996 GT3 AC condensers
Discussion
sleep envy said:
I suspect my condensers are holed as the AC doesn't blow cold.
Assuming that there's no gas left in the system I quite fancy having a crack at this myself. I remember someone on PH did a step by step guide for this, does anyone have the link?
Just search for front bumper removal etc and the rest, it's all here if you look for it.Assuming that there's no gas left in the system I quite fancy having a crack at this myself. I remember someone on PH did a step by step guide for this, does anyone have the link?
Sorry if this sounds a bit noddy.
Have you tried just regassing the system? Kwik fit charge only about £40 and even they can't do much damage. It will tell you if the system is holding charge or not.
My 6GT3 was also not working last month due to no gas (admitidly it had been laid up for a long time and therefore maybe the first recharge in its life). 45 minutes later all working perfectly.
Have you tried just regassing the system? Kwik fit charge only about £40 and even they can't do much damage. It will tell you if the system is holding charge or not.
My 6GT3 was also not working last month due to no gas (admitidly it had been laid up for a long time and therefore maybe the first recharge in its life). 45 minutes later all working perfectly.
LaSource said:
Sorry if this sounds a bit noddy.
No problem, I welcome the input 
LaSource said:
SHave you tried just regassing the system? Kwik fit charge only about £40 and even they can't do much damage. It will tell you if the system is holding charge or not.
My 6GT3 was also not working last month due to no gas (admitidly it had been laid up for a long time and therefore maybe the first recharge in its life). 45 minutes later all working perfectly.
Yes, I had a regass in 2012 as the AC wasn't getting that cold and when I used the car to go to Goodwood last year on an exceptionally hot day, I got cooked.My 6GT3 was also not working last month due to no gas (admitidly it had been laid up for a long time and therefore maybe the first recharge in its life). 45 minutes later all working perfectly.
To be honest, the car is very infrequently used simply due the fact I'm time poor, I blame the arrival of nap envy for that. I've a friend of a friend who can regass it for me which would be a temporary fix but peering through the PU the condensers don't look in good shape so for £200 and three hours of my time I'm happy to do some long overdue spannering.
996TT02 said:
Really, if you stop muck getting between the rads and the condensers, they should last possibly longer than you intend to keep the car.
Mesh.
Judging by the amount of soggy composted material I removed from between mine, no wax would have made a difference for very long.
Agreed but I don't like the look the mesh and they're more expensive than two condensers and a dessicator!Mesh.
Judging by the amount of soggy composted material I removed from between mine, no wax would have made a difference for very long.
IIRC a proper job should have the A/C evacuated and the refrigerant -- if any left -- removed along with the compressor oil.
Then the system is opened and the necessary items replaced.
The system is then hooked up to the A/C machine and evacuated again and it confirmed that it can hold a vacuum for some time.
If the system is vacuum tight the proper amount of refrigerant and proper amount of oil is added to the system, then the system tested for proper operation.
The amount of oil is dependent upon what was replaced. I believe each item in the system has an oil amount assigned to it. Replace say a condenser and this means the amount of oil needed is slightly more to make up for the amount of oil lost with the old condenser. (The old condenser has some oil in it that is lost when the unit is removed.)
Then the system is opened and the necessary items replaced.
The system is then hooked up to the A/C machine and evacuated again and it confirmed that it can hold a vacuum for some time.
If the system is vacuum tight the proper amount of refrigerant and proper amount of oil is added to the system, then the system tested for proper operation.
The amount of oil is dependent upon what was replaced. I believe each item in the system has an oil amount assigned to it. Replace say a condenser and this means the amount of oil needed is slightly more to make up for the amount of oil lost with the old condenser. (The old condenser has some oil in it that is lost when the unit is removed.)
If you were to attempt this job on a preventative basis (e.g. as part of a bigger job to replace the radiators), I suppose you would just end up venting the refrigerant gas to the atmosphere (which is no worse than what would happen if you ended up with a leak). Once all fitted back in situ, would the shop dealing with the re-gas take be in position to top up the refrigerant oil correctly? I suppose it is quite hard to get the quantity right as there will be some left in the compressor and possibly elsewhere....
