[san rensho]

I did what Meir describes on my Saab when I replaced a leaking hose on it. I just capped the openings as soon as i disconnected the hose to minimize the air getting into the system. After replacing the hose, I refilled it with 2 or 3 cans of R134 and it worked fine for years.

Not very environmentally friendly and not very accurate on the oil/refrigerant ratio, but what can I say. If I had to do it on my P-car, I would replace the parts myself, and then bite the bullet and have an AC shop evacuate and refill the system to make sure the refrigerant and oil are up to spec.