aircon repair

Post by **Dusty** » 18 Jun 2007 09:18 pm

Couple of years ago, I've had my 360 GLE involved in a crash, which damaged the front end. As the expense of a repair was quite high, I decided to leave the aircon cooler (or the radiator, as we call it here) unrepaired, and have had no aircon ever since. As summers are getting seemingly hotter every year, I was thinking about getting it fixed, but the trouble is that I am unable to find an appropriate cooler to fit in. There is one solution of ordering one from Sweden, which would most likely be cost-prohibitive, so I was wondering would any of series 700 be a possible alternative, considering the engine? Mine is B200E. There aren't many 360's in Croatia, and even less with the aircon to scrap from. Any ideas?
Also, for the fluid, which would obviously need topping up in that case? Was it freon-based? Cause it's not available anymore, as far as I know...

Post by **petefarrell360** » 18 Jun 2007 10:08 pm

Our resident air con expert Andy (aka Pettaw) should be along soon, FoggyJames and Chris_C are also pretty knowledgeable on the system. I have an air con'd car, but I need to renew all the pipes and convert the system to run on the newer gas, as the old stuff is banned here now as far as I know.

Pete

Post by **Dusty** » 18 Jun 2007 10:16 pm

Thanks, Pete! With a little luck, my sweating days will be over!

Post by **petefarrell360** » 18 Jun 2007 10:36 pm

No problem! It is a very sort after and rare extra. Foggy has been after the kit for sometime. Andy is one of the very few people in the UK with the system, in his 360 GLE SE.

I'm guessing your car might be of a similar age, maybe 85-86ish? Could be way off, but due to the injection engine on a GLE badge.

I believe most of the 300 air con parts are 300 specific, apart from one or two insignificant bits, or the important bits anyway! I'm hoping to learn about the system myself when I get mine working. First things first though, gotta get other things sorted and get it on the road. Then hopefully the joys of aircon coolness can be appreciated one day!

Pete

Post by **Dusty** » 18 Jun 2007 10:50 pm

That's true, haven't seen any 360 with the aircon here, either...And of all the people, it had to be me who was stupid enough to break it!

You're right, it's an '86 car...I do know a bloke who has a Volvo and Saab scrap yard, so I might as well go and inquire one of these days. Or, maybe there's a chance to patch this old one, just enough to prevent it leaking, I'm not sure.
I can have it custom made, but I guess it would set me back really bad...

Post by **pettaw** » 19 Jun 2007 05:35 am

Hello, the best bet is to go round a few places that do A/C and take the old condensor with you and see if they can match something up.

I had a place fit a new condensor for me, and they just used some sort of universal type with the correct fittings on it and kinda adapted it to make it fit

Yes you'll need to convert the system to R134a as in Europe the old R12 gas is now banned. You'll need new fittings for the hoses, might need some new hoses as well. You'll also need a new drier and new pressure switches.

Flush the system to remove all the old oil and install new ester oil, then you can recharge with R134a. You'll probably find that in a while the front seal in the compressor will start to leak because the seals aren't compatible with the new oil/gas, but in my car that took well over 2 years before that happened. If that happens then hopefully you can find someone to replace the seal for you, otherwise you'll need a new or rebuilt compressor.

Hope that helps.

Website · Post by **antiekeradio** » 19 Jun 2007 11:40 am

if the car has been on the road for 2 years without pressure in the system,
there is a very, very high probability that the compressor will start leaking and not working in general.

however, as far as i know the drier, capacitor and other bits and pieces are quite universal.

the most important parts are the support for the compressor and the evaporator, which sits in the blower housing.

Post by **Dusty** » 19 Jun 2007 11:46 am

Hm, that sounds discouraging-It's been about 5 years now since it's been broken...

Website · Post by **antiekeradio** » 19 Jun 2007 12:57 pm

on the upside: the compressor can be replaced by another bosch specimen, it is not really v300 specific.

Post by **pettaw** » 19 Jun 2007 06:49 pm

Yeah, luckily as far as compressors go, the Sanden unit is one of the cheapest going around and came in before all these silly manufacturer's specific block fittings so its not a bad job to replace.

I reckon provided the seals not dried out too badly it'll survive a couple of years. Even if its empty provided it has a good coating of oil round it hopefully it won't have dried out too much.

Post by **Dusty** » 19 Jun 2007 09:54 pm

Thank you all for your answers! But, as I said previously, the biggest issue here is actually the broken aircon radiator, (the one that sits next to the engine radiator, right?), other bits and pieces should be fine, I guess, as they weren't involved in a crash, and sustained no damage. That's why I was thinking about replacing it with a 700 series one, as they were equipped with the aircon more often, and chances are good that I might be able to find one in more or less solid condition, well, at least in such that it could be used.