Fix for the annoying 1.4L A/C suction hose

[BigLee]

So anybody that works on their 1.4L Sonic knows how annoying and in the way the A/C suction hose is.
It's just in the way of doing so many jobs on the engine.

Well, there is a solution if it bothers you enough.
Switch to the suction hose from a 1 4L Trax.
Be forewarned, its not a simple bolt-on, you have to do some minor mods to make it fit.

Basically, the mounting tab on the Trax hose has to be cut off because mounting tabs between the Sonic and Trax are opposite.
On the Sonic, where the two hoses mount to the frame, the suction hose tab is is on the bottom of the two hoses, and on the Trax, it's o the top.
So in order for the Trax hose to be held in place, a clamp has to be fabricated to hold it down.
A longer mounting stud has to be fabricated to allow for the extra clamp.
Required stud specs are M8 X 1 25 x 60.

Before and after:


This illustrates how the Trax suction hose routes between the compressor and frame:


More pics to come.

 

[BigLee]

This shows the modified Trax hose, stud, and fabricated clamp.
The red arrows show where the cut off tab came from, and the piece that was cut off.
Don't throw this piece out, it's still needed as a gap filler:

 

[BigLee]

This shows how everything reattches at the frame block:

 

[BigLee]

Trax hose installed:

 

[BigLee]

Trax hose installed on the compressor.
The stock high-side hose may have to be bent slightly to clear the new Trax hose.
I had to move mine slightly:

 

[BigLee]

More pics to come later.

 

[BigLee]

Basically, the Trax hose routes to the bottom side of the engine, whereas the stock Sonic hose routes to the top of the engine and gets in the way of doing several tasks.