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[MikeDundee]

Yes the MOT guy advised me of this, that there was/is a leak on my air con compressor, and that that bit was not renewed (which I knew of) when it was done last July. My query is does the compressor need to be completely renewed/replaced or can the leak not be fixed, and knowing how much it cost last year, I would assume it must be an expensive job?

By the way the air con ifs working fine, even with the so called leak.

[DaveL]

I think you will find it is a replace not repair.



There was a link on an earlier thread for discounted air con parts to forum members. Afraid it will probably be expensive but i have no knowledge on car air con systems only commercial ones.

Sure other peeps on site with more experience will help...stand by.
 8-)
DaveL

[Auto Addict]

RMcB may be able to get you one.

[MikeDundee]

I think you will find it is a replace not repair. Sure other peeps on site with more experience will help...stand by.
 8-)
DaveL

For it to be leaking then does that mean there is a crack or something in it, would assume if it is a replace, then whole system needs drained etc.., would it also mean re-gassing?

[Auto Addict]

I think you will find it is a replace not repair. Sure other peeps on site with more experience will help...stand by.
 8-)
DaveL

For it to be leaking then does that mean there is a crack or something in it, would assume if it is a replace, then whole system needs drained etc.., would it also mean re-gassing?

Yes.

[MikeDundee]

I think you will find it is a replace not repair. Sure other peeps on site with more experience will help...stand by.
 8-)
DaveL

For it to be leaking then does that mean there is a crack or something in it, would assume if it is a replace, then whole system needs drained etc.., would it also mean re-gassing?

Yes.

  it aint gonna be cheap then  

[MikeDundee]

Can you see the compressor when you lift the bonnet, where exactly is it?

[Auto Addict]

I think you have to get to it from underneath.

[Admin]

Compressor is at the front, bottm right item driven off the aux belt.

If there is a leak, it will be on one of the 2 pipe unions I suspect.
Matchless will know as his knowledge is far superior to mine.

As for replacement? Well a decent 2nd hand one should be £50 although it may need the bearings replaced (easy job I am informed).

So even with a regas I would say £100 at worst.

[MikeDundee]

Compressor is at the front, bottm right item driven off the aux belt.

If there is a leak, it will be on one of the 2 pipe unions I suspect.
Matchless will know as his knowledge is far superior to mine.

As for replacement? Well a decent 2nd hand one should be £50 although it may need the bearings replaced (easy job I am informed).

So even with a regas I would say £100 at worst.

Bearings, interesting, thats what they said had gone last year when I had it repaired, i'll need to check the receipt. They did'nt replace the compressor last year just the shiny bit at the right hand side of the engine bay and a pipe or two, they said the bearings had went on that.

[amba]

Had new compressor fitted on mine about 6 weeks ago as with the dye test it was leaking..was davised that as with allold parts..once one bit goes it is the constant replacement of bit at a time...would suspect you have a similar situation ..from memory the compressor was about £220..condensor/radiator again about £150=00 with a couple nore £,s for a drier..thought if it was allshowing leaks bettter to do it a finish..with the regassing and labour didn,t get any change out of £500=00(sorry if that makes it sound worse..actually when I was typing it it made me winse)..anyway that is as bad as it will get..second hand parts seem false economy as watching the compressor being replaced it was a difficult job and needed 4 hands as in usual difficult place with top bolt..best of luck with "keeping cool"..incidentley mine still worked with several leaks but suspect it was only a matter of time before it stopped and the waste of money regassing system

[Marks DTM Calib]

Need to know where the leak is from.....it might simply be the compressor to pipe seals.....or even some dye that was not cleaned off from the previous repair.

I assume both caps are fitted to the low and high side schrader valves?

[x25xe]

You say that the system is still working fine.  How cold is it?  Did you use it yesterday when it was quite hot and did it cool the car?  A non technical test I use is put the A/C on, fan speed fairly low and breathe out slowly into the stream of air.  If your breath condenses (i.e. you see steam) then the system is cooling adequately.

If the above is the case, I wonder if you have a leak at all.  How do the MOT people know that you have a leak?  Did they do any sort of test?  Is there UV Dye in the system?

[MikeDundee]

Need to know where the leak is from.....it might simply be the compressor to pipe seals.....or even some dye that was not cleaned off from the previous repair.

I assume both caps are fitted to the low and high side schrader valves?

Ain't got a clue Mark, have'nt even looked yet, don't think I'd be able to get under the car anyway too low. Might need to ask the mechanic if he can throw it up on the ramp so I can have a look, might pop round there in a minute, take some pics and post them up for comments. I just had the car in getting all the seals on the engine done and the diff leaked fixed.

[amba]

The guy who checked my car for leaks put dye into the system then used what looked like a probe that emmited bleeps..constant sound seemed to indicate a leak so agree that dye under ultra violet light is not totally conclusive..get it properly sniffed.

