[tadaska]

One of my old cars had a conked out AC pump and I would not want this to happen to this car. It's 15yo, is there anything we can do to extend the life of an AC pump? An oil change maybe? I don't even know how they work or where they are located but googling is not bringing any answers.

[Silver Streek]

Best thing you can do is get the Aircon serviced. Part of the service is to evacuate all the refrigerant and oil, so new oil and correct level of refrigerant will be put back in.

I want to get mine done but need to find a decent firm to do it.

Anyone know a good mobile company that will travel to North London?

[tadaska]

I take it those doing AC refill are not what is needed here?

[therealdb1]

The oil is in the refrigerant gas so to change it you would need to change the gas which is not a DIY job as it is illegal in the UK to knowlngly release refrigerant to the atmosphere and you need the proper kit to refill the system.
The pumps themselves are robust and can last the life of a the car. My 22 year old original Volvo one is still going strong! What they don't like is water in the gas and not being used frequently enough as the seals wear due to drying out.
So if you want to "service" the air con get a new drier fitted, get the gas / oil changed and then run the air con at least every week or so throughout the entire year not just when there is a Met Office heatwave alert on.

[tadaska]

I'm doing a bit of googling to find an AC service but so far no one has mentioned oil. There has been a mention of filters and air duct cleaning and disinfecting as well as sticking air fresheners in there but no mention of new oil.

[therealdb1]

Originally Posted by tadaska

I take it those doing AC refill are not what is needed here?

Ideally you want more than a "refill".
To do the job properly the system should be evacuated and then pressure tested for leaks using Nitrogen. The drier should be changed if it is 15 years old and if all is ok you then refill with the correct mass (not volume!) of gas with the correct quantity of oil added.

There are mobile air con service agents out there but I don't know of any who I would recommend in London.

[tadaska]

Originally Posted by therealdb1

The oil is in the refrigerant gas so to change it you would need to change the gas which is not a DIY job as it is illegal in the UK to knowlngly release refrigerant to the atmosphere and you need the proper kit to refill the system.
The pumps themselves are robust and can last the life of a the car. My 22 year old original Volvo one is still going strong! What they don't like is water in the gas and not being used frequently enough as the seals wear due to drying out.
So if you want to "service" the air con get a new drier fitted, get the gas / oil changed and then run the air con at least every week or so throughout the entire year not just when there is a Met Office heatwave alert on.

Thanks for such a good explanation! I very rarely use my air con, will have to start using it more frequently.

What's a drier?

[therealdb1]

Filters and duct cleaning are not AC service they are bits you can do yourself since they are only in the airstream entering the car and are not connected to the refrigeration side of things at all.

[therealdb1]

Originally Posted by tadaska

Thanks for such a good explanation! I very rarely use my air con, will have to start using it more frequently.

What's a drier?

It's usually a tubular shaped recepticle tucked away behind the radiator somewhere which is a water trap a bit like a filter. AC gas goes in one side and dry gas comes out of the other. Any water is retained by the canister.
They should be a service item really but they are not often replaced by garages unless they are used to dealing with air con because like the DIY mechanic they will not have the correct gear to deal with it.

[tadaska]

Originally Posted by therealdb1

It's usually a tubular shaped recepticle tucked away behind the radiator somewhere which is a water trap a bit like a filter. AC gas goes in one side and dry gas comes out of the other. Any water is retained by the canister.
They should be a service item really but they are not often replaced by garages unless they are used to dealing with air con because like the DIY mechanic they will not have the correct gear to deal with it.

I definitely want it done to my car. I like keeping my cars as long as I can and I like things working.

Any suggestions how to find someone good to do this job? Or maybe I should just go to the dealer?

I'm in Eastbourne btw if anyone knows some one who can do this.

[Karlos20945]

Like others have said already, an a/c service involves regassing, but after the gas is added, a UV dye and oil should be added. The oil lubricates the system and the UV dye is added to enable leak detection.

[Andystobbs]

Not sure how many of you guys have had actual hands on experience of A/C systems but any notion that 'the oil is removed' during an evacuation is completely false. By far the largest reservoirs of oil are (in no particular order) the compressor, the condensor and the evaporator. Plus any particularly low spots in the lines.
Typically evacuating a system will yeild 10g or less of recovered oil along with the charge of refrigerant.
To properly change the oil would require total disassembly of the whole system and flushing of everything.

Best thing you can do with AC is use it until it packs up. A compressor could be changed as a maintenance procedure but failure rates are very low.

[Silver Streek]

Originally Posted by Andystobbs

Not sure how many of you guys have had actual hands on experience of A/C systems but any notion that 'the oil is removed' during an evacuation is completely false. By far the largest reservoirs of oil are (in no particular order) the compressor, the condensor and the evaporator. Plus any particularly low spots in the lines.
Typically evacuating a system will yeild 10g or less of recovered oil along with the charge of refrigerant.
To properly change the oil would require total disassembly of the whole system and flushing of everything.

Best thing you can do with AC is use it until it packs up. A compressor could be changed as a maintenance procedure but failure rates are very low.

That's interesting to know, I thought that the oil was sucked out of the system when they remove the gas.

I agree the best thing to do with the AC is to just use it. I leave mine on permanently, so many people only use it when it's hot then leave it off till the next summer only to find the seals have dried out and the gas has leaked out.