[R129 SL] '91 500SL A/C problems

[Oldbenz1 at aol.com]

Recently the A/C in my '91 500SL began to blow warm air.  A local M-B  
repair facility quoted me more than $2500 for the fix.  The major problem  is a 
leaking hose at the compressor but of course, they apparently subscribe to  
the philosophy "never let a cash cow escape unmilked" so their estimate 
included  replacing a laundry list of hoses, seals, fittings, dryer, etc., etc. 
ad  infinitum.   Part of the "fix' included a conversion from freon12 to  
R134.  I've seen kits offered to accomplish this conversion for less than  
$50.00 and I would guess that the estimate  I received for that part of the  
job was grossly inflated.  I suspect that to replace the hose in question  is 
one of those things that requires many hours of labor, and I'd bet that  
suppliers of after-market parts sell the same hose for a fraction of the M-B  
price.   Here's are my questions:  if anyone out there has been  involved in 
a similar problem, can you give me tips about the difficulty of  replacing 
the hose, and do you have a source for the parts at humane  prices?   I have 
a fair amount of experience and may consider doing  the job myself, although 
I do not have the equipment to charge and test the  system once the new 
parts are installed so would have to have that done by a  professional A/C 
shop.    Any suggestions would be  appreciated.  
Rich Splaine 
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