Same car.....another issue......

Have tried on SEVERAL occasions to replace A/C condensor on this car in the front section under the hood (actually my mechanic has tried)....using certified RECONDITIONED parts from various vendors: DELCO (US) as well as GERMAN OEM part. Have been unsuccessful in getting A/C to operate properly or AT ALL after several installations of different condensors over the past three years.....EXPENSIVE to take out old unit and install new unit.....the most time that the A/C has worked is ONE DAY ONLY...and then it craps out......

Any suggestions on what is going on here, or what part WILL WORK or what we are doing wrong on this front? I know that A/C units on these old MBs are notorious for being a real pain, not working, or not able to be fixed properly......some folks have same car and A/C has ALWAYS worked well and others have cars where A/C has NEVER worked well......

Any input would be greatly appreciated.......

You can buy a brand new Parallel flow condenser for much less than the fin-and-tube OEM MB condenser. Also, the Parallel flow condenser of much more efficient and you will get better cooling results. Search for it on the forums, there are many posts about the upgrade you can do.

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1980 240d
1999 SL500

We don't usually allow AC questions going into the winter months... but we can make an exception...that will give you months to get it correct...LOL

First, tell us EXACTLY what you or your mechanic did and did not do if you know that also... Those of us who have studied AC on cars can pretty much guess ...but on the outside chance something else caused it... we need to know from you or your mechanic the facts... Greg

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1985 300TD "Ted", 220,000 miles

In two instances, mechanic advised me that condensors "WERE NO GOOD" after installation and system crashes....sent back to OEM parts dealer for replacements but had to do this over an 18 month period because of cost involved each time and the onset of winter over two years (no need to fix)......

The very last time, the system worked for about 1-2 days and then went BUST.......

Cannot find out now what mechanic has to say as he is under a car and it ain't my car.......and he's not the most friendly guy in town.....GRRRRRR.

He seems to think that it has to do with bad rebuilds on condensors and NOT with other areas of the system.....but it DID appear that the coolant DID seep out at a high rate after initial installs....DID NOT seep out after last install....but still doesn't work.....

Ok... not trying to bust your chops... at least you are consistent in describing your mechanic... LOL
There are huge threads about AC on our old cars... with lots of good references...
but it boils (pun ) down to this...
If in the process of putting those on the car the general system was not cleaned properly .... and then oiled properly, ... and /or the wrong serial number compressor ( if your system has been converted to 134a ) was installed ... then those condensors failed because JUNK left over from the last compressor explosion clogged them up.
That will cover about 97 percent of things which go wrong on our old MB's....
It is easily corrected going into the next stage of repair... but very specific rules need to be understood and followed...

I suspect that this is what has happened and the OEM parts folks said the very same thing when I returned items to them....NOT HAPPY CAMPERS.....is there a place where I can find a step by step list of things to do to insure that debris is not being blown into condensor upon installation?????

In meantime, I will search archives as you have suggested...thanks....Ted

Use my name to search the archives... I give great answers...
LOL
Or at the very least I am involved in some of the more interesting arguments...
LOL

There IS a separate Mercedes paper FSM manual for AC...
but most of it involves cleanliness...
Aircondition.com has great discussions...
Find the archives, read them, post your plan of action and we will supplement and refine and give tips on getting it done correctly...

Is there a NEW or REFURBISHED condensor unit for this car (82 240D ST Sedan) that IS reliable and will work when installed????? Still checking out archives....didn't find anything on THIS forum that specifically deals with my problem, but rather, conversions to new parallel flow condensor system......

I have given up on DELCO/GM refurbished condensor....just plain crap IMHO and that of my mechanic...burned too many times with this part.....

You are concentrating , it seems, on the actual condensor when I think your problem is in the stuff that should be done before you install ANY other condensor... IE, the cleaning process...
I really doubt... particularly from what you have said about the feedback when you returned those other units... that the problem was IN those units... AND there are in fact threads about putting the P-Flow condensors into our cars by people who posted great pictures and really did their homework... if I could remember their screen names offhand I would tell you... but this was a couple of years ago....
For real up to date info on this stuff... Call Tray at Carlisle Auto Air in San Antonio...

