Bloody aircon!

[puggy]

Matt it all reminds me of the long running saga i had with my air con, started
with a leak test , condensor gone , replaced it and refilled , only lasted a couple of
weeks pipes found to be fooked , only came as a pair bastard of a job so had em
done at stealers , pipes + labour £300 lasted a few weeks . Took it to kwik sh*t
for leak test and refill , oh its fine sir no leaks everything working lasted a few
weeks then compressor got noisy , bastards at kwik sh*t had just pumped as much
coolant in as they could and took me money Decided to investigate myself and
found it had been the pressure switch all along only problem was the continual
leaking of gas & oil had fooked the compressor £600 ish from stealers dropped on
brand new one on fleabay £95 been fine ever since

[mjb]

Urgh. The pipe in question, if that is where the leak is, is actually part 6460Q2 and only £99.38. Unfortunately it's the pipe that goes from the bottom of the radiator all the way up to the bulkhead

I think it may well be that pipe as for some reason the joint (or what I think is the joint...) has a load of insulation tape around it at the worst of the oil accumulation



Need to know if a used part will be ok...

[puggy]

should think so , must be a way you can test it before fitting , seal the
ends and hold it in a bath of water looking for air bubbles ??

[STALLED]

Does anywhere to a UV test? I reckon thats going to be the easiest way to source the leak!

[Welly]

You take a gamble with second hand aluminium pipes and fittings, they might look ok but may leak under pressure. You will most likely have to dig around a scrapper and remove the pipe yourself before you can get a good look at the thing

Loads of insulation tape around the pipe? then water will have got in there and encouraged the corrosion, this is why the pipes normally rot at the bracket position - a combination of water, dirt and friction

Can't you take the Golf on holiday and save yourself the stress this week?

If you do buy second hand or new don't forget to buy new O rings and try to smear some *clean* refrigerant oil on the seal.

[mjb]

Can't you take the Golf on holiday and save yourself the stress this week?

It's overdue a full (cambelt ) service, the exhaust's hanging on for dear life, the seats would probably cripple me after the first few hundred miles, the diesel clatter would do my head in and I'd roll it into the channel if I had to listen to its awful stereo for that long (plus it's only got a 6 cd changer, no mp3 capability so I'd have to change discs every few hours too)

I'm also going to be going to do a few laps of the Nurburgring... and I don't think I'd enjoy it too much in a 115bhp diesel golf with the world's worst ditchfinders on it that goes into limp-home mode at 70mph

It'll also cost a lot more, as the little TDI can only manage 45mpg on the motorway for some reason whereas at 60mph the coupé will give me 55+mpg

The coupé's getting its aircon fixed, or we're going to sweat!

If you do buy second hand or new don't forget to buy new O rings and try to smear some *clean* refrigerant oil on the seal.

Anywhere I can get these O rings apart from the dealer? Where can I buy this oil from? Can I just use 10W40 or DOT4?

Interestingly, there doesn't seem to be any seals/gaskets on servicebox between where the pipes join each other

[Welly]

The O rings must come from the dealer but beware they might order the wrong ones and drop you in the sh*t at the last minute, any doubt then order a full set?

The oil is not mega-essential but you may be lucky to find a dab of clear oil in one of the pipes, it'll only need a drop to help the seal. Don't spray anything else on them as they might swell up or something.

So you're going to replace the pipe and then go for another vac and re-gas?

[eoin27]

It'll also cost a lot more, as the little TDI can only manage 45mpg on the motorway for some reason whereas at 60mph the coupé will give me 55+mpg

There is something seriously wrong if a TDi is less economical than a 3.0 V6. Get shut of it mate!

[plod]

Was talking to someone tonight and he'd had the aircon regassed at kwik sh*t last week, and this week it's no good again.

Me thinks kwik sh*t haven't got a clue what they're doing with aircon!

[Doggy]

Me thinks kwik sh*t haven't got a clue what they're doing with aircon!

Have to disagree strongly with the above statement.

The last two words are superfluous.

[Welly]

I've experienced a few 'specialists' with air con and they all seem to pressure test to differing limits one guy would only test to 150psi whereas the next guy went to 250psi saying that you need this to uncover any small leak and that your car is capable of these pressures on a hot day - this particular guy was brilliant and 100% trusty. I say 'was' - he's retired now

We do keep hearing though of people going to Kwikies for a re-gas and a week later...........

[mjb]

Me thinks kwik sh*t haven't got a clue what they're doing with aircon!

Well duh! They don't have to... they just put the car details into a computer, hook up a hose to the filling point and let the computer do the work

Mind you, it wouldn't surprise me if some of the muppets enter every car as an AC Cobra because it's top of the drop-down menu....

[mjb]

I've checked everything out with my now-working-again PP2000, and the pressure switch is fine, the compressor clutch is fine, the internal, external and evaporator temperature sensors are fine, the sunshine sensor is fine, the recirc flap is fine, the blower is fine, the through-the-evaporator-or-not flap is fine and the vent selection mechanism is fine too.

Looking at the evaporator temperature sensor output, it seems the aircon *IS* actually working, just not very well, as it can reduce the air temperature a whopping 1.8 degrees...

I've taken it to a recommended AC specialist this morning for diagnosis/repair, and am getting extremely anxious to hear what he has to say

Hopefully it's just Kwik-fit under pressurising it or something, or I'd even be over the moon to hear it needs a new condenser (as I can get one pronto from eurocarparts), but I've got a horrible nagging feeling it's going to be the pipe set going from the compressor and drier all the way to the centre of the bulkhead.

If it is I guess I've got to make a tough decision about whether or not to try to fix it before going to Germany as it won't be an easy fix. ALL the air piping will have to come out along with the battery, possibly ABS unit, possibly gearbox mount, strut brace (dropping the struts from the car in the process) and inlet manifold (for which I'd have to pray I can re-use the gasket as I won't be able to get another in time). The radiator will also have to come out too along with the pipes to give me access to the connection at the condenser... and after all that I'd have to hope the corrosion on the pipes going into the bulkhead isn't enough to cause too much damage when I try to pull them off... and then I'd have to hope the replacement isn't damaged

I know I'm the type to expect the worst, but God I hope it won't come to that...

[puggy]

Now you know why it cost me £300 at the stealers , fingers crossed for you matt !!!

[mjb]

Just had the phone call, and it's worse than I thought. Not only is the pipe to the bulkhead gone, but also the pipe to the condenser, which I don't have a spare for. CRAP!