What Ac part darts do I need?
 

Guys as fall comes around I'm going to start buying new Ac parts. I want to change everything under the hood. I live in south louisiana it 105 degrees here and the humity is like 14,000 % Everything except the evaporator core. What parts will I need and where to buy, what brand to buy? I have a 1991 Toyota pickup reg cab 2.4.

Compressor, condenser, high and low pressure hoses, low pressure switch, receiver/drier. Probably the belt and idler pulley if you're reallly that worried.

Where to buy? Auto parts stores? Automotive a/c shop?

compressor- ~220
condensor- ~180
receiver/drier- ~20
hoses- ~150 (for both)
switch- ~40

Is this really a do-it-yourself job? Don't you need a vacuum pump and a bunch of other specialized gear?

Okay, I already have more specialized gear than I should. What are the (special) tools one would need to tackle a job like this?

I have a buddy that has a mechanic shop and will let me borrow his vaccum and hose to refill. I was just confused if they have other parts other than compressor, hoses,condenser,and dryer.

Guessing, going from memory from the last part-out, at the simplest, the parts would be:

compressor
high pressure hose
dryer
high pressure hose
condensor
high pressure hose
evaporator
low pressure hose

Forgot exactly where the dryer fits in, and where the pressure switches are. I'm going to guess that all of the hoses would have to come from Toyota. The condensor, dryer, and compressor should all be purchasable from your local auto parts store, or eBay.

a/c is totally diy-able. All it really takes is a decent vacuum and gauge/manifold set, and a sniffer sure does help. It's not cheap, and you don't use the tools often, yet the actual doing the work is basic car maintenance. The hardest part is curbing the cursing, while trying to take apart the soft-metal junction nuts.