Well I'll be! You learn something new everyday! I had a problem with my A/C leaking at the port and spent hours on the internet trying to figure out how to repair it. All I could find was that the rubber ball valve is just to keep the stuff in long enough for you to get the cap on. The stuff I read said the cap was the primary sealing device. So I went and bought new caps (one was cracked from being over tightened). Problem solved. I wonder why in all the searching I did, no one mentioned that the ports come apart like that? I was on A/C-refrigertion sites where they should have known......... Well thanks for the education guys, I'll remember that for next time!