Car Aircon DIY Leak Repair Kits

[LeMarchand]

My car is 15 years old and has a slow leak, likely from the condenser according to the "mobile" chap I called. His guesstimate was around £250-£300, which is reasonable considering the work involved (removing the front bumper etc) but I'm reluctant to spend that much on a non-essential for a car that will probably not be being kept for more than 2 or 3 more years. A new condenser is around £70 (plus subsequent regas) but the work is beyond me and it may not be the condenser, so I was looking at the aircon equivalent of Radweld. A "repair" kit costs around £60 and the work involved is something I'm capable of, but I know some people say "don't do it!".

 

So has anyone got any personal experience? I was looking at https://www.amazon.co.uk/Aircon-Conditioning-Recharge-Refill-Regas/dp/B00JVVURT8

[ZeroHour]

I hadnt seen the kits (my old car probably had a small leak) and I would have been dubious but the reviews on Amazon are better than I thought it would have been. I would see if you can dig out any YT videos of common issues on your car, it could be a simple fix.

[Dos_Box]

I don't think you can get them. As the gas used in the system is under pressure, it is very unlikely anything other than a proper repair will fix your problem. My old Mondeo needed a new condenser a bit back and was about £380 inc. recharge IIRC.

[LeMarchand]

I hadnt seen the kits (my old car probably had a small leak) and I would have been dubious but the reviews on Amazon are better than I thought it would have been. I would see if you can dig out any YT videos of common issues on your car, it could be a simple fix.

Good idea. The leak was revealed when I went for a regas and the mobile guy suggested the condenser as the most likely spot for my car model. Guess it could be somewhere else, though the most accessible bit would be where they attach the refill canister to and you'd hope that ATS did that properly! Otherwise, most of what's under the bonnet is a complete PITA to get to.

[DaveTheTech]

When re-gassing, they can add a UV dye - that would pin point where it is.

[LeMarchand]

When re-gassing, they can add a UV dye - that would pin point where it is.

 

They can, but ATS:

Just fill 'em up. We don't get into fixing the.

[LeMarchand]

Found one video that made it look like a do-able job, but my skill level would require a couple of days of decent weather and no need to drive anywhere (at least). I think I'm going to see how we get on with just the blower for now as £70 (part) + £40-£60 (regas) plus the frustration and skinned knuckles moves it into the "can probably do without" league for me.

[robintech]

No practical experience but I went through the same thought process and ended up never fixing it and only watching a lot of YT videos

 

Can type refill which the internet seemed to say is a bit pointless and expensive for what it is so didn't try that, "they" said system should never drop to the point it stops working unless its leaking somewhere and if it leaked enough to stop working there's no point refilling unless you want to do it every month

Thought about replacing the cheapest parts like the Schrader valves in the high low side and then trying a can refill in case they were leaking, which would be worthwhile refilling then.

Thought about a UV leak test but you need some way to feed it into the system under pressure and the fill valves will show up as leaking due to having dye pushed through them anyway

Thought about a Condenser as it was under £100, needed to drain the coolant to remove the radiator enough and in theory replace the butane? O-rings where the pipes join the condenser bought the O-rings for £5 but never got round to doing the job

 

Ended up selling the car a year later with no aircon which I really missed during the hottest summer ever