[HayZee518]

if there were no isolation valves in the system, then a complete draw down would have been necessary. any tech who knows his stuff will use the vacuum pump in his business. sometimes they use a tool which crimps the tubing shut so they can remove a component but after the component is replaced they must use the same tool to bring the tubing back to being round. in my opinion this is a rube goldberg repair - I don't like it! there will be weak spots where the tubing was crimped. I looked at a site and most freon leaks are at the schrader access valves caps. Here's a pix of the reversing valve.