i to replace the water pump and thermostat (PITA, but complete). I removed the intercooler to free up some room to work on it. Not believing all of the posts and YouTube videos stating that there was NOT a drain plug, I was delighted to see a plug at the bottom of the passenger side of the radiator. In my haste, I did not pause to do my research and determine that it was in fact what I believe is the A/C condenser. I proceeded to loosen the white plastic plug and was very fortunate indeed that I had my head back behind the lip of the bumper when the plug shot out at an extremely high speed along with all of the refrigerant. I did get a face full of the gas but had glasses on, fortunately.

Now that you've stopped laughing at me, perhaps you can give me some advice. First, I know I need to replace the desiccant/dryer pouch that also shot out and into my bucket full of coolant that I had already drained off the hard way. Is there any reason that the BMW version is $160'ish? I've found one on Amazon that says fits my daughter's car and looks identical for $20.

Second, I am fairly certain I'll need to take it to a shop to recharge the refrigerant properly because there is some kind of "vacuum" process that I know nothing about.

I'm in something of a quandary. I don't know if I should:

1. Option 1 - put the desiccant pouch back in the condenser and seal it up, replace the intercooler, refill the coolant and follow the self-bleeding steps and drive it 10 minutes to a shop for the A/C charging
2. Option 2 - Leave everything as is and get it towed to a shop to put the everything back together
3. Option 3 - put the desiccant pouch back in, replace the intercooler, refill the coolant, self-bleed, and get it towed to the shop
4. Option 4 - throw my tools away and start knitting

The biggest question for me, I guess is whether it's ok to put the desiccant pouch back in and go through the self-bleeding process which requires turning the ignition on (engine off) and heater to the max. Will that damage either the system or require me to replace the pouch again?

The second biggest question is whether it's ok to drive it with the system empty? I'd leave the A/C off during the drive to the shop of course.

[Barbera335]

Option 4

[richardodn]

Do not put the old, contaminated desiccant pouch back in. Seal up the A/C system as best you can, even if it's just tape over the hole. You're trying to prevent moisture from accumulating inside the system.

There's nothing magical about the BMW branded part. However, I'm not sure I'd trust the $15-20 part on Amazon. If that bag comes apart, your AC system is in for trouble. I'd figure out where you are going to take the car and let them replace the part. Tell them ahead of time in case there is lead time on the part. It's going to cost you more, but then there should be a warranty on the work.

Go ahead and put the cooling system back together yourself.

[BigMF]

Originally Posted by richardodn

Do not put the old, contaminated desiccant pouch back in. Seal up the A/C system as best you can, even if it's just tape over the hole. You're trying to prevent moisture from accumulating inside the system.

There's nothing magical about the BMW branded part. However, I'm not sure I'd trust the $15-20 part on Amazon. If that bag comes apart, your AC system is in for trouble. I'd figure out where you are going to take the car and let them replace the part. Tell them ahead of time in case there is lead time on the part. It's going to cost you more, but then there should be a warranty on the work.

Go ahead and put the cooling system back together yourself.

Thanks for the response! Yeah, I knew not to put the old pouch back in. However, I did put the plug back in a few minutes later to seal it back up even though the whole system was purged.

I don't mind taking the car somewhere for the A/C work but just didn't know if it was ok to drive it there with no refrigerant in the system. Part of the challenge is that I'll need to put the intercooler back in place in order to drive the car which means either putting the pouch in myself and sealing it up to drive it there.....or......leave the pouch out, put the intercooler back, drive it to the shop and have them take the intercooler back out to insert the pouch and finish the A/C work. This is all assuming it's ok to drive without refrigerant. It seems obvious that it would be ok because you could potentially have a leak which emptied the system while you continued to drive. However, I just don't want to compound my mistake and cause more damage.

Thanks again for the input!

[Opie55]

Originally Posted by BigMF

Thanks for the response! Yeah, I knew not to put the old pouch back in. However, I did put the plug back in a few minutes later to seal it back up even though the whole system was purged.

I don't mind taking the car somewhere for the A/C work but just didn't know if it was ok to drive it there with no refrigerant in the system. Part of the challenge is that I'll need to put the intercooler back in place in order to drive the car which means either putting the pouch in myself and sealing it up to drive it there.....or......leave the pouch out, put the intercooler back, drive it to the shop and have them take the intercooler back out to insert the pouch and finish the A/C work. This is all assuming it's ok to drive without refrigerant. It seems obvious that it would be ok because you could potentially have a leak which emptied the system while you continued to drive. However, I just don't want to compound my mistake and cause more damage.

Thanks again for the input!

You can drive it. Just turn the AC off.

[richardodn]

Again, I'd just put it back together and pay the shop. If you're going to have to spend the money, you might as well get a warranty on the work.