w124 Condenser change - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

connerm · #1 04-21-2013, 05:16 PM

A/C compressor locked up last week so its time for some maintenance. I bought condenser, compressor, receiver/drier, pressure switches and expansion valve from Pelican.

I'm having most of the a/c work done by a shop, but I wanted to do the condenser myself so that I could clean the radiator and inspect the aux fans.

I removed the fan and clutch, drained the radiator, disconnected the trans cooler lines and pulled out the radiator. I used foaming condenser cleaner and removed a TON of junk. The foam and water ran black when I hosed it off. I did it twice and feel confident it is now clean. Before blowing out the fan motor housings with air, I shook out the junk. A lot of grit and sand and road junk came out. It just kept coming out.

Removing the plastic rivets from the aux fan cover was pretty straight forward. Use a knife to carefully pry the pin up then pull the whole thing out with needle nose pliers. I broke one of six.

There was also a bunch of debris between the aux fan cowling and the condenser. See the pics. When I removed the fans, there was a bunch of junk under the fan motors.

I bought the Behr condenser ($175) not the oem MB ($375) and I regret it. I had to drill and rivet the original rubber gaskets to the top and bottom of the unit - which took some time. The real problem was the fitment. The original aux fan set up did not fit well on teh Behr. Bolt holes didn't line up and I had to trim the plastic aux fan cowling to make it fit. only 4 of the 6 rivet holes lined up, and they weren't great. I felt like I was working on my Ford Taurus and not MB.

I recommend paying the extra for a unit that will fit.

I drove around today, in heavy traffic on 95 and the needle stayed very low. The radiator was previously not working efficiently because of the junk, not to mention the junk blocking air flow through the condenser.

Condenser and radiator reinstalled and the car is at the a/c guy's shop.

Chris W. · #2 04-22-2013, 12:56 PM

I removed the plastic shroud from the front of my rad when I had to replace one of the two fans. I too had a big buildup of crud there. My car ran several degrees cooler without the crud and the shroud.

Since then I occasionally use a long tubed air gun to blow the debris out of the rad, from back side to front.

Rgds,
Chris W.
'95 E300D, 391K

vstech · #3 04-22-2013, 08:53 PM

Why did you change the condenser usually they don't fail or need replacement when a compressor dies

connerm · #4 04-23-2013, 09:24 AM

Probably overkill, but I figured that when the compressor crapped out, it might have puked bits of junk into the condenser. I don't know that the condenser was bad, but I do know that I need the a/c working by Thursday, and because I'm working all week, I don't have time to keep taking the car in and having the system evacuated, refilled, checking for leaks, etc. I'm usually more thrifty, but in this case, I need to get on the road with confidence in the a/c.

vstech · #5 04-23-2013, 09:26 AM

gotcha!

most shops just replace the condenser, because on the modern systems they are not cleanable due to the small passages, but the 124 is easily flushed out. save your old condenser!

connerm · #6 04-23-2013, 11:29 AM

"save your old condenser"

I did. I hate saving that kind of stuff, but I did set it aside. At first thought, I was thinking that you just wanted to have a parts depot in Northern Virginia.

daw_two · #7 04-23-2013, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by connerm

"save your old condenser"

I did. I hate saving that kind of stuff, but I did set it aside. At first thought, I was thinking that you just wanted to have a parts depot in Northern Virginia.

I'd love to have a parts depot in Northern Virginia. Would you like to run my remote location?