GM Parts 15-5378 Air Conditioning Orifice Tube

Perfect fit and doing great

If your changing out your locked up AC compressor, your going to need to replace this orifice tube.Make sure to responsibly reclaim the refrigerant/Freon before opening any part of the AC system to avoid injury and damage to the environment (jiffy lube does this as part of an AC recharge package or on its own for about $80 with their promotions. Application was a 2001 GMC Yukon XL V8 Vortec.The orifice tube is located in one of the lines leading to the accumulator and if it's been in their a while it could be difficult to remove. The easiest way to remove it is to pre-lubricate the line where the orifice tube sits it with the AC flush which should be used before recharging the system to clean out oils, residue and metal that your now defunct AC compressor probably back washed into the AC system before dying out. I used Supercool Auto A/c Power Clean & Flush aerosol can purchased at PepBoys to flush these contaminants that can ruin your new compressor out. I then used a small craftsman air compressor (nothing too fancy) to "shoot" air through that particular line. The line had three ends when not attached to the compressor (Denso 471-0316 New Compressor with Clutch), two ends attach to the compressor forming a "y" on one end and the other end is one single line with the orifice tube sitting near the opening that connects to the accumulator. So I sealed one of the two open ends with my thumb, shot air through the adjacent opening and waited a few seconds and suddenly the orifice tube literally shoots out with force through the third opening! Make sure you and anyone helping are wearing safety goggles because it does shoot out using this method along with any excess AC line cleaner and anything else that might be in there. You could also use some thin needle nose pliers to try and pull it out. The longer that tube has sat in there, the harder it is to get out with pliers but pre-lubing with the flush should help. It is very frustrating and can be time consuming to try and fish it out, more so if it happens to break inside the tube so I opted to go straight for the flush and air compressor technique which took a few seconds of pressure to build up in the tube before it finally shooting out. Once removed, just push the new one in place and reattach the line when ready. The line reattachment will push in the tube a bit further if needed so you don't have to worry much about whether the tube is too far in or not far enough. My suggestion is take a quick look or take a picture with your phone at how far the tube sits in the line before removing it so you know how far to push it in. It will stop since that end is built to accept the orifice tube and won't go in to far per say but I wouldn't be too rough since the orifice tube is plastic.In addition to replacing this orifice tube along with the accumulator (ACDelco 15-10422 GM Original Equipment Air Conditioning Accumulator), I recommend replacing the tensioner (ACDelco 38159 Professional Automatic Belt Tensioner and Pulley Assembly ) and AC belt (ACDelco 4K378 Professional V-Ribbed Serpentine Belt ) at this time. You may also want to check your high side port pressure core valves (ACDelco 15-5438 GM Original Equipment Air Conditioning Service Valve) for leaks while you are at it since the high side goes bad and all your work can be for nothing if you have a Freon coolant leak on a $6 valve. I have a review on the core valve and several of the other parts listed in this review posted as well as part of my AC compressor replacement. Hopes this helps someone out or at least points you in the right direction.

Fit perfect

The orifice tube Is a very low priced component but it is also an extremely important part of the AC system. It serves two purposes, it filters out most contaminants from the oil and liquid refrigerant and also provides the correct pressure differential that is crucial to the proper and efficient performance of an air conditioning system.A partially clogged orifice tube will not provide the proper reduction of refrigerant pressure which will translate in inefficient cooling of passenger compartment air and increased strain on the compressor and other components. A severely or completely obstructed orifice tube will inevitably result in compresor failure.Before recharging your AC system always replace the orifice tube, the few "extra" dollars spent and minimal additional repair work will go a long way towards ensuring the system operates as efficiently as it can operate and lasts as long as it should last.This orifice tube fit my 2003 GMC Yukon XL with rear AC perfectly. I understand there are two different sizes of orifice tubes and newer or different trucks use the "2nd design", which is larger in diameter.The outside diameter of the AC line where the (1st design) orifice tube is housed on my truck is exactly .500", if the line is larger than that, it means it takes the "2nd design" orifice tube.Overall I'm satisfied wit the quality of this AC Delco part, and recommend it to any one planning to work an air conditioning system.I have attached a picture of the orifice tube removed, which shows significant obstruction caused by very fine metal shavings.An important word of caution, i f you intent to work on your AC and if the system is still pressurized, please take it to a professional shop an have the system purged or drained by a professional certified technician using the correct equipment and procedures.

This product I am sure is fine - however I ordered for a 2006 Yukon XL SLT with rear air. It does not fit this vehicle even though the fitment denotes it does. After researching this product it only fits a only Generation (1) systems and my year Yukon has a Generation (2) system - which is a larger and much different orifice tube. So do your homework first before ordering. Amazon as always took the item back and issued a refund without an issue.

If you are ordering this orifice tube, take a look at your old one - if it is all gunked up with little metal chips and if your compressor has failed, go ahead and order yourself a new condenser (the radiator-like thing in front of the radiator). Also consider replacing the hoses. (And *always* replace the accumulator - they are relatively cheap.)On a 1995 GMC 1500, the orifice tube slides inside the straight section of pipe at the bottom of the condenser (where the hose connects). When installing the new one, put some PAG oil on the o-ring of the new orifice tube, and then slide it in far enough that the o-ring seats completely. This system does not have an expansion valve, so this orifice tube is doing a critical job - it needs to be installed so that the o-ring forms a good seal.If your vacuum pump has been sitting around for awhile, replace the pump oil in it with brand-new oil (ex. "Robinair 13203.0 Premium High Vacuum Pump Oil - 1 Quart"). Your old vacuum pump is probably fine, but it won't pull a good vacuum with old oil (the oil is hygroscopic and absorbs moisture from the air).

I tried using a needle nose on my 02 tahoe and it was a nightmare and it came out super clean. I bought "iFixit Precision Tweezers Set" and used it to pull out the same one on my 07 Duramax, it was a breeze and that one came out dirty.