Hello everyone, long time lurker here, always found this the place to go for info.

 

Long story short(ish), my trusty 2009 Fabia Mark 2 (81000 miles) needed the AC regassing at the end of 2022 - got it done on a Groupon coupon at ATS - this only lasted a few months (and is the first time I've ever had the system regassed since buying the car new in July 2009) - realised I must have a leak somewhere but ended up getting Halfords out for a quick £60 refill job to see me through the "summer" (at the beginning of June).

 

This lasted around a month so I left it for a bit, just not having the time to get round to it again, plus the weather wasn't so great here in Scotland that I needed it.  However, as the temps have rose again and with the winter coming in and the thought of fogged up windows while the five of us pile in for the school run I thought I'd give another quick refill a go myself to see me through to service and MOT time in November.

 

It seems I may have discovered the problem - when I started to add the topup gas I could hear some hissing coming from the high side port and when I unscrewed it the gas was coming out.  I've tried to tap it slightly to clear it in case there was dirt in the connection but to no avail. 

 

It does seem like the black seal is missing that used to be there (see pics - it's still there on the low port and nothing comes out of there).

 

Now I'm an IT repair guy to trade and I don't know much about cars but I'm happy to get my hands *slightly* dirty.

 

Anything I can do to fix this myself?  I was looking online for ages and they all go on about Schrarder Core Valves and replacement but is that the valve here?  Or is it a ball valve?  Can I just get some o-ring type thing and stick it in there to make the seal again?

 

I should say that I run the AC continually - winter or summer, it's always on, I like the fresh breeze on my face...

 

I'm sure I'm missing something simple here, hope you guys can help me out.

 

Cheers in advance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You're not missing anything simple, the valve has developed a fault and needs replacing, which means replacing the whole pipe it's welded into.

Oh dear, that is disappointing.

 

What's the sort of cost for that?  I'm assuming that's the problem with the AC not holding the charge for long, but I'm not ruling out any other leaks as I'm sure the black seal was there before the Halfords mobile guy was doing his business, so not sure it's worth spending much money on.

 

My car really is only a box with wheels for me to get around locally, and being self employed I've more than got my money's worth out of the Fabia.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325793583877?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=zm0MgL4uSN-&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=_BlMq7ebT3O&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

Blimey, easy tiger, £30 is hardly a disaster, no need for drama and histrionics unless that's your line of work of course...

hah lol, well, welding is not in my skillset so the panic merchant in me set in lol.

 

I take it this is fairly easy for a compentent mechanic to do?

Just to say again, I know next to nothing about the inner workings of cars, although i have managed a few simple things like battery changes and resistor swaps etc, so i realise I'm showing myself up here 😁

The missing cap has a seal which would prevent refrigerant loss, if the valve is damaged it will be through having used a shonky top up kit non dry break connector but surely you should have been filling through the low side port? - You said "I could hear some hissing coming from the high side port and when I unscrewed it the gas was coming out." which leads me to that conclusion, perhaps I misunderstood.

 

If you were filling from the low side port and the gas was coming out of a leak in the high side port it means the system was at atmospheric pressure = contained humid air, you should not refill it without first pulling a vacuum to evacuate the air and moisture which would have revealed the leak, if you replace the pipe then whoever recharges should do this and you should really replace the drier cartridge as well.

 

However if you want to carry on the DIY approach you could have probably got the valve to seal by pressing and releasing the core while releasing a very small amount of the refill gas into the system, you should wear eye protection and insulated gloves to protect yourself, that will hopefully dislodge whatever schmoo is preventing the valve from seating, fitting a new port cap will also seal it but puts at risk the next person to remove it.

 

Finally it is not unusual to think you have a leaking valve when you remove the dry break coupling on a pro rig, it is in fact the small amount of refrigerant sitting on the outer part of the valve, as it boils off it looks like a leak but will stop in a short while.

36 minutes ago, meherenow said:

hah lol, well, welding is not in my skillset so the panic merchant in me set in lol.

 

I take it this is fairly easy for a compentent mechanic to do?

 

Extremely easy.

1 minute ago, J.R. said:

The missing cap has a seal which would prevent refrigerant loss, if the valve is damaged it will be through having used a shonky top up kit non dry break connector but surely you should have been filling through the low side port? - You said "I could hear some hissing coming from the high side port and when I unscrewed it the gas was coming out." which leads me to that conclusion, perhaps I misunderstood.

 

 

-The cap isn't missing, I only removed it to take the photo showing the rubber seal was missing.  The AC was empty - it was only when I tried to refill (via the low port of course) that I heard some hissing from the high port cap and when i unscrewed the cap the refrigerant was coming out here (I bought some of the replacemant R134a gas, not the actual R134a as I was conscious of venting the real deal into the atmosphere if there was a leak).

 

 

If you were filling from the low side port and the gas was coming out of a leak in the high side port it means the system was at atmospheric pressure = contained humid air, you should not refill it without first pulling a vacuum to evacuate the air and moisture which would have revealed the leak, if you replace the pipe then whoever recharges should do this and you should really replace the drier cartridge as well.

 

However if you want to carry on the DIY approach you could have probably got the valve to seal by pressing and releasing the core while releasing a very small amount of the refill gas into the system, you should wear eye protection and insulated gloves to protect yourself, that will hopefully dislodge whatever schmoo is preventing the valve from seating, fitting a new port cap will also seal it but puts at risk the next person to remove it.

 

 

-I did try this, but it seems the black rubber seal is gone and there's nothing to seal the port.  There was definitely a black rubber type seal on the high port originally as in the low port pic.  I could hear it oozing out even with the port cap on tight.

 

 

Finally it is not unusual to think you have a leaking valve when you remove the dry break coupling on a pro rig, it is in fact the small amount of refrigerant sitting on the outer part of the valve, as it boils off it looks like a leak but will stop in a short while.

 

 

-The high port just spat out all the refrigerant until it was empty...it's looking more like a garage job for me, although given the age of the vehicle and constant nagging from my better half it may be time to trade in for something newer.

 

Oh well, if the household expert is constantly nagging you then you'd better do as your told, time to fire up the magic money tree, it's not like we're heading into a recession or anything...

I know lol, but i can't complain about 14 years of pretty much cost free motoring if I account for all my 45p/business miles.  But now I'm doing a lot more work from home and it's looking like the alloys need done (air leaking quicker than I'd like from 4 new tyres) and a few rusty spots on the bottom of the doors, so the cost is mounting up a bit on things I'm not going to be doing myself.

 

Another thing on my mind is that it only *just* got through the emissions last year and that was after they ran it a second time.  Will need the brakes done by the time the MOT comes round as well.

 

So I am having a bit of a creeping sense of, what's next?  Maybe it's just time to say goodbye (and try my hand for £? on a trade-in...)

Edited 7 September, 20232 yr by meherenow

I would think that a proper Car AC fixer would be able to change that leaking valve insert from his stock of bits, and if that went okay, vac out and recharge the system, maybe even a mobile AC fixer that comes to you.

1 hour ago, rum4mo said:

I would think that a proper Car AC fixer would be able to change that leaking valve insert from his stock of bits, and if that went okay, vac out and recharge the system, maybe even a mobile AC fixer that comes to you.

 

I think you might be right, I looked at the spare parts diagram and the valve assembly is shown as an individual part so it can probably be replaced if you can get the old one undone without breaking anything, although alloy into alloy is notorious for corroding permanently into place.

Thanks for your help guys, turns out one of my mates brother-in-law is competant with the welding and says he'll do this no bother.

 

Many miles left in this old war horse yet I think!

 

Thanks again.