Thanks for your professional opinion! I took the car to the dealer four years ago because the A/C was not working. Like you stated, I assumed that it probably need some R12 but the dealer inspected the car and claimed they could not install the R12 because there was a leak in the manifold. For this information I was charged $77.00. Well, I didn't feel like spending $1000 or more to have the A/C fixed, so I simply drove the car without it until I took it to Pep Boys a couple of weeks ago. Yes, competent techs in any field are hard to find. Apparently I was lucky to find a competent one at Pep Boys. As a retired senior citizen $121 price is a lot more palatable then $1K!

My point is how did they fix the leak?

As you state, good techs are where you find them and many of them retrofit, including my shop. But, retrofitting won't fix the leak.

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Steve Brotherton
Continental Imports
Gainesville FL
Bosch Master, ASE Master, L1
33 years MB technician

What leak?? Their diagnostic report stated that there were no leaks and that's why they were able to purge and refill the system. Maybe the dealer has some super system that can predict a leak that might happen in a year or more!! In summary, the dealer claimed a leak in the manifold and refused to charge the system while Pep Boys claimed, "no leaks" with their instrumentation. I've been using the A/C for about two weeks with no problem but who knows, maybe in another week, a month, or a year, it may crap out again!

Very puzzling! If there was no leak, why was there no refrigerant?

Steve,

You clarify a point about dealer service departments. Throwing out the honesty factor for a moment, I believe you are absolutely correct in pointing out the biggest difference in the independent shops approach to troubleshooting vs. the dealer.

The dealers, with exception I'm sure, do their troubleshooting by replacing parts until the customer no longer complains. They do this under warranty, so once the car is out of warranty, when they bring it back, the troubleshooting method is the same.

They probably get by with this because of the fact that they work with one "breed." They learn the common failure items with that particular breed, so their batting average is reasonable with this approach.

I expect that the independent learns to do "real" troubleshooting because they deal with many breeds. This requires that they employ a much more scientific approach in order to properly server their customers.

Great point, thanks.

Have a great day,

If it didn't have a leak, WHAT WAS THE PROBLEM????????????

If its out of gas it has a leak, thats the facts of life. (unless someone stole it.

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Steve Brotherton
Continental Imports
Gainesville FL
Bosch Master, ASE Master, L1
33 years MB technician

Hello Condoor!

Your situation and mine are extremely similar. I drove for 2 years without A/C because I thought the whole system needed replacement and as long as I had good heat in the winter (in North Carolina) I was satisfied. About 2 months ago I finally took my car to a shop and talked to a guy who worked only on car air conditioners. After he examined mine, he reported that everything was working fine.. something that amazed him because he stated that it looked like the original compressor. He suggested that he load it up with R12 and for me to bring it back in about a month so he could find the leak. "The leak?", I asked. He replied, "Yeah, it (the freon) had to go somewhere."

I appreciated his honesty in not trying to sell me the entire system when all it needed was R12. But the main thing I appreciate is that, like you, I now can ride with cool air blowing on me.. something that I've missed for the last two years. So I share in your joy regarding your "conditioned" air, but yes, the gas had to go "somewhere" and hopefully the leak will be found and fixed.. enjoy!

Oh, because of a lenghty trip (in another car) and a death in the family, I have not returned to let him find my leak.. maybe this week I'll make a concerted effort

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Nello Tare

1982 300D (266,001 mi.) looking and running great

Previously owned:
1976 450 SLC
1983 300D
1976 300D
also
1982 Jaguar XJ6 (loved, but gone)

Nello,

Yes, it certainly looks like you found a rare individual........an honest, competent technician! A/C leaks are an insidious cancer than can plague a motorist and maybe there really is no leak in your A/C. One hardly knows the answer to the mysterious loss of refrigerant that can occur
in them. I hope mine proves itself to be leak free
but then, one never knows.

Vicki -- your post is a couple of months old (asking where to go for service in Suburban Chicago)-- but I just joined this forum -- I live in Deerfield and am taking the car to Erich Foreign Cars (they specialize in MB) in Highland Park (next to Cross-roads car wash on old Skokie Highway -- hidden behind the Midas shop)-- I went to them years ago when I had a 190e (1986) and was being overcharged and underserved by the MB dealer on the Edens. I recommended them to my father in law (1995 320e) who had the same problem with the dealer. They are great. tel: (847) 831-4780

Dan
1986 560SL (48k miles)

Vicki,

I'm really curious on how you made out. Your post seemed to suggest that converting your system to r134a would make your car start blowing cold air again. I guess if you were low on freon, that might work but as others have said... you'd still have a leak. Having gone through a lot to find the problems with the AC unit on my 1990 300SL ( should be the same unit as yours) I'm guessing that there is something else needed besides converting to r134a. Let us know how it's working.

Bob

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BobH 90 R129

Dan,
Thank you for the info! This is very helpful.

Bob,
I haven't done anything with the a/c yet. I'm still undecided. Will have to do something in the spring.

Vicki

Boy these stories get me in the gut. My ac was getting warmer all the time so my independent MB mechanic convinced me to switch to R134. So he did perform the conversion, but in less than a year the thing is warm again. I recharged the system with a pep boys kit, that includes the oil and refrigerant. It showed low in pressure, so as soon as I was done, it worked great, then a day later its back warm again. so teh question besides checking for any leaks, can I go back to R 12 now that it has been converted to R134?

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Tinho Dornellas
1985 MB 300 TD Wagon, bought with 145 K miles, the best running car I ever owned.

I recently bought an 83 380 sel that was still setup for R12, but it had all leaked out, so no cool air.

I bought a set of the r134a conversion fittings at my local NAPA and installed them. $8.00 and 30 minutes to install, tops.

Then I took it to a shop I have do my work and had them evacuate the system. (He charged me for one hour - $50)

I have a set of manifold gauges I bought from Harbor Freight a few years ago for about $70, so I hooked 'em up and recharged the system with Enviro-Safe, an HC12 product.

I used one 6 oz. can of refrigerant, plus one 4 oz. can of their ProDry, plus one 4 oz. can of Proseal, plus one 4 oz. can of their Oil Charge (this is compartible with all types of refrigerant oil). Altogether this cost about $40 with shipping.

When I was done the low side pressure was a little high at 50 psi, so I bleed the pressure down to just under 45 psi. All in all I spent another hour on the recharge.

So $168 and an hour of my time and she's nice and cool again. This was about 3 weeks ago, the sight glass is still clear and the air is nice and cool.