AC repair
 

I have a leak somewere in my ac, so I was wonderiing if anyone here has had bad results from that Cryoseal AC stop leak stuff?

I will have my ac looked at and repaired correctly, but I was just considering my options, after all thousands of dollars saved are thousands of dollars earned.

Your leak might not cost much to fix. If you're lucky you just have a leaky o-ring or schraeder valve. I would get it fixed the right way if you want it to work as expected. The a/c components, the compressor in particular, are rather delicate and very expensive parts, so I wouldn't put anything in that might jeporadize their lifespan. If you want to take some time you can lean how to fix a/c yourself. I did.

GregS
'84 300D, 173k
'90 300CE, 162k

I agree with GregS. Stop leak products sometimes work and sometimes don't. The goop they leave behind is not at all good for the compressor, and let's face it, if you have an 80s era (or earlier) MB, you don't have the world's greatest cooling system to start with. You don't want to bring on a compressor failure when you may just have a bad o-ring. If you system has some refrigerant in it just top in off with a leak finder (not sealer) product - I prefer the one's with UV dye. Then, look for the leak. AC systems repairs are definitely DIY on most MSs (at least if you don't have go under the dash to replace the evaporator). Lots and lots and lots of information here on repairs, just try a search. Good luck.

You've gotten good advice here. It is very important that you diagnose BEFORE you take action.

Put in UV Dye then drive it a few days. Then use a blacklight around all components. If it is cooling enough to make condensation, shine the black light on the condensation water, preferably in the dark. If there is UV dye in the condensation water, then the problem is the evaporator, otherwise you will find the leak.

Good luck,

What are the symptoms of leaking evaporator on 300E,what is their average life span? Also has a 560sec been converted to R134a, leave it or change back to r12, is this doable? What are the proper process invloved?

Is it just my imagination, or do Mercedes air conditioning systems just suck. I don't know anyone that hasn't had trouble with their MB system. The myth has always been that a/c isn't often used in Germany, but that sounds kind of suspect. Any ideas?

LARRY: Where can i buy UV Dye, and how much do i use?

420 benz,
 

You can buy the UV dye at any quality autoparts store. Just follow the manufacture's instructions.:D
Make sure it is for the right type of refrigerant. (R12, r134, etc)

chc,

The evaporator failure is not something you can predict by age. Some of them spring a leak and some don't. My '88 300E still has the factory evaporator and it's still holding tight (knock on wood.)

As far as reverse converting to R12, I would highly recommend it if you are opening up your system to repair a leak or some such. I just went through the conversion procedure in another thread at the top, I think the title was "R134 Conversion" or some such.

420Benz,

You can indeed buy R134 UV dye with a little R134 in a can. For R12, however, you will have to get pure dye. They do not sell R12 in a can with UV dye, because they can't legally sell you R12 unless you have a 609 certificate.

Go to your local auto a/c supply house and they will have a kit you can buy that can put dye into any type system.

Good luck,