AC in this 1991 (original owner, 153K miles) has always worked great after replacing evaporator and converting to R134 6 years ago.

Now the AC is coming mostly out of the defroster vents on top of the dash with a little coming out of the side vents on the front of the dash. Nothing is coming out of the center dash vents. A good amount also comes out of the rear seat passenger vent.

Can anyone comment on what the likely problem(s) might be?

Is anyone aware of a good independent AC shop in the Tampa Bay area that knows these cars?

Thank you.

After reading some posts here about vacuum problems causing my symptoms I opened the hood to look at vacuum connections.

The first one I looked at, on the EGR valve, had split at that connection. I also found a small ball bearing in that line that I assume my mechanic put in when he replaced the turbo and cleaned out the crossover some years ago. Replaced the line, problem solved.

Great forum here. I always learn from it.

ezrider,

Did that fix the problem? On a side note, I was born in Tampa and will be moving/retiring back there in a few years. Last Christmas I planned on doing a number of Mercedes projects, one of which was to replace the rear axle shafts. To make a long story short, I ran out of time and didn't feel like bothering, so I got a couple of estimates. A really high estimate from a shop in Odessa (where my parents live), then my Dad told me I should check with a place in New Port Richey called Ice Cold Air (I believe). They had done the job on another MB a couple of weeks earlier and gave me a really good estimate. It was about $140 and they had it done in an afternoon. They are not a MB shop, but a couple of the mechanics seem to be fairly familiar with them. I would highly recommend.

- Ted

__________________
1987 300SDL 265,000 mi.
1982 300SD 325,000 mi. (and holding)
1956 Packard Clipper 150,000 mi.

Ted,

Yes, replacing the vacuum line did fix the problem.


There are a number of "Ice Cold" shops in the Tampa Bay area, thanks for the lead.