I just bought a 2006 CAT D5G LGP (SN: RKG02621) at the beginning of the year and the seller got me. The belt was not on the compressor as he said it had broken. He had the new belt in the cab. Bottomline: I put the belt on only to find out the compressor was bad so I have ordered a new compressor, accumulator and orifice tube. I hope to have all the parts this weekend to be able to remove/install the new. My question is where is the orifice tube located that I need to replace? Is it located adjacent with the accumulator or is it located somewhere else that I have to find. Also, any tips on replacing this system?
The orifice tube is located in the Evaporator coil As #9.
Ok, now where is the evaporator coil located? Is that the attachment at the back of the roof cab? Or is this located somewhere inside a panel in the cab?
See the attachment in Post #2 above. It's the Remove/Install procedure for the evaporator.
Ok, thx Nige
My initial read says to remove the cab? This sounds like a major job...am I reading this correctly?
Yessir. Not a Saturday afternoon job that's for sure. The only possible alternative would be that if you could locate the orifice in the evaporator assembly and get access to it without removing the whole assembly. In that case the cab wouldn't need to be removed either.
Better stock up on some beer before you get started there.
Man, I'm crying here ...now what is the risk if I don't replace the orifice tube and just replace the compressor and accumulator?
a 50/50 chance of your a/c system working with any efficiency. Since you bought this machine not knowing any history behind the failure it would be wise to replace the orifice tube. There is a good chance it is already contaminated and plugged. Less crying and more bucking up for the repair! LOL
Nige, I believe that I found the orifice tube area...see attached photo and I may be able to get to it; however, I'm not so sure that I can unscrew and pull the tube out....as I'm not sure the two pipes once disconnected will have enough flex in them to bend to the side to extract the orifice tube. Also, take a close look at the surrounding area...it almost looks like there is blue dye sprayed on the coil maybe indicating a leak. I will do a pressure test to check for sure but initial look seems to be a leak.
A bit of a bummer if the coil is leaking but better to find it now than when you gas up the system.