Barlidge

The bumber cover has the following fixings: 4 torx/flat blade fixings on top 4 torx fixings in each wheel arch fixing liner to bumper 3 popper fixings from underneath at the front, from above push the little rod out then remove the fixing Surprisingly little holding it on lol After those have been removed its a good tug in a forward motion from each side, the sides have some clips, this is easier with two people but can be done with one, then disconnect the Fog lights/distance sensors. Once you have the bumper cover off the bumper bar will be apparent, three torx each side (one of different size each side) The hose connection were either an alen key or torx, but simple enough. My bolts came out easy enough but the n/s connection was tight, I just rocked it gently back and forth so as not to stress the pipe and eventually it came away ok. There is another good post on this Here Pm me and I'l give you my mobile if your not sure on anything. Remember a couple of new o rings

Ok there are loads of well informed peeps on here that can probably help but I think they are going to need a little more info: Flushed engine? with what and how? Slick engine additive? exactly what and how much? New plugs? have these been removed and checked for correct gaps? Fuel system cleaner? What type and how much and how applied? Cleaned MAF? Although some reports of success are achieved by cleaning the most common approach is to replace. 2 x tensioners? There is only one on the cam belt, either the aux belt tensioner has been changed as well or you mean the idler pulley Premium Fuel? Dont think this would have an effect but run the tank alost dry and then fill up with normal grade Did you do the work yourself or was it done by a garage/dealer?

Good luck with it, I think its worth the diy approach, I recently did my condenser/drier complete unit and then found 2 more leaks in the pipework. That said I've only spent £110 on 2 refills and £75 on a condenser/drier from ebay. I'm currently trying to source new pipework. From reading the forums there are some that have run into 4 figures and still not resoved all their aircon issues and thats through dealers/specialists. After I removed my old condenser, the only way I could remove the cap was to use an angle grinder to split the housing and and prise open.

The housing will be as corroded as the cap, even you do get it out you probably wont get a decent seal with just a new cap. Your probably going to have to change the condenser/drier as a complete unit.

You might want to add a little detail about the car, year/engine/gearbox etc

Well if anyone else is wondering how these work here is a video showing the tool in action:

I think I may have narrowed it down: VS045 VS0454 Can anyone confirm if one or both of these are suitable, thanks.

After changing out condenser/drier with lots of advice on here all has been well, however, I was under the car today and spotted two new leaks (fresh green oily dye), the 1st near the high pressure switch under a bracket and the 2nd on the U section of pipe leading from the compressor, both seemingly common areas well refenced on the forum. I tried to source costs for new pipes from local ford dealer but after 45 minutes they still couldnt identify the second pipe, I have since found a nice VW diagram here on the forum that shows both pipes clearly so will be taking that to VW dealer and see if they can help. I have seen reference to the special tool for disconnecting the pipes on here with a Euro Car Parts number but their website cant find it, does anyone know where this can be obtained. Many thanks.

If you are handy with a spanner then I think it is, I've just done mine and its all good so far, although time will be the biggest test to see if I have any other slow leaks, you can see my thread Thead

I had a steady stream of bubbles from mine with only 2/3 psi in.

If energising one circuit causes another to fail the prime suspect is earth/negative failure, most circuits have independant positive feeds but share a common negative. IIRC the starter negative is via the engine block to a common earthing point on the body shared with the negative terminal of the battery so I would check this first, undo it, clean it and then make sure its nice and tight, if it cures your problem brush a little grease over it afterwards to help prevent water ingress.

Have just changed my condenser/drier due to leakage but at the same time may have uncovered a blockage in the old condenser, I had oily residue and dye on the high pressure side and nothing on the drier side. I am taking to aircon guy tomorrow for vac/regas and see what he has to say, will let you know if anything seems relevant. Do you know if the system has had leak sealer put in at any time? Just to add, I think its unlikely that the drier alone is causing the problem, having disected mine and looking at the contruction it is just a plastic cage in a tube filled with moisture absorbing granules that the gas circulates around. Unless the complete cage collapses then I dont see how that alone can block the system, I can post some pics of mine if it helps.

