A/C coolant is leaking at the tiny brass ball valve attached to the compressor manifold hose, at the manifold "block" that fastens to the compressor. The valve is not shown on the parts diagram as a separate part, but it is shown as part of the manifold. It is threaded into the "block" so it comes out easily. I went to Mazda and they said you must buy the whole hose assembly, which I don't really need. I'm thinking that it's an off the shelf ball valve and wondering if anyone has had to deal with this issue, and maybe found a commercial part that works. I have no specs on it, but there are some numbers on it that might point in the right direction...

Thanks in advance!!

 

Can you show the picture? Mine was leaking at the o-rings of the manifold block. The o-rings are commercial parts, but just be aware it should be for coolant (normally it it colored green).

 

These parts in order to replace them you must evacuate to recover the refrigerant from the AC system. Most DIY do not have the equipment to do this. So you must rely on a shop. I recommend to look for a shop in USA that has ASE Certified Technician and outside the US look for shops that specialize in AC and heating service.

Many parts are individually available through auto parts distributors in the misc small parts indexing. This means that you really need to know exactly what you want to get the correct universal seal or part for the repair.

Evacuating (emptying) "any" AC systems refrigerant to atmosphere is illegal in most countries and damages the environment. Also incorrectly exposing an open to atmosphere AC system can cause other parts to prematurely fail or your AC system to work less efficiently.


Two systems on a vehicle that home DIY should really consider not to service without experience is the Brake system and the AC system!