Air con condensor replacement or not

[chrisski]

Hi my octy 2014 1.6tdi air con isnt cold and had it checked today by a car con guy and it appears i have a v small leak and whilst i could top up the gas the guy says i should replace the condensor now as the leak will still be there. Even topping up gas he cant say whether the gas will last through the summer or even the year. He did a digital reading and car was losing psi pressure over the time i was there. Think it was about 1-5psi but those figures mean nothing to a non mechanic minded driver like me!

Thoughts? Said it be 385 to do the job

Edited 1 May, 2019 by chrisski

[Bouncypete]

You are wasting your money having it topped up without fixing the leak, plus damaging the environment. 

 

Air con systems usually have a UV dye within the gas, therefore, the air conman should be able to see where the leak is coming from as there will be a dye stain that will show up when a special UV torch is shone on the area. (it doesn't show up to the naked eye without the special torch).

 

Assuming he has correctly identified the condenser as leaking then your only choices are to have it replaced or live with no air con.

[Kenny R]

I believe it is actually illegal to fill an ac system that is known to have a leak. I would be looking for a air con specialist that actually knows what they are doing and adhere to regulations.

[chrisski]

1 hour ago, Kenny R said:

I believe it is actually illegal to fill an ac system that is known to have a leak. I would be looking for a air con specialist that actually knows what they are doing and adhere to regulations.

To be fair he pretty much hinted that he didnt want to top it up.

[chrisski]

1 hour ago, Bouncypete said:

You are wasting your money having it topped up without fixing the leak, plus damaging the environment. 

 

Air con systems usually have a UV dye within the gas, therefore, the air conman should be able to see where the leak is coming from as there will be a dye stain that will show up when a special UV torch is shone on the area. (it doesn't show up to the naked eye without the special torch).

 

Assuming he has correctly identified the condenser as leaking then your only choices are to have it replaced or live with no air con.

Gonna take front off to double check. Dont think ill top it up anyway. On the damaging environment side prob best not driving at all then lol