Hey guys,

So it's time to replace the air conditioning in my '87 300e. I used an eBay compressor a few years ago that lasted two summers, shredded itself, and destroyed the system. When I pulled it off, there were metal shards everywhere throughout the hoses. I've been running with a shorter belt and no compressor for a while now. Lesson learned.

I'm going to give it another go with OEM parts. Everything from Aux fan and condenser, to hoses, to evaporator, to relay is going to be treated as junk and replaced.

Is there any reason to use later w124 parts? Should I upgrade to the two fan condenser system? Or just keep it simple and replace it back to factory 1987 spec? Not trying to start another r134a vs r12 refrigerant war Just in regards to parts, is it worth it to upgrade anything?

Thanks!

Scott

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Scott

1987 300e - The 200,000 mile TurboTechnics rocketship.

Don't go to the dealer for the evaporator as you may get the Al/Cu version. I went with Reinz for my evap replacement and it has been rock solid. Make sure you thoroughly flush out ALL the hoses. Last thing you want is some metal shards ruining your new system.

Stick with R12 since you will be flushing the whole system and don't worry about the dual fan setup.
Plenty of guys on Craigslist who have R12 available for pretty cheap. Pointless going with R134a since you will have a leak tight brand new system.

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2016 Monsoon Gray Audi Allroad - 21k
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2003 Gray Mercedes ML350 - 122k

Good to know on the Evaporator! I'm going to replace every single hose, so hopefully I won't have to do much flushing. Should I flush new hoses at all?
Thanks!

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Scott

1987 300e - The 200,000 mile TurboTechnics rocketship.

You could go with the later condensor, slightly different which I assume is for the increased condensor-area requirement for R-134A

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

You don't really need to replace all the hoses. They are VERY expensive. Just remove them and flush it thoroughly. You can buy A/C flush in cans that work great. I'd rather buy a couple more bottles of the flush than replace those hoses. IIRC they are well over $100-$150 for each line.

Give a good read of my Evaporator page....Plenty of links with all the information should ever need:
http://w124-zone.com/?p=93

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2016 Monsoon Gray Audi Allroad - 21k
2008 Black Mercedes E350 4Matic Sport - 131k
2014 Jeep Wranger Unlimited Sahara - 62k
2003 Gray Mercedes ML350 - 122k

I might source some of the hard lines used, but when the compressor shredded, I removed a golf ball's worth of metal shards from the main compressor manifold. So everything is full of metal and the system has been left open to the elements for a couple years since the compressor was removed.

ps2cho - your evap page is great! Thanks! Although looking at the evap replacement makes me less gung-ho about the whole thing I already tore the dash off to replace the pods, this looks like a lot less fun than that was.

The parts are still pricey but have come down, I think I can get everything new (condenser, compressor, evap, main suction line, little parts) for about $1200. Does the later condenser have greater capacity?

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Scott

1987 300e - The 200,000 mile TurboTechnics rocketship.