Air Conditioning loss of gas

[TechTeam]

Hi I am a newbe to any car forums so please forgive any mistakes thanks.

 

I have a 1999 4.0 v8 had it for nearly 15 years with very few probs but now the air con has packed in.It seems i have a leak of gas from the pipes on the drivers side in the engine compartment. I am told the fitting of a new pipe is quite a job!! Are there any quicker less involved fixes that i might be successful with. Be good to fix it b4 the warm weather.

[Guest]

Hello,

What the symptoms of your problem? I had an issue with my climate control recently where the drivers side of the car was giving out hot air when set to cold. My fault was a broken wire on the dual climate control valve.

[Diddler]

I have the same problem exactly. I think that you may have to bite the bullet and buy the pipe, if you can find one.

I have heard on another site of some one fibre glassing the pipe which has held for several years and still going. Good luck, and keep us posted if you find the answer.

[TechTeam]

thanks for the replies,   

 

Harv - it is definatley loss of gas the whole system is U/S and no pressure when checked.

 

Diddler - i can get the pipe (i think) just dont fancy the size of the job to change it, with the risk of disturbing anything else while doing it!!!!! might try some form of compound to seal pipe or just leave the sunroof and windows open when its hot. :(

[Rodger]

Be very careful where you take your car for a re-gas. I took my S-Type to "reputable" garage to be re-gassed ( the aircon was working ) and they blew one of the pipes. Then took the car to a specialist car aircon firm who told me this happens often as the correct draining procedure is not followed. They add pressure to pressure and it pops the pipe. Was quoted 850GBP to fix. The original garage refused to take any responsibility and even told me they would not be able to source the pipes themselves.

[TechTeam]

Hi Rodger thanks for that info, interesting that i originally only took it to local garage for a regas & dont know who they actually used to do the job! maybe that was the cause? to long ago now to do anything about that I suppose. Still have to find a way to fix it economically.