I've recently replaced the aircon rads and filter dryer in my 997.2 turbo after one was holed and all the gas escaped. At the same time, I fitted grilles on the inside of the vents of the front bumper; it's a relatively long job to get the appearance right and I had a couple of false attempts. Replacing the aircon rads themselves is easy but you do need to replace the o-rings and coat them with pagoil and torque the connections correctly to avoid them distorting and leaking. You simply need a torque-wrench, 14Nm in my case.
In theory, the grilles should help prevent a recurrence because the amount of rubbish which collects at the back is scarcely believable.
I had the system pressure tested and refilled at a local specialist - cost £70.
To get the front bumper off, I'd recommend jacking up both sides of the car to gain access to the wheel arch liners and removing both headlamps to gain easier access to the electrical connectors and the slide clamps which hold the bumper tight against the body work between the headlamp and bonnet aperture.
In theory, the grilles should help prevent a recurrence because the amount of rubbish which collects at the back is scarcely believable.
I had the system pressure tested and refilled at a local specialist - cost £70.
To get the front bumper off, I'd recommend jacking up both sides of the car to gain access to the wheel arch liners and removing both headlamps to gain easier access to the electrical connectors and the slide clamps which hold the bumper tight against the body work between the headlamp and bonnet aperture.
MogulBoy said:
If you were to attempt this job on a preventative basis (e.g. as part of a bigger job to replace the radiators), I suppose you would just end up venting the refrigerant gas to the atmosphere (which is no worse than what would happen if you ended up with a leak). Once all fitted back in situ, would the shop dealing with the re-gas take be in position to top up the refrigerant oil correctly? I suppose it is quite hard to get the quantity right as there will be some left in the compressor and possibly elsewhere....
Unlikely that's there's any gas as the system leaked two years ago, I had it gassed but it doesn't cool so would assume there's none left.Good point about the oil but will leave that up to the chap who'll regas it.
blueSL said:
I've recently replaced the aircon rads and filter dryer in my 997.2 turbo after one was holed and all the gas escaped. At the same time, I fitted grilles on the inside of the vents of the front bumper; it's a relatively long job to get the appearance right and I had a couple of false attempts. Replacing the aircon rads themselves is easy but you do need to replace the o-rings and coat them with pagoil and torque the connections correctly to avoid them distorting and leaking. You simply need a torque-wrench, 14Nm in my case.
In theory, the grilles should help prevent a recurrence because the amount of rubbish which collects at the back is scarcely believable.
I had the system pressure tested and refilled at a local specialist - cost £70.
To get the front bumper off, I'd recommend jacking up both sides of the car to gain access to the wheel arch liners and removing both headlamps to gain easier access to the electrical connectors and the slide clamps which hold the bumper tight against the body work between the headlamp and bonnet aperture.
Cheers for the tips.In theory, the grilles should help prevent a recurrence because the amount of rubbish which collects at the back is scarcely believable.
I had the system pressure tested and refilled at a local specialist - cost £70.
To get the front bumper off, I'd recommend jacking up both sides of the car to gain access to the wheel arch liners and removing both headlamps to gain easier access to the electrical connectors and the slide clamps which hold the bumper tight against the body work between the headlamp and bonnet aperture.
Awesome, more tools to buy
Just to close this off if anyone googles this thread blueSL is correct, 14 Nm for the refrigerant lines
http://workshop-manuals.com/porsche/911_turbo_s_ca...
http://workshop-manuals.com/porsche/911_turbo_s_ca...
sleep envy said:
996TT02 said:
Really, if you stop muck getting between the rads and the condensers, they should last possibly longer than you intend to keep the car.
Mesh.
Judging by the amount of soggy composted material I removed from between mine, no wax would have made a difference for very long.
Agreed but I don't like the look the mesh and they're more expensive than two condensers and a dessicator!Mesh.
Judging by the amount of soggy composted material I removed from between mine, no wax would have made a difference for very long.
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