Hi, just had a friend of mine round to check the air con in my mk1. The car has been in a barn for years and needless to say all the gas had done a runner.
We pressure tested the system and it seems there are leaks at both the input and output connections to the AC compressor. We’re guessing the O rings are leaking.
I just wondered if anyone had any experience of this stuff, Superseal Air Conditioning Leak Sealant MRL-3 made by STP? Just thought I might give it a try.
Any thoughts?
Thanks.
I haven’t tried the STP product.
From my experience aircon leaks are usually a combination of seal failure and aluminium corrosion - one contributes to the other.
Given the locations of your leaks I doubt corrosion is a factor. Why don’t you just dismantle the joints and replace the seals? As you say, they are just single ‘o’ rings.
There is a single bolt holding each union in place and should be enough wiggle room and flexibility to break the joints, replace the seals and remake without too much time and effort.
The pump area is usually coated in oil and grime but when I get the aircon pumps to clean and check before selling, the pipe joints are very easy to work on. Just wipe off the worst of the muck from the area of the joint to make life easier.
I am with rhino666, replace the o rings.
I have a 16 year old Jeep with a leaking aircon, to fix mean’s the dash will have to be removed! A recharge only lasted 5 weeks or so. I put “Wurth” sealer in the system and the aircon worked for 5 years or more before I had to re-gas again, I re-gassed 2 years ago and it is still working. Expensive can of sealer but I think it was Wurth it!
Richard.
Thanks guys, I’ll have another look tomorrow ( rain permitting ) to see if I can replace the O rings. I would much rather do this than try " snake oil " fixes but the couplings looked a bit tight to get to. Regarding Rhinos quote of " flexibility to break the joint " knowing my luck I would break the joint permanently ??
If I do decide to have a go any idea where I could get the O rings from?
Thanks again.
The sealer can be risky and at £30 not exactly cheap. I tried some in my old Volvo S60 which had a leaky compressor and condenser. The compressor began to seize after 3 days and the other leaks were still there.
I didn’t fancy coughing up over £800 for a new compressor and condenser + labour so I removed the relay to prevent the aircon cutting in and drove with the windows open on the few days of heat we had that summer.
It’s only £18 but I hear what you say
I have used a leak stop product on a few cars ,sometimes it works,sometimes not.The biggest issue with any leak stop product is that it can contaminate the a/c engineers equipment,not a good experience.If it is just the O -rings leaking,then replace them.They should be readily available,if not measure them and post up the sizes.Coat the new O rings with a slight film of petroleum jelly before install.
Thanks for the replies everyone. I have kind of decided to try to replace the O rings first and go from there.
I’m going to start a new thread asking how to do this.
Thanks again.