Aircon Leak

Its that time of year again where the board fills up with aircon questions and I'm going to add another one to the pile. Two weeks ago had the aircon re-gassed at Kwik Fit (great service by the way) however the gas leaked within a day, despite their machine not detecting any leaks. There was an oily patch under the offside corner which was green in colour. I read up on how to remove the bumper and when all was dismantled I could see a small wet patch on the condensor and an even larger patch on the water rad. Having heard that the condensors are 99% likely to be at fault I bought two new ones and replaced them. Cleaned up all around the rads and gave it a check at the same time. I haven't regassed the system yet, in fact I will probably go today at some point, however I am still getting a slightly smaller wet patch under the bumper overnight. I haven't had a look up into the wheel arch yet, but what else can leak in this area that is oily and green in colour. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

screenwash fluid from header Ray :?

when aircon is working you will also get condensation coming off the system leaving wet patches after being parked up. leak dyes are usually red/pink for the visible type of dye, if a uv dye has been added at gassing up you would need a little uv lamp and the glasses to see the little leaks which sometimes come round the o-rings... try http://www.carairconditioningsuppli...p?cat=11&sort=orderby&sort_direction=0&page=2

how hard is it to change the condensers/pipes etc onesself I went to Alpinair yesterday, who were v nice, but the quote was £742 inc vat! which i cant afford

Easy job to do yourself, just takes a bit of care and a few hours. Check this link out and the links inside http://www.911uk.com/viewtopic.php?t=37139 Ray :lol:

Has anyone put some dye in your system so that you can be sure exactly where the leak is? This may save time in the long run and dosh too! Regards Big Bob :bye:

Thanks for the help guys. I bought two condensors and the receiver drier from design 911. Took the bumper off, two hours later the condensors were done, however once I got the condensors off I was shocked at the state of the offside radiator. It is actually leaking, in fact it probably now answers my question as to why I was needing to top up the water header tank every month. I will be chaanging the radiator tomorrow. Does anyone know the correct procedure to flush and refill the cooling system.

Best tip, take the lowest engine hose off, and with the rest of the system secure put a hose in the header and gently wash away with fresh water until whats coming out of the engine looks clean. Secure the lowest hose. Run up for a shortwhile and then repeat. Drain out the water and then secure and refill with Antifreeze mix. You will have to keep topping up until the air is out of the system which is rather tortuous from front to back of car with heater and engine etc. Regards Big Bob :bye:

Thanks Big Bob I picked up an original radiator from porsche in stratford for £145+vat which I think is very reasonable. I changed the radiator (im becoming a bit of an expert in taking the bumper off) put the new rad on and started to slowly fill the system. However i lost about 15 litres of coolant and only managed to get 4 litres back in. I have tried increasing engine revs to get rid of any air locks. I thought maybe a bit of movement may dislodge air pockets so took it for a spin, but still the header tank is full. The engine temp went up ok and the needle stabalised at the "twelve o'clock" mark. I even tried putting the heater on hi and full blast. Still no joy. Any suggestions?

This is the reason car manufacturers use Vac and Fill Systems. ie you evacuate the air out of the complete coolant or say brake fluid system and then flow the liquid in!!!. But that does not help you at home :wack: . Can I suggest that you get the back of the car as high as you can by jacking and the front as low as you can. Then try running up again, hopefully this will through air being lighter than water, will encourage the air to escape back to the effective top of the system ie the header tank in the engine bay. Let me know how this goes. :?: In the meantime I'll put my thinking capo on again :dont know: Regards Big Bob :bye:

With the engine cold, remove the filler cap and start up the engine. Keep checking the header level as the engine warms up - this will take a while as there is no load on the engine. Eventually the airlock will clear but you'll need to be patient. Remember to replace the filler cap when you are done. Don't be afraid to increase the engine revs, to say 2500/3000 rpm. Keep an eye on the level for the first 1000 miles and always carry top up water - just in case. never open the filler cap when the engine is hot as the super heated steam can cause serious injury. Ray

Thanks Chaps, seems its quite easy to change the A/C rads oneself. Next question, how easy is it to change the pipe that runs from the rads to the back of the car? Seems i have a leak there 2... Alpinair have termed it a Suction Pipe Also, what do all these pipes and Radiators for the A/C join together with? rubber hoses etc? Kind Regards Edward

The aircon pipe has a metal end and is sealed by a special o ring available from OPC. This is secured by a single bolt, be careful not to overtighten this as the sealing is done via the O ring. Ray