[MikeDundee]

You say that the system is still working fine.  How cold is it?  Did you use it yesterday when it was quite hot and did it cool the car?  A non technical test I use is put the A/C on, fan speed fairly low and breathe out slowly into the stream of air.  If your breath condenses (i.e. you see steam) then the system is cooling adequately.

If the above is the case, I wonder if you have a leak at all.  How do the MOT people know that you have a leak?  Did they do any sort of test?  Is there UV Dye in the system?

The air con is working fine had it on yesterday, just for a short while though but cold air pretty quick; there is dye in the system from when they done it last year, they left a sticker under the bonnett advising of the dye.

I have just been running the engine with air con on full, air con is working fine no problem there, the only water under the car (under the passenger footwell) which I assume is coming from the air con system has no signs of any dye in it, unless needs checking under flourescent light or something. no signs of anything leaking under the bonnet either.  :-/ :-?

[markrl]

The water under the car will be simply condensation fron the cold pipes etc showing that the A/C system is running and is quite normal. If your still worried about leaks you need to get it checked by someone with the correct equipment, however its sounds like its running fine and may have been a false alarm.

[x25xe]

its sounds like its running fine and may have been a false alarm.

Agreed.

[MikeDundee]

Thanks for all the advice lads, could well be just a false alarm, I'll keep an eye on it for now

[Admin]

The schraeder valves are easy to spot. The 2 air con pipes on the right side of the engine bay, near the front have valves on them. These should be sealed with what can be best described as oversized dust caps! If you can see the valves (think of oversized tyre valves) then you need the caps as they seal the valves.

[MikeDundee]

The schraeder valves are easy to spot. The 2 air con pipes on the right side of the engine bay, near the front have valves on them. These should be sealed with what can be best described as oversized dust caps! If you can see the valves (think of oversized tyre valves) then you need the caps as they seal the valves.

Yes I do recall seeing them, I will double check tomorrow, its pissing rain outside at the moment - I don't want to soumnd stupid but what have these valves got to do with the compressor?

[cdx25]

The schraeder valves are easy to spot. The 2 air con pipes on the right side of the engine bay, near the front have valves on them. These should be sealed with what can be best described as oversized dust caps! If you can see the valves (think of oversized tyre valves) then you need the caps as they seal the valves.

Yes I do recall seeing them, I will double check tomorrow, its pissing rain outside at the moment - I don't want to soumnd stupid but what have these valves got to do with the compressor?

Not a lot - they are charging and gauge points, but they are a good potential for being the source of any leak...  Which might otherwise get blamed on the compressor.  

[MikeDundee]

The schraeder valves are easy to spot. The 2 air con pipes on the right side of the engine bay, near the front have valves on them. These should be sealed with what can be best described as oversized dust caps! If you can see the valves (think of oversized tyre valves) then you need the caps as they seal the valves.

Yes I do recall seeing them, I will double check tomorrow, its pissing rain outside at the moment - I don't want to soumnd stupid but what have these valves got to do with the compressor?

Thanks for that, thought it might be

Not a lot - they are charging and gauge points, but they are a good potential for being the source of any leak...  Which might otherwise get blamed on the compressor.  

[Matchless]

Mike, the bearings you had replaced were almost certainly in the compressor pulley, there are others inside the compressor its-self but it is a ful re-con job to replace those.

If the compressor has any leak visible to an MoT man it would be some of the lubricating oil and will be flourescent green or yellow due to the dye. Any oil leak will also be losing refrigerant so eventually the system will shutdown due to low refrigerant pressure. Leave it alone and see what happens.

Could the MoT guy have seen oil which had run down onto the compressor from a leaking camcover?
When the A/c is working it will condense moisture from the air, this drains from pipes either side of and above the gearbox. This will be clean water.
If there is any sign of antifreeze coloured (or smelling) water dripping from the same area its likely to be the heater by-pass valve.

[MikeDundee]

Mike, the bearings you had replaced were almost certainly in the compressor pulley, there are others inside the compressor its-self but it is a ful re-con job to replace those.

If the compressor has any leak visible to an MoT man it would be some of the lubricating oil and will be flourescent green or yellow due to the dye. Any oil leak will also be losing refrigerant so eventually the system will shutdown due to low refrigerant pressure. Leave it alone and see what happens.

Could the MoT guy have seen oil which had run down onto the compressor from a leaking camcover?
When the A/c is working it will condense moisture from the air, this drains from pipes either side of and above the gearbox. This will be clean water.
If there is any sign of antifreeze coloured (or smelling) water dripping from the same area its likely to be the heater by-pass valve.

Thats right, e.g., what happened yesterday when I left it running to check , the camcover seals have all just been done. The bits replaced when done last year are as follows:

Part no; 52482791 set tank dehydrato
Part no; 9146202 pipe-aircon

Inlcuded all the checks for leaks fourodye, regas, refridgerant etc.