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Air/Con re-gassing problem

John H

Well-known member
Joined
13 Sep 2011
Messages
438
I had my Air/Con re-gassed last month at ATS Euromaster - where I bought my Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres last year.

The service there is first class, but yesterday my Air/Con started to blow warm again! I took the car back to have it checked.

I was told that it looks as though I have a leak in the condenser pipework - probably from stone chips under the bonnet?

They suggested I take it to my OPC as the front-end needs to be removed to get to it.

Has anyone here had this problem and know what the likely cost will be?

Any advice would be gratefully received... many thanks.
 
I had to have a new condensor fitted last year, same problem the system was gassed and two/three weeks later it was warm - off side condensor was corroded at the bottom looking at the invoice a few other jobs were done but roughly ex vat
Condensor £198
O Ring & Vacuum line £70
Labour £190
(Another!) gas re-charge £80
That was with a local indi but also worth noting that I had some of the work and parts covered under warranty.
 
Most likely is leaking condenser as these are prone to corrosion and stone damage. Looking through the lower grills with a torch, it's possible to see the left and right (2) condensers. Any green dye staining or black oil staining on the aluminium prove the leak.
I had my LHS condenser replaced at OPC in 2017 (car 9 years old).
Condenser, Dryer Bottle, 4 'O' rings, Re-gas and labour approx. £820 inc. VAT.
New condenser Black painted, old RHS condenser silver !!!
6 months later, RHS condenser leaking.
Decided to replace it myself with ECP Behr-Hella rad. and OPC 'O' rings + local re-gas at cost of about £190 inc.vat.
Moral of the story is to replace both rads together at an Indi.
If you're handy with spanners, job do-able at home. You Tube has several videos how to do the job.
 
Changed both of my condensers a couple of years ago, really easy job, probably about 2 hours max if you know what you're doing, used the cheap ones on eBay, decent quality, about £150 for both including the dryer and O rings. Still in good condition too, mesh fitted to the intakes to keep all the leaves and crud out is a good idea :thumb:
 
and fit some mesh grills over the intakes to stop it happening again.
 
maldren said:
and fit some mesh grills over the intakes to stop it happening again.

Many thanks for the replies...

I had Zunsport grills fitted in March 2016 - obviously too late as the damage was probably already done or so it seems?

I rang my OPC at Wilmslow on 30th July and the earliest date they could book me in was 19th August for 2 days!

Heaven knows why they're so busy? It's not as though business is booming right now??
 
I know the condenser rads are the go to suspects on these, but I found something else a couple of years back.

Started out on the NC500 & by Inverness the car was blowing warm air.
I took it in to Kwikfit & they tested & re-gassed the system & all seemed fine.

I was sat in the car park before leaving when the whole lot dumped out through the pressure transducer near the fill point. I'm glad It happened in the car park as the gas was instantly sucked in through the fan to the cabin. Not a fun experience!

Now, I'm sure the machine did it's job properly & added the correct amount of gas. But it was always in the back of my mind that it might have been over filled & exited out of the weakest link.
On the other hand, It's likely that the transducer was where it leaked from in the first place & the re-gas was enough to cause it to fail spectacularly.

something to bear in mind...
 
Got my 997 GTS back from the OPC on Friday.

They had fitted two new A/C Condensers, four A/C O-Rings and a Desiccator - followed by a re-gas.

The total cost was £1192.10 incl. VAT.

Also included in the price was a 34 point Health Check which all received a green rating - meaning no other issues are currently apparent...

Personally I think that this is decent value for total peace of mind.. :thumb:
 
That is daylight robbery,

I recently bought two new condensors from Germany £62, four O rings from Porsce £19, Hella desiccator £24 (£8 versions are available)

To swap the condensor is literally a 5 minute job once the bumper is off
 
John,
I've been putting off the same issue. I was advised by Wilmslow of a couple of damp patches on the condensers. My aircon still pushes out cold air, so it's not been on the top of my list.
I got in contact with a guy called http://www.mistercool.co.uk
He quotes me £400ish from memory for doing the job. He sourced Behr Hella condensers which were the the factory condensers. Even had the correct Porsche part number yellow sticker on them.
After reading Ruddys post, I might have a crack myself.
 
Ruddy - good for you, I wish I had your expertise but I don't!

There's possibly something musical that I could do better than you - so everyone to their own I guess... :bye:

FZP - Ruddy good luck to you mate... :wink:
 
Its fixed and that's the main thing .. i would just say have a look for any Indys in your area .. ask here if they are any good and perhaps use them in future for things like this ..

Speaking as an Indy of course :D

What instruments do you play if you don't mind me asking ?

Most people here know what i do .. but i never know what you lot do for a living and i do find it interesting .
 
John H said:
Ruddy - good for you, I wish I had your expertise but I don't!

There's possibly something musical that I could do better than you - so everyone to their own I guess... :bye:

FZP - Ruddy good luck to you mate... :wink:

I get the feeling you've taken offence where non was intended.

I have no interest in music
 
John
Perhaps Sat week you can pop by the NW catch up and we can compare air con temps. Would be great to have you along :thumb: Details in the meet section
 

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