Hole / leak in high pressure (?) Air con pipe

[mrhappy]

So I know the air con in our 1.2 Ambiente hasn't been working for a while and I was confident it didn't just need a re-gas since it stopped fairly abruptly. I had it checked out today and the garage found a hole in the u-bend in the pipe run behind the radiator at the bottom corner. The rigid pipe has been rubbing against a plastic part of the rad housing and has worn right through.

Seems like a bit of a design flaw to me. Anyway, I was advised this can only be fixed by replacing the whole run from the union at the bulkhead to the condenser in front of the rad, which I think is true with the genuine replacement part. Which costs 180 quid (no VAT).

Has anyone had this issue before?

Could it be repaired more cheaply without replacing the whole lot, maybe. This would involve making two joints in either rigid or flexible sections.

Any advice appreciated. Cheers

[sepulchrave]

It could be TIG welded easily enough.

[mrhappy]

Sounds like a plan. I know a welder, I'll ask him tomorrow. Thanks

[rwbaldwin]

As it's on the curved part welding is the sensible solution - AC TIG, preferably (it is possible to weld it using Argon/MIG, but I know a total of one person who could pull it off).

[mrhappy]

Shame, the welder I know can't do AC TIG. Thanks for the device though

[rwbaldwin]

If you can find one from a donor car, you have two options...

1. Replace the whole thing (a real PITA)

2. Cut it at the first straight bit and use a repair fitting such as a Splice-Lok

[sepulchrave]

If you can find one from a donor car, you have two options...

1. Replace the whole thing (a real PITA)

2. Cut it at the first straight bit and use a repair fitting such as a Splice-Lok

 

There is a third option, take the entire assembly to an industrial hydraulic pipe supplier and have a new one made using the old one as a pattern.

[rwbaldwin]

There is a third option, take the entire assembly to an industrial hydraulic pipe supplier and have a new one made using the old one as a pattern.

I looked into doing this for a Golf Mk4. The OE was £15 cheaper.

[Breezy_Pete]

There is a third option, take the entire assembly to an industrial hydraulic pipe supplier and have a new one made using the old one as a pattern.

A fourth: Since it's at the bottom of a u-bend, how about making up a little cup-like mould that would encompass the bottom couple of centimetres of that, then fill it with an epoxy potting compound. The hole looks small enough that the epoxy would be too viscous to penetrate and block the pipe (bit of tape over it to be sure) . Yee-haa, cowboy stylie!

You may want to check that epoxy potting compounds aren't soluble in R134a or whatever the Fabia refrigerant is...

[sepulchrave]

Shame, the welder I know can't do AC TIG. Thanks for the device though

 

Surely you can find a firm that welds alloy somewhere near you and just pay 'em to fix it, I used a marine engineers recently to get an aircon condenser from an American heap welded up, they just charged me an hours labour which was about £40 and a total bargain compared to the cost of getting a new one shipped from the States.

[mrhappy]

Thanks for all your input. I've found a place that definitely does TIG welding but it's a question of whether they can do it in situ and get a good weld on it. We'll see next week...

[sepulchrave]

Thanks for all your input. I've found a place that definitely does TIG welding but it's a question of whether they can do it in situ and get a good weld on it. We'll see next week...

 

Why don't you just remove the pipe, the system is already empty.

[mrhappy]

Why don't you just remove the pipe, the system is already empty.

Like this?

Looks like the u-bend bit can be separated from the rest of it. Whether it can be replaced on its own I don't know. Has anyone got ETKA and can check for me??

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[Breezy_Pete]

Looks like item 6 here, http://www.partscats.info/skoda/en/?i=cat_vag_models&brand=sk&number=42&set=48&ein=2005&f=453&hauptgr=1234567890&hg=2&grf=026041253&bf=26041&hgug=260&ug=60&parent_id=126171

 

That was looking up for a 2005 car, may be worth putting in the correct year at the top and navigating back to the same diagram to check that the part number is the same.

[howley87]

Like this?

Looks like the u-bend bit can be separated from the rest of it. Whether it can be replaced on its own I don't know. Has anyone got ETKA and can check for me??

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Was this difficult to remove? mine snapped at the u bend but haven't got round to replacing the whole pipe, partly because i'm in scotland so would only use ac 1 day a year and partly because i'm lazy! lol

[felicia16v]

oh no need to remove all if it, pull the plastic spacer out from the joiner, by pressing in 2 tabs thru the holes and there is a small internal circlip that holds both bits together..

I have the bit you need on a shelf if your stuck., the bracket needs bending gently to move the pipe away from the rad surround or the rad surround chopping a bit.

TIG may not be that successful due to oil inpregnation of the thin alloy or at least that was what our local engineering place said. 

[mrhappy]

Was this difficult to remove?

It is a bit awkward, but I disconnected it at the unions at both ends and unclipped it from the body along its length. Once it was free I lifted the main rigid part out of the bay as much as possible, then manoeuvred the front end of it around the side of the rad. This was fiddly and relies on flexing the hoses before and after the u-bend considerably. It is doable and given yours has snapped should be easier.

oh no need to remove all if it, pull the plastic spacer out from the joiner, by pressing in 2 tabs thru the holes and there is a small internal circlip that holds both bits together..

I tried that. Both tabs snapped when I pushed the in, the plastic was so brittle. Now I'm wondering if I need to replace the plastic insert in order to maintain a good seal? In any case, it's easier to remove the whole pipe run rather than undo the circlip in-situ.

I have the bit you need on a shelf if your stuck., the bracket needs bending gently to move the pipe away from the rad surround or the rad surround chopping a bit.

What bit do you have, the short run with the u-bend in it? If so, how much? [emoji3]

[felicia16v]

Yea the plastic is kind of an anti tamper thing it does nothing for sealing it. O have the bit with the u bend on certainly

[mrhappy]

It's welded up, pressure tested and back on the car (bit of a struggle). I'll get it regassed next week.

Thanks to Deluxe Metalworks in Acton for a top job!

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[vRSAnt]

Top job. What did that save you ?

[mrhappy]

Approx 200 quid :-)

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