Air Con Pipework

[Big Bad Al]

I know this is an old thread but just for anyone like me who may have the same problem that Bigjeeze had and is contemplating cutting front panel in the same way or stripping down the front "landing" to access the pipe, there is an alternative that doesn't involve paying the main dealer large sums of money. On this site I found reference to ac4cars.co.uk. They make and fit a better designed part than the original, that prevent's the very common problem of the U bend on the suction pipe fracturing. I've been quoted

[SilverBeast]

I have a 2005 MKII Galaxy TDI 130 that has a similar issue. It has been diagnosed with a leak (via dye) in the thinner pipe that is to the left of the one shown in the pictures, which I assume is the high pressure side. Apparantly there is a fixing bracket that has worn the pipe. It looks as though this pipe is one run from below the headlamp to the back of the engine bay, then across the back of the engine bay and onto the condenser(?) where it is attached via a fitting that also seems to tie it to the low pressure pipe. For good measure it appears that there is a (compression?) t-piece off each of these pipes to feed the lines to the condenser(?) for the rear air-con!! Looks to me like I would need to drop the engine in order to feed these out and replace, as there are also brake lines in the way for good measure.

 

Does anyone know of a good air conditioning specialist in the Leeds/Bradford/Harrogate area of West Yorkshire that they could recommend? Obviously I don't want to pay through the nose (I am a Yorkshireman born and bred after all!) but do understand it's worth paying a bit more for someone who knows what they are doing and only needs to do the job once. Hopefully they will be able to cut and rejoin the pipe but clearly access is 'limited'.

 

Thanks

 

Richard

[Big Bad Al]

Ok - I had my air con repaired today by just about the nicest man you could possibly meet. The method used was to cut the pipe and fit a custom made part that is better engineered than the original. It is designed to allow more flexing. It is this lack of flexibility in the OEM part that possibly causes this "suction" pipe to fail so commonly on the galaxy / sharon / alhambra. So here is a picture of the part fitted. All the pipework to the right of the low pressure filler valve (as you view the pictures) is the original pipework. To the left of the filler valve a short part of the original pipework remains and then the custom made part has been fitted / crimped to it. The old part was cut of first of course. The pictures show the original pipe that has been unbolted from the compressor and cut. The second picture is a view from the nearside. The last on from the offside. Following the fitting of the new part, the system was vaccumed, then refilled with the correct amount of gas / oil then tested. Oh yes, dye was added as well and I was advised to have the system checked again in 2013. The entire job took just under 2 hours. It cost just