Air Con Condensor - Replace

[roy@ck]

Hello all, had the air-conditioning system recharged in February this year by local main dealer. System not cooling in the recent warm weather, returned vehicle to main dealer to have it checked. Now informed by dealership that the air-conditioning condensor plate is leaking and will need to be replaced at a cost of £ 531.00. I can get a new panel from TPS or probably a little cheaper elsewhere (haven't really looked yet), and fitting looks straight forward enough - according to the Haynes manual, although it looks like you have to take half the front end off to do it. Am I correct in assuming that if the gasses have leaked away, I'm not going to be committing any cardinal sin in changing the panel myself, and subsequently getting the system recharged by a specialist refrig engineer. Or am I risking damaging the entire system and should I leave well alone.  Has anyone done this job themselves. Either way a fine mesh is going to be fitted inside the lower air intake, just in case this is stone damage. I'm thinking black "Expamet" should do the job.

 

Advice from the collective will be most welcome, thanks

[erindad]

When you refer to condenser  "plate" and condenser  "panel" I assume you mean the condenser unit , it is mounted in front of the radiator?.

 If so there is a very good guide posted in the forum a few years ago. cant remember who or when but it was what I followed when I changed my condenser on a 06 Octavia. You'll need to search for it.

  I took about 4 hours mainly because it was all very new to me and because the all the system gas had  leaked out it was not an offence.  One thing to remember is to mark the position of the bumper brackets as they carry the h/light brackets and repositioning the brackets can cause a lot of frustration/squint h/light beams.

 

 After the change I got it recharged at a local garage.  

 

Cant remember where I got the replacement condenser unit  but it was about  £120.00  or so.

[roy@ck]

Hello erindad and many thanks for your reply, Yes sorry about the mixed references, I did mean the condensor unit mounted front of the radiator. This car is an 05 model, so I imagine it will be the same as your 06 Octavia. Thank you for the advanced warning regards bracket positioning etc, it's things like this that you don't find out until after. I'll take extra care in the strip down to make sure everything goes back straight. Many thanks for your insight, and I'll search out the post.

 

Got a price for a new condensor from VWAG-TPS at about £222 plus VAT - Think I'll have a look on-line once I've got the make and part no. off the original condensor.

 

Once again thank you for your help.

[meta55b]

I'm also in process of tracking down a condensor for my car. I'm going to take all my rads out rather than strip the front end. From what I can see, all I have to do is. remove the plastic air intake bit, remove the headlights and two radiator hoses. I hope that's it and not a front end strip down.

[erindad]

meta 55b

 

      good luck trying it that way , remember you'll need something to catch the engine oil out of the oil cooler

[motr]

The only thing I will say, HAGGLE with the dealer. I got mine down to £400 including labour.