A/C System Refresh... economic purgatory

garciapiano

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 12, 2018
Location
Southern California
TDI
1997 Jetta TDI (1Z)
My A/C has started to struggle on hot days. Last recharge was 2 years ago after which performance has been remarkably good, but slowly degrading. I believe the system probably needs an entire go-through to renew hoses, o-rings and potentially a new compressor.

As we well know, this entails roughly $1,000 worth of components if we go all-new, and a dash pull to get to the evaporator. And at that point, you may as well do a heater core swap and foam refresh. All of this is going to get expensive, and painfully time-consuming to DIY, to the point of wondering if it’s worth pursuing with a 23-year-old car. I don’t have AC servicing equipment and would prefer not to damage components with my lack of experience. My income is now at a point where operating a vehicle is not a major part of my budget and my commute is short enough not to necessitate a TDI.... but my income is not high enough that having a professional do this would be economically smart by any means. The car runs excellently otherwise, due to the work I’ve put into it, so I’d rather run it into the ground, if anything just to see how far it will go.

Have any of you gotten to this point with your A3/B4? Is it worth putting this kind of effort into a car this old? Should I delete the AC? It has been an excellent daily driver up to this point but it gets HOT here in the summer and I don’t particularly feel like living without it.
 
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ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
If it still works, top it off. I hear so often, that the system needs to be charged by weight. I call BS. I top off by pressure and maybe it’s not perfect, but the air blows cold.

I recently topped off the system in my sedan and I’m now seeing high 40° to low 50° on speed 4, on a 90° day. I’d rather spend 15 minutes doing this, than pulling the entire system apart, flushing and replacing components.

I just did the latter on the wagon, and it’s no fun.

-Todd
 

Mongler98

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
Just top it off properly. Not worth the hassle. You will still get good results. And 1k is nutz. I can do 100 full parts on a mk3 for about $400 in parts.
Another 200 in tools.
 

garciapiano

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 12, 2018
Location
Southern California
TDI
1997 Jetta TDI (1Z)
It's not the way I like to do things, but I'm a belt and suspenders type of guy. I'll take it back to get recharged and buy myself a couple more years. Thank you for the insight.
 

Mongler98

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
$80 in some tools and you can charge it yourself properly. you need a manifold gauge set. stay away from Harbor freight, the ones they have now are garbage and will not fit on most cars and even if they do they do not work properly because they cant open the schrader valve or ball valve.
134a cans now have some dumb check valve and you need an adapter, go to REMichel and buy a metal one. you want to know what the high and low sides both are at a specific ambient air temp.
less time and less $$$ than going to a place to have it recharged.
its an old car. your going to spend a lot into a system that unless you replace the rubber lines, are still going to cost $$$$$ to replace. you cant get them new anymore. any hydraulic shop can make them for you. give them your old ones and for $200 they will replace all the rubber bits properly with better hoses.

anyways, its best to save that $$$ and put it into something worthwhile like a new suspension, better tires, other maintenance.
the time and $ is not worth it unless your time is absolutely free and even then, to go hog wild on new lines, new parts and all that work in the dash!!! you could go buy a newer car!!!
just saying
i know its not the right way to do it but ultimately our society forces us to do one thing and only one thing, make or save $$$
 

KLXD

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 22, 2009
Location
Lompoc, CA
TDI
'98, '2 Jettas
My limited experience has been that the fill valves like to leak. They have a rubber hemisphere that does the sealing rather than a Shrader valve. Looks like a black ball from the outside.

I doubt all your o-rings need replacing.
 

garciapiano

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 12, 2018
Location
Southern California
TDI
1997 Jetta TDI (1Z)
Got the AC recharged again yesterday... the system held a charge for roughly 1 year. The tech said that they needed to flush it 3 times to get all the "crud" out, and there was more "crud" than the last time I got it recharged. I am going to guess that the compressor is on its way out. After 24 years of dutiful service, I can't complain.

The shop quoted me $1,100 in labor, not including parts. Needless to say, I am not interested in paying that kind of money. I can change the components myself (after having the shop evacuate the system) and have the shop take it the rest of the way once all the new parts are in. Especially since a new compressor is roughly $250.

I have some questions before tackling the job:
  1. What is the typical set of components that are replaced with the compressor? From what I understand, the receiver drier will need to be changed, no-brainer), but is it a good idea to change the condenser at the same time?
  2. Should I just change the o-rings that were exposed or should I try to change as many as I can get to? (I'm an if it ain't broke, don't fix it kind of guy)
  3. Which o-rings, in which case do I need? I am wary of o-ring "kits" that are either low quality or are missing the required size. I'm cool with buying a few o-rings individually if need be.
 

03TDICommuter

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2016
Location
So. Cal
TDI
01' NB, 5spd
Got the AC recharged again yesterday... the system held a charge for roughly 1 year. The tech said that they needed to flush it 3 times to get all the "crud" out, and there was more "crud" than the last time I got it recharged. I am going to guess that the compressor is on its way out. After 24 years of dutiful service, I can't complain.
getting the crud out doesn't make sense at all. reclaim, pump down, and refill by weight is the routine. Normally nothing is flushed unless they're replacing parts. I'd ask them to clarify what they mean by flush.

My jetta was leaking at the expansion valve. There were tell tale signs there - it was sopping wet with oil and very dirty from accumulating dirt. Mine was a slow leak though - I saw the oil wetness and with my refrigerant sniffer, it alarmed at the TXV valve. I have a good o-ring assortment and though they seemed to be the right size, none worked - they all leaked pretty bad. Ended up buying a replacement TXV that came with orings as I wanted to fix it that weekend. Held tight and worked well when I sold the car later.

Running it low will damage stuff as there isn't enough refrigerant to transport the oil. You should find where it's leaking before shotgunning all the parts.
 

TDIDaveNH

Left Lane Coal Roller at Large
Joined
Feb 17, 2009
Location
North Conway, NH
TDI
1997 Passat TDI x2 1984 Buick Century 4.3 diesel
I've done extensive AC work on my B4 and to me it's worth it to have the system functioning properly. It's a good idea to replace all the seals you can get to, replace with the correct green O-rings and dip them in PAG 46 (compressor oil) before installing. Since you're in SoCal, I'd look at Century Auto Air out of Tucson for parts... to say they are extremely well stocked is an understatement. They were the only place at the time I found a seal kit for the Sanden SD7V16
 
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