Hi all,

I have a leak in the AC on my 1989 560 SEL. I had a conversion done (we knew it had a leak before the conversion), and it held Freon for about 6 weeks before it ran out. Compressor is fine.

I got an estimate from one mechanic putting the damage at about $1,600, from another at bout $1,400 (believe it or not, the lower estimate is from a Benz specialist with a higher labor rate).

I am told the expansion valve is leaking behind the dash, and I also have a bad suction hose. However, the last mechanic who looked at the car (with the lower estimate) was quite blunt: There is hardly any pressure left, I could do the expansion valve and the hose myself without really draining the system since it's basically empty, and then have any shop refill the system. He was actually encouraging me to do this, giving me detailed instructions on how to do the job. The parts seem to be not so bad, but both mechanics basically told me that the job is simply a royal pain in terms of labor.

I see the suction hose in the front of the engine coming in at about $230, and the expansion valve at about $33. In spite of the cost of o-rings, oil, and refilling with R134, it seems I could be saving myself a heck of a bundle if I tackled this myself. And while I am at it, should there be anything else under the dash I should be doing?


Any ideas or advice??? Has anyone done this? The instructions on the CD seem to be a bit contradictory to what the mechanic told me. He said I should remove the lower dash on the driver's side, remove the protective bars, push out the instrument cluster, and then I'd be able to get to it. The CD is talking about removing the cover under the instrument panel as described in process 83-150, but as I look at this, it seems to me that they are approaching the problem from the center, and don't mention anything about the instrument cluster itself.

Thanks in advance!

__________________
Henry Bofinger
1989 560 SEL (black/black)
2001 Audi TT Roadster (silver/grey)