[928uk] Report of aircon experiences

[Paul Anderson]

Mark,

If the aircon is still not very cold after all this work check the hot water
valve at the rear of the engine under the airbox and make sure that it is
not passing. Best bet is to just replace it as they deteriorate with age,
but then again after all your expense so far i am sure ytou are reluctant to
spend any more.

Regards,

Paul.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark Baker" <mab at redhat.com>
To: <928uk at 928.org.uk>
Sent: Wednesday, July 14, 2004 11:09 AM
Subject: [928uk] Report of aircon experiences


I have recently spent a reasonable amount of time and money getting my
air conditioning fixed and thought list members may be interested in my
experiences.

The car is 90 GT, bought in Jan of this year without aircon working.
Conversion to R134a had been done although not all the connectors seemed
to be of the right type. It already had the luminous stuff in the system
so a leak was suspected.

Took the car to John Goggin at Aircare Automotive in Elstead Surrey:

http://www.air-care-automotive.co.uk/

A bit of investigation confirmed the seals in compressor were gone.
Options were:

1. Replacement compressor from AFN - £1400 approx.

2. 2nd hand compressor from PaulA in Stroud 100 quid approx although,
this would be using a different gas (r25?) which is not as efficient.

3. A 3rd party compressor from griffiths:

http://www.griffiths.com/porsche/ac/928ac/index.htm#Compressors

price 699 USD. (400 GBPs or near enough)

I went for 3 - a replacement compressor from Griffiths, as I wanted
something efficient and reliable.

Ordering from griffiths was via email and straight forward although I
was unhappy about putting credit card details in plain text email. It
arrived a couple of weeks later complete with replacement barrier hoses,
new drier and new connectors all round - not bad for the money.

Back to Aircare Automotive for the fitting and gassing. Fitting was
supposed to be straight forward but wasn't. It supposedly took over 12
hours (!) from start to finish at a cost of over 650 quid. I do not know
if this is down to the fitting kit with the compressor, Aircare
Automotive's skills or their greed. I was assured that should Aircare
fit the same kit again it would take considerably less time.

The results? Well the air conditioning now works but only as well as
before (which was only just acceptable) and I was really hoping for an
improvement. I do not know if this is due to the ability of the
compressor, other parts within the system or poor setup. I will take it
back to Aircare in 1500 miles for a "free" checkup but am also like to
get it checked again when next in Stroud.

In summary I'd say:

Keuhl Compressor - okay considering the cost and parts provided but next
time I'd investigate 2nd hand compressor first.

Aircare Automotive - expensive and only now gaining familiarity with
928s. Get a very clear picture of costs involved before using them and
compare to other places. (suggestions?)

If anyone else has got a Keuhl compressor then I'd love to hear from you.


Mark

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