What about the relieve valve on the high pressure side of the compressor. Has this been replaced? If the seal in that is stuffed it may be leaking from there. And this sits directly above the compressor. If they dye tested it and found the colour hovering around the compressor they may have been confused as to the true leak... Food for thought. And yeah, possibly looking at around 10 orings in the system. Ask if they have replaced the receiver/dryer. This needs to ideally be replaced if a systems been dry for years with only air in it. Keeps the moisture out of the system and stops premature pump failure along with improving the ability to cool the car.
Thanks Graham..will PM aazn Well mine must be a huge leak to leak out in 3 days How long did it take Joe to repair your car Mark? And what did he do? I'm considering buying a second hand unit that's been active within 6 months and was working fine..my issue is that the zed is my daily and I can't afford her to be off the road for a week while it gets fixed... Nothing has been fixed yet, all the zed has had done is a dye test, replace 2 O-rings and re-gas...I'm now in the process of figuring out what I'm gonna do ...so I may possibly have to replace the receiver/dryer..god this is turning into a nightmare..and you mention that there is a chance it is not the compressor, due to this relieve valve being in the compressor area ...I just hope to god it is the compressor... Maybe I should just pay them to fix it..and if it leaks after that I'll just take them to consumer affairs :bash:
some answers... Renee, Joe replaced the air con compressor on my car many years ago. Then, about 2 years ago, the system for whatever reason over pressurized and spat out all the refrigerant. Since I was going to fit a TT condenser for my future TT transplant, I took it upon myself to follow Zcars91 tech article and replace the receiver dryer myself, along with fit the TT condensor. Since all the refrigerant had already expelled itself I was able to do all the removal and installation myself as I did not need to get the system depressurised. I then took the car to Joe and he checked the system for leaks, and then regassed it. Been working fine ever since. He needed the car for one day.
Mark, do you know how much it cost you to get Joe to replace your air con compressor + re-gas it? I just want a comparison to the $1325 I was quoted which included rebuild, install and re-gas. With the receiver/dryer did you get another second hand one?
I would say that the compressor stills functions as it should......a common problem however is that the front seal leaks (I think someone else has already said that). It is common for bearings etc to wear and this makes the shaft pull slightly sideways on the seal which makes it leak. For them to try pull the seal and just change that would be a waste of time (as it would probably leak again with a new seal) so they just rebuild the whole things (new bearings and seals). I got a quote from someone the other day for $580 to rebuild so around the $600 mark is not a bad price. All extra would be labour costs and it is a bit of a pain to get out. Do not install the receiver drier (thing under the nose panel) before you change the compressor. The a/c guys say if these are exposed to air for more than around 15-20mins they are buggered (dont know how true this is but they all say it). Cheers Jason
more answers... Renee, when Joe did my compressor many years ago, he essentially swapped it with a second hand one. The compressor itself cost $250 plus another $200 for regass and labour. All up, $450. This was back in Nissport days where Joe had access to heaps of zed spare parts. Now that he is at Dontex, I would say it would be best to supply him with a 2nd hand compressor yourself. Also, Dontex has higher labour rates than what Nissport used to have. I would assume that the job at Dontex would cost you around $400-$600 mark (that includes the price of the 2nd hand compressor).... But as always, I could be very wrong. Its really best to ring Joe and speak to him personally and get a better idea on price. If you want to go down this route, let me know and I'll give you Joe's number...
I had my compressor fully rebuild (not reconditioned) for $649 by hi tech radiators in Archerfield (Brisbane) The compressor fitting and regas didn't cost a further $676
Well the zed is booked in at Dontex on the 8th of Feb, got a second hand compressor that was working thanks to retro_zx...so lets hope its a simple switch over and replace...was just wondering what is involved with getting to the compressor? Eg. Does the front bar need to be removed? And does the radiator need to be removed too?
Hey Renee if these guys do a good job disregard this message. But my Dad and I always get our cars done at Ron Twitt. Never had to take a job back to him. EVER! and we have had sooo many cars over the years go through him. He charges more than most but his work is impeccable and the aircon is ICE COLD
Just the aircon..although I thought if they had to remove the radiator I would get the upper and lower hoses replaced with the new kit I got from Z1 a while back..
