Leaking ac condenser

[Downbound]

2001 Forester Auto, 213,000 kms. We got an early heat wave and put on the AC and nothing but warm air. Have been told it is a leaking condenser and was quoted 800 - 1000 to repair. How dificult is it to replace? Is this something that should be left to the experts?

 

Thanks

[djmark7]

if i remember right in my '97 leg the condenser sits behind the radiator you have to remove both then check for leaks and recharge, not a $900 job i dont think condensers run bout $155 id get another quote if i was you http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/search/?Ntt=A%2FC+Condenser

[bluedotsnow]

have you checked all the orings? when I bought my car there as one oring that was improperly seated thanks to my mechanic checking for pressure in the system. I bought some r134, recharged and ran the system, this rendered hissing and an obvious clue to where the leak was coming from. after a few bucks on a pack of orings and a swap system was ready to go!

[J A Blazer]

Let me echo the remark about checking o-rings first. Your mechanic should put dye in the system and check for leaks before randomly replacing parts. In my 2000 OBW, it was a $3 o-ring that fixed the problem.

[Blue Whale]

AC systems aren't really very complicated. The ones on our cars aren't very fussy, either.

 

On my old '93 Legacy, the compressor seized up and would turn no more; a shop estimated $1,200 for a fix--and that was about ten years ago. Even buying a brand new compressor from the dealer, I saved most of that by doing the job myself. It was also a painless opportunity to convert from R-12 to R-134a at the same time, by ordering the identical compressor for a subsequent year that came pre-filled with the correct oil and adding adapters to the external hose fittings. Easy job! It's recommended to replace the receiver dryer when converting, but I didn't; I just drained as much of the old oil out of the old one as possible and put it back in.

 

On my more recent '96 Outback, the AC system stopped working three years ago. I could see escaped oil around one of the hose fittings, so I replaced a couple of o-rings, refilled the system, and had no further problems. The cost was trivial; I already had plenty of o-rings from the conversion kit I bought for the '93, so I only had to buy the 24 oz. of R-134a. I did this without pulling a vacuum before recharging, and the system worked just as well as ever afterward.

 

All bets are off with a system that's seriously contaminated, either with debris from a broken compressor or from exposure to the elements; but otherwise, the knowledge and equipment needed to work on AC components and fittings are modest. One caveat: for an R-12 system (1993 or earlier, unless previously converted), it's very important to avoid venting any refrigerant to the atmosphere. That wouldn't apply as much to R-134a systems, and is moot if the refrigerant has escaped already on its own (if so, convert to R134a when repairing).

 

A condenser, if it's actually leaking, is no big deal to change. It's just aluminum tubing with fins, after all. If you could change a radiator, you can change a condenser, too.