You will find that plenty of the Delco Hotchkiss compressors work just fine... including with the higher pressures and possibly less oil carrying efficient R134a... so you do not need to engineer a new mount and plumbing in your car to get reliable compressor life... just find out from Tray what serial number you need ..

There is a good pictorial on the the dieselgiant site about servicing the air conditioning. Even though it does not address the condenser specifically the same steps should be followed to flush and evacuate the system. After this much work on the system you should be replacing the expansion valve and receiver-drier and flushing the system while it is apart. I would also recommend removing the compressor and draining all of the old oil out so you can start with a clean charge of the correct amount of oil. A clean system with the proper amount of oil and refrigerant will make a huge difference.

Doing the manual labor yourself of taking the system apart, flushing, and re-assembling with clean oil will save you a lot of money. Then go and rent a vacuum pump or buy a cheap one from Harbor Freight, eBay, or craigslist and pull a vacuum on it overnight. Charge it yourself or take it to get charged. Use R12 if you can get it or do some research on alternative refrigerants such as R134 and others, there are a number of threads on the forum with pros and cons of various refrigerants. Professional mechanics and A/C shops simply can't afford the time it takes to do a job thoroughly and still make a profit.

fdanielson.....

That complete overhaul of my A/C system is WAY above my grade level and I will not be able to do this myself without screwing up the rest of the car....you are right in saying that it is too time consuming and expensive to have a certified mechanic do it....might just cost about as much as replacing the car itself.....

I was assured by the mechanic who did this work several times that the COMPRESSOR was working fine and that all leaks had been repaired....this is a good start but I am still stuck with getting a reliable condenser to work in this car.....to remove or flush or replace the compressor given where it is located under the hood will mean tearing the console dash apart to get to it....many hours and mucho dineros......

But in trying to limit my $$$ exposure over several years, I may, in fact, have spent as much as this would have taken to do to begin with...who knows? It was UNAFFORDABLE when I began this effort and it is STILL unaffordable now as I am between jobs....

I have the automotive technical acumen of a salt lick......lol

I am still chasing down discussions/forums on the actual cleaning up of A/C systems PRIOR to installation of replacement condensers to insure that remnant debris does not damage this replacement part (as it appears to have done so on at least one occasion). The other replacement condenser NEVER generated the required pressure level to deliver cold air to the interior of car and was sent back to seller.

That ALL having been said, I would still like any expert's opinion on the best replacement part manufacturer for this condenser and where to go get one.....thanks again ONE AND ALL.....

LOL,,,, you mean some OTHER expert 's opinion which fits more with what you want to do instead of what this expert is saying ? !! ? LOL

There are very few components to the system... you have assumed some things which make it seem more of a job than it is... first, the evaporator is not flushed. ... so attacking the console area is not necessary...

Keep looking at the various threads you can find... post your plan of action and we ( or I ) will fill in the way to do it correctly and with the least work ( not that it is not some trouble ) in a fashion which will give the most promise of a long lasting well running unit...

Or you can make up imaginary problems and probably not have a long lasting unit after avoiding stuff you did not need to do anyway...

It kinda comes down to ' who do you trust' ? except anything I say I can give you the references for the action....

The condenser can not generate any pressure.... only the process of installing the refrigerant or the compressor can generate any pressure. When we get through you will be able to help others who have AC questions on the forum... I know that is your real long term goal... LOL

On the a/c discussion forums they have pre-prepared fields to enter: High Side PSI, Low Side PSI and refrigerant type.

The reason for that is this information is absolutely necessary when diagnosing A/C systems.

SOooo.... what are the Lo, Hi pressures, the refrigerant type and under exactly what conditions will the system "not work?"