3 book hours for someone who knows a Z32 to R&R the A/Con Compressor. 4-5 hours maybe if he doesn't know Z's With the system being reopened, you should consider changing the receiver/dryer, even if it's been changed recently
UPDATE... Well I went to Dontex yesterday to get the air-con fixed, had a 2nd hand compressor to swap into the zed with the so called "screwed compressor" to be removed as stated by Natrad... Well the story is not good...:mad2:...I want to do this to the guy at Natrad :bash: x 1,000,000... I really appreciate the work done at Dontex, they are genuinely friendly people that obviously know what they are talking about...not like Natrad :bash:..and their invoice was very thorough in explaining what work was done.. - They found that the compressor was working correctly even though slightly noisy - They found 2 sources of gas leaks, first leak at the evaporator connection in the engine bay and second inside cabin around evaporator. They replaced 2 O-rings at the firewall which fixed that..but it was still leaking inside the cabin.. So pretty much I need a new evaporator...Dontex are trying to source me an aftermarket evaporator, as they don't really recommend a 2nd hand one...So now the question is...Where do I find an evaporator? They reckon it will take about 4hrs work to dismantle dash and remove and replace evaporator and recommend I install the 2nd hand compressor I got, as my one may be on the way out, since it's a little noisy (and the one I got off retro_zx was working fine, when he had it installed)... I'm seriously contemplating going to consumer affairs about Natrad, for trying to screw me over ...they said the compressor was leaking everywhere, just because I'm female they think they can get away with this kind of shit :nono:...well I've done the research and I know when someone is trying to rip me off :nono:...they've messed with the wrong girl..I'm gonna tell everyone I know about their lies!! So this if for you NATRAD :F:
I'm feeling for you Renzed. But don't think your special because your female. These types of people don't discriminate. Exactly the same thing happened to me. Ended up spending about $2500 by the time I finally had a working A/C system. The second hand replacement one died about six months later..... The final fully reconditioned one was still going when I sold it about a year after that....
You don't need to dismantle the dash. The evaporator assembly can be pulled out through the glovebox (obviously the glovebox door needs removing) I actually highly doubt it's leaking from there, but you never know I guess
UPDATE: Well yesterday I took the zed back to Dontex again, this time with a 2nd hand evaporator AND compressor...Craig removed the glovebox and surrounding bracket to help save a bit of money... Dontex tested the 2nd hand evaporator before installing on the zed, and there was no leak from it ...so they went ahead and swapped out my leaking evaporator with this 2nd hand evaporator... Next they swapped my compressor out (which was functioning with no leaks, but was a bit noisy) with the second hand compressor I had which required a new bearing. But pretty much they said my compressor is still functioning fine, it may eventually die as its a bit noisy (which was due to something internal in the compressor, so the 2nd hand one I had was in better condition)... While they were there, they ended up removing my radiator to install the compressor, so I got them to install my aftermarket alloy hard pipe and blue silicon upper and lower hoses ...PLUS..while they were at the front of the engine I told Joe he might as well install my underdrive pulley set with new belts...so he did that too, as well as flushed my radiator, then pressure tested to ensure no leaks and refilled with fresh coolant... In conclusion, new pulley set on, new radiator kit installed and a working air-con...for just under $800...so I'm officially one happy chappy ... Would HIGHLY RECOMMEND Dontex to any other Melb people, friendly people, great customer service and people who ACTUALLY know what they are doing! In regards to Natrad Bendigo...when I get time I will be going to consumer affairs...I was a bit hesitant about this considering they originally said my compressor was stuffed..and well since I don't have the same compressor in my car now...I can't really prove that it was "technically" working...however when I confronted the guy at Natrad that how come my air-con worked for 3 days and now no longer worked he said something along the lines of "sometimes these things happen, we would be in deep sh#t if we re-gassed a system with a known leak"...Well Dontex found a LARGE leak...so technically Natrad DID re-gas the system with a known leak..and as far as I'm concerned if a radiator/air-con specialist (supposably known as Natrad) CANNOT detect a large leak, then something dodgy is going on.
Speaking of A/C repairs......I have to replace the small control motor that operates the heater core tap. It's located under the heater core module pressing against the carpet and requires removal of the entire dash. I think the bloody zed was built around this motor..........luckily I'm "retired" and have a couple of spare weeks to do this. Hope my back doesn't crack. Bugger!!! Cheers
