Aircon troubles

[Willieo]

Because I could not get hold of my local specialist before a 550 mile drive and the aircon didnt seem as cold as it was I figured top up the aircon with one of those cylinders from Halfords. Connected the gizmo looked at the gauge yup slightly low. Did what it said, engine running aircon on max cools and all apeared to be going as it was supposed to. Nearly got the needle into the right zone but thought stop there and drive it and see how it is. Half a mile later smoke coming from under the car. Bonnet opened and sparks and flames shooting from the slipping aircon clutch. Switch off quick let it cool down and drive home to tell Halfords what just happened. I assumed that my compressor had now siezed and the black death I read about here had now struck. The clutch rubber bushes were all but burned away but the aircon compressor still turned when cold. Restarted it and switched to auto - yep still working and cooling fine. Tried upping the revs to 2000 then next time the clutch tries to cycle in it slips again. Result econ and no cools for the next 2 weeks and 1500 miles in 30c heat. Expert on the aircon top up gas explains no way it could have caused my problem. So was it a pure coincidence with the way aircon problems happen with this car? I began to imagine that maybe I actually overfilled it even though the little guage said there was more to go to be in the correct zone pressurewise on the LP side.

Got home acquired a new compressor. Aircon man pulled out the gas. I took the old one off and looked inside the ports expecting the worst. Findings, spotless inside oil clear as water. compressor turns smoothly but the pulley bearing is now quite tight after the roasting from the clutch. At least there does not appear to be debris in the system

New compressor is on and refilled today and so far seems fine but I havent driven it on the roads yet. I noticed on the professionals guages how much the low pressure side pressure varies while the cooling cycle operates. System seems to test out healthy. It could well be that in trying to reach the pressure on the refill canister it could be overfilled.

What happened to the old compressor and clutch to lock up the clutch?

Mystified and down a few hundred getting chilled again!

[Zeb]

Mine has just done the same without any help from a regas....hopefully mine is just the clutch / pulley bearing also. The ones that came with the car just seem to not be so good I think. Hope your new one lasts better!

[Willieo]

....hopefully mine is just the clutch / pulley bearing also

Trouble is the cost of the separate bits! These compressors sell new for less than £150 in USA.

What is the cost of clutch and pulley bearing?

[Malcolmr]

New compressors from the US come complete with clutch and pulley, etc. A new clutch and pulley in the UK cost me well over a hundred quid a year ago.

[ColinE]

Here's an option

https://www.two-sixties.co.uk/mgoc260/html/f0rum/showthread.php?t=6171

[Malcolmr]

Just checked my invoice for "fixing" the aircon in Christchurch when a friend was borrowing the car in the UK for a few weeks. He reported that there were sparks coming from the supposedly new compressor that had been fitted only a few weeks earlier and no cold air either. A new pulley assembly was bought in and fitted: magnetic disc 53 quid, pulley 166 quid, ring 6 quid, clutch 28 quid, bolt 5 quid. Whaever that adds up to and converted into good old Aussie dollars it was quite painful and well in excess of the new compressor complete with pulley that came from Techchoice Parts in the US later on. Also, the pulley repair didn't solve the problem of gas leaking out of the earlier new compressor which by then had suffered the black death and was pouring its contents out the front seal.

When I finally got to the bottom of the matter, back home in Oz, the aircon specialist I used locally found leakage from the pipe to the condensor unit as well as from the front seal on the compressor. I've previously posted photos of the black death that was drained out too.

Now all is working well thanks to a combination of Techchoice Parts' new compressor and a repair shop that specialises in airconditioning who flushed the system out at least three times over a two week period to clear the debris from the original seized compressor before regassing. I don't think you need a shop familiar with the 260 to do this job, but you do need a good aircon specialist.

[Malcolmr]

Here's an option

https://www.two-sixties.co.uk/mgoc260/html/f0rum/showthread.php?t=6171

By the way, Colin, what does it end up costing you to import one of those new US VS10 compressors by the time you've paid duties and VAT etc? I paid $US130 for mine plus $90 postage and it came sailing through with no import duty a week later, but that's Aussie Customs for you. I think at worst though, I might have had to pay 10% VAT and maybe 10% duty. This is considerably cheaper than your quotes for rebuilding old units locally in the UK if you could get new ones imported at a reasonable cost.

[ColinE]

By the way, Colin, what does it end up costing you to import one of those new US VS10 compressors by the time you've paid duties and VAT etc? I paid $US130 for mine plus $90 postage and it came sailing through with no import duty a week later, but that's Aussie Customs for you. I think at worst though, I might have had to pay 10% VAT and maybe 10% duty. This is considerably cheaper than your quotes for rebuilding old units locally in the UK if you could get new ones imported at a reasonable cost.

Varies quite a lot depending on exchange rate and what you get clobbered for duty (a seemingly random amount), the main issue is timescales, a recon unit can be off and back on the car in less than a week whereas ordering from overseas can take a lot longer.