New condenser all fitted and booked into aircon specialist tommorrow morning (not Qwik fit). To be honest once you have the bumber off, cut away a little fibreglass and follow some simple common sense it was an easy job. 1) Confirm system pressure is 0 or have the system evacuated. 2) Remove bumper cover. 3) Remove bumper bar. 4) Cut away fibreglass to allow condenser brackets to pass out the front. 5) Disconnect hose lines and immediately wrap in sandwich bags (or clingfilm etc) to minimise contamination. 6) Unbolt condenser/drier and remove. 7) Install new condenser/drier. 8) Reconnect hose lines; unwrap, wipe clean, lubricate and fit new o rings, tighten. 9) Refit bumper bar and cover. 10 Seek specialist to vac system, pressure test and refill with correct quantities. In removing the old condenser I observed the following: The high pressure side had traces of oil and dye, both inside and outside the o ring but on the drier side there was no trace of oil or dye. I was unable to retrieve any residual oil at all from the condenser/drier. On the reverse side of the oily patch earlier observed in the n/s bottom corner of the condenser there were green crustations indicating the condenser was leaking along with the drier cap and also the high pressure connection. I have deviated from TIS in that I have not added any new oil to the condenser, this is based on 2 things, 1) The recharge equipment has progressed considerably since TIS was written and instead of a couple of gas bottles they can now evacuate, clean and measure. 2) the aircon guy I'm taking to for the recharge assures me there is no need as they will take care of the quantities based on 1) above. I am sure that this will not be the end of my aircon troubles, but if it helps someone else in a similar situation then all good, I will post an update tomorrow after recharge but the true result wont be known until the gas runs out :19:

check connnection between battery negative and bodywork.

Would be great to find someone nr Biggleswade, Beds :)

Have you tried swapping HT leads/spark plugs around to see if the fault moves with them, or substituting with spares if you have them or you could buy one of each and try in each pot. Not sure how your testing HT output with a multimeter, HT voltages run into 10's of thousands of volts?

A couple of updates: Reading Seatkids latest post reminded me that the guy at Qwik-fit said he had put dye in during the recharge, this also shows on the reciept but there was no indication of any dye around the cap, not sure if thi means anything or not. Also I hopefully have just got a bargain £65 + £10 p&P: Condenser I have spoken to the seller, he confirms it is a genuine ford/motorcraft replacement part, still not sure if I will fit or get someone else to.

Granted I did observe air bubbles from the water test, however within 48hrs from recharge the system was down to at 2-3psi which was a couple of hours before the water test, I've still got to obtain replacement parts which will prob run into next week so I was thinking the final residue would have depleted by then. Please excuse some ignorance, I do not claim to be an aircon expert hence the request for advice from you guys here, and am very gratefull for all recieved so far. But I do have good general mechanical and diy expertise (completed C&G Parts 1 & 2 Mechanical Engineering circa 1989) and as many others on here I am on a tight budget so I have to explore any areas where money can be saved by doing work myself. Good call from Bigjeeze, I removed the bumper cover a while ago and had a better look at the condenser, there is a 3" diameter oily resedue near the bottom n/s corner and also an oily residue around the n/s pipe conection flange. If I was to fit myself and then take to a 'dealer' for regass I was working under the impression that prior to filling an aircon machine vacs out the system. Also looking at TIS the residual oil in the condenser/drier would have to be reclaimed and measured and replaced accordingly with the correct grade pag oil during replacement. Please correct me if I'm wrong in my assumptions. Thanks also to seat kid for referring to an excellent earlier post which has yielded masses of good information.

No but would that be necessary as the system is empty?

I believe its a choice of the the following parts: Drier only: Europarts Drier Only Complete Condenser Europarts Condenser Having now found my TIS CD and the fact that the system has emptied itself it seems feasable to source some new o rings and the correct quantity/spec oil and fit it myself. Has anyone else done this and could there be any problems I havent forseen?

Nice link, thanks for that, just been out to have a look, took 5 mins to take of the 4 bolts for the top of the grill, manage to pull away enough to get the cap off and have a look, lots of silvery white crusty deposits. Poured in a little water and lo and behold one steady stream of bubbles at least 8 per second and a second intermittant stream a bit slower, bearing in mind the system is almost empty now. So does this mean the condensor/dryer needs replacing or can that cap be sealed?

Thanks again but just went out in the car and the display has started flashing, checked it and sure enough its only about 2-3psi, I guess it was leaking all along.

Thanks Seatkid, that description is very clear and extremely helpful. Are you suggesting that by checking the pressure once straight after the recharge could have caused enough loss to stop the system working? While I take on board your point about the loss incurred I'm not sure that is the cause as the decline was gradual through the rest of the day. The system still appears to be running, no flashing display, compressor running, no strange noises etc but the air coming out is now back to being warm. Are there any other checks that can be done to help diagnose the problem? Thanks again.

Does the gas convert to liquid in a similar way to other gasses when under pressure? Meaning the pressure gauge will not start decreasing till the final fumes escape the system?

Thanks Seatkid but a little harsh maybe! The first reading was to obtain a reference from which to gauge the speed and amount of any losses from. Both test were carried out after a run at normal operating temperature with the climate set to Lo and at comparable abient temperatures. It lasted less than 24hrs, hence the requirement for the second test to see if the cause was a loss of pressure referring back to my 'just charged' reference point. I realise a pressure test is not the ideal test method but it is all I have available to help investigate before posting for help. I have no previous history of this system ever working so trying to eliminate the most obvious first seems logical. Something has stopped working within 24hrs and I was just looking for advice as to where to look next. Messing about with it? I thought thats what this forum was for, to help us mess about with our gals in a more educated manner!