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New AC Condensers

deMort said:
Reguards the picture of the condensor .. that is what we would call a damp spot and a minor one at that .. the black colour is pag oil slowly leaking out which collects with dirt .. to the touch it will have an oily feel to it.

A/C turned on ( any porsche ) temp of 19 and a fan speed of 3-4 .. let the car idle or drive it for 5 mins .. a low a/c gass will cause a whirring type noise or a hissing noise which will go as soon as you turn the a/c off.

996 and you can sometimes here a rumble from the rear .. same thing , turn off the a/c and it will go if its low gass .

You dont have to use Porsche condensors , there are much cheaper ones out there but dont go for the really cheap ones .. they aint so good .. honest !

Time to replace .. hmm .. 1.5 - 2hours .. might have to pay for a regass on top .

Its a pretty easy diy job though .

I will say from the image .. that might not be the main leak you have on the a/c system.


FYI .. ill do a full write up on a/c and checks etc soon .. im still getting pictures of the parts .. waiting for a 996 with rear pipe leaks atm to come in so i can photo it :D
From your time in the OPC network, when you conducted a 111 point check, would you check the condition of the condensers only or would you pull the front bar off and conduct a note granular level of inspection.
Out of curiosity do you know who the OEM partner is for them? What I'm trying to ascertain is if I buy the HELLA part and I go to put the warranty back on the car, will I be rumbled for it.
TIA
FZP
 
As Dermot and others said, it's a relatively easy diy job but £350 all in is a great price, £1,100 is just robbery, how can Porsche possibly justify that price!
 
DucatiRob said:
As Dermot and others said, it's a relatively easy diy job but £350 all in is a great price, £1,100 is just robbery, how can Porsche possibly justify that price!

Just to be clear, that was Autofarm not OPC. They are so well respected I don't think their rate is any less. It was roughly £500 parts £500 labour
 
DucatiRob said:
As Dermot and others said, it's a relatively easy diy job but £350 all in is a great price, £1,100 is just robbery, how can Porsche possibly justify that price!

Just to be clear, that was Autofarm not OPC. They are so well respected I don't think their rate is any less. It was roughly £500 parts £500 labour
 
I'd really really recommend to anyone who hasn't done it already.

Get some mesh fitted to the inside of your bumper grills!

They will really protect you rads from debris. A single large stone could easily damage the rad and cause an issue. As well as preventing the collection of damp leaves from rotting at the bottom corner of the rads.

Zunsport do some pop in ones, but in my opinon they look crap. You wan't a proper job, so bumper off and mesh fitted to the rear of the grills so you can't see them as much. 9E did mine and they look great.
 
air con

Guess what i'm doing this weekend???????
 

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@ FZP .. things might have changed since i was there .. but i doubt it :)

For a 111 point check you dont remove anything .. its a visual check so i would look at the front part of the condensors through the PU .. if leaking then its a fail.

Mechanics get 1.5 hours for the check .. they are on bonus .. hmm .. so a little bit quicker methinks :D

A condensor of any make when painted black will look like any other make .

Ok .. problem .. you fit aftermarket condensors .. you get a warrenty .. they leak Porsche do a warrenty job and when all appart see they are not Porsche .. you dont get warrenty at that point .

They could if they really wanted to argue that any point of the a/c system failing was down to the condensors being non porsche if they found out ( by removeing the PU ) .

The reality is its unlikely .. but it is possible and then its for the courts to decide .


@ zagonda .. i know them well ! you might need shortened bolts for the pipe connections .. remove the old bolts and test fit them to the new condensors just to be safe before winding them in on the car with the pipes on .

The plastic panel that goes around it .. dont bust a gut trying to fit it .. if its tight against the radiator then dont fit it .. better to leave it off than damage your rads .
 
Thanks mate. As always a stellar response. Muchly appreciated
 
It takes a post like this for me to think about it and realise the things i just do out of habbit that might be usefull ..

This is also probably teaching you all to suck eggs but i thought id mention a few things ..

The black plastic bracket / condensor surround ive mentioned .. they dont fit well on these condensors ..

Always use new O ring seals .. they swell up with contact with PAG oil and make a good seal .. the old ones will already be swollen so might not seal .

Smear a bit of pag oil on the new O rings then fit them .. if no oil then up end the old condensor .. some should come out .

use grips / pliers to support the condensor when doing up the pipe bolts .. the condensors are pretty weak .. best to have something to counter the force of the ratchet / socket and not damage the condensor .

If the system is empty or has been left open to atmosphere then fit a new dryer .. it will help in the long term .

i would add 15 grams oil per condensor after new ones are fitted .. the offical line is approx 20 per .. under filled is far better than over filled and any regass in the past and they probably added a bit of oil so this would counter that .


Over filled oil .. thats bad .. thats very bad .. compressor will hydraulic lock .. did i say that was bad !
 
Ishay said:
I had a look around online and found a chap with a business called Mr Cool in Derby who specialises in air conditioning, and more to the point in AC for Porsches (having a dedicated page on his site about them built my confidence). Such is his expertise and confidence that he quoted a fixed price £350 including aftermarket condensers, dryer and ancillaries. He would do OEM for a little more. He knew it would take 2.5 hours (if the bolts didn't need drilling, which they didn't) and that's exactly what it took.

He does it from home. I think he's mostly a mobile guy going to the region's garages to fix AC when they are prepping a car. He seems a very sound, trustworthy guy and I'd highly recommend him if you have AC issues and don't want to pay OPC or even specialist mechanics who may not do AC day-in day-out.

I have used this guy a few times since I found him, if you go to him for a re-gas I think it is only £25-30. I usually would fit all my own parts so can't comment on his workmanship but for a re-gas he's spot on.
 
Dryer ordered, got the sealing rings. will the aircon re gas put the oil in ??
 
zagonda said:
Dryer ordered, got the sealing rings. will the aircon re gas put the oil in ??

Yes should all be part of the cost, ask them for the read out of what they take out and put back in (If they run it on a proper diagnostic filler).
 
zagonda said:
Dryer ordered, got the sealing rings. will the aircon re gas put the oil in ??

The system will be empty so no oil will be removed on a regass but you need to tell them you have fitted new condensors so they can add oil ( and dye ).

Basically every component in the A/C system has oil in it so if you change a part you really should replace what you loose .

The entire amount of oil is 195 Mls which is spread around the system ...

If anyone ever fits a compressor .. it comes with the entire amount of oil in it for the system .. you drain it out , you drain out the old compressor , measure the amount then fill the new one with the same amount .

Failure to do this will mean it self destructs !
 
Kool, Thank you :thumbs: :thumbs:

ps. where is the dryer located please ?
TIA.
 

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