Air Con - Receiver Dryer

[thegoal007]

I've read all over the Web that the air con receiver dryer needs to be replaced every 2 years or the most 3 years. Does anyone actually do this?
Or do most wait until the compressor is dead and change them as a pair?

Is it fairly straight-foward to change or is it very difficult hence why its not regularly changed.

 

[<tuffty/>]

I changed mine when I changed the pump... as why not... other than that its never been changed that I know of in the time I have owned the car... my A2 is still on its original...

2-3yrs seems excessive seeing as you need to drain the system down each time to change it and its not in the easiest place to get to

<tuffty/.

 

[thegoal007]

There's obviously a lot of crap stories out there too.
Another one is air con should be recharged every 2 years.
Our old Fiesta MK5 was like freezer for the 20 years we owned, never done anything to the AC. Pity I can't say the same about my audi.
I'm getting the pump changed and specifically asked them to change the Drier too as the garage did not mention that was being changed.

 

[thegoal007]

For some reason the air con pressure switch is not working now. compressor and drier replaced. the switch is a good one.
Do these things have their own fuse?system does have the air con gas full up and holding.
Obviously the front hadd to be taken off to do the job, could there be plug not put back in properly?
Does it need vagcom to see and clear any errors?

 

[thegoal007]

just for information to others in future and the answerr to my own issues above...Turned out to be a broken wiring. fixed and now working.

 

[vanilla_ice]

For some reason the air con pressure switch is not working now. compressor and drier replaced. the switch is a good one.
Do these things have their own fuse?system does have the air con gas full up and holding.
Obviously the front hadd to be taken off to do the job, could there be plug not put back in properly?
Does it need vagcom to see and clear any errors?

Not possible to replace pump and drier without removing front? Can't be done from above and below?

 

[thegoal007]

Not possible to replace pump and drier without removing front? Can't be done from above and below?

I've been told, front needed to come off to replace parts

 

[nathanhenry]

For some reason the air con pressure switch is not working now. compressor and drier replaced. the switch is a good one.
Do these things have their own fuse?system does have the air con gas full up and holding.
Obviously the front hadd to be taken off to do the job Receiver Drier for Car, could there be plug not put back in properly?
Does it need vagcom to see and clear any errors?

My ac was barely working, tried having it refilled at a shop and after vacuuming, it would take even less refrigerant than what was in there before.
So I have the new compressor already, and I know the proper thing is to replace the drier when the system gets opened up. However I've heard several people say, if the compressor didn't fall apart (which I don't think is the case), I should be fine with the old drier. What do you think?
It's not the cost of the drier, I just rather not pull the front apart if the new one won't make a difference. The compressor can be changed without touching the front but the drier is impossible to get to without cutting some of the carrier and that's not something I prefer to do.

 

[thegoal007]

My ac was barely working, tried having it refilled at a shop and after vacuuming, it would take even less refrigerant than what was in there before.
So I have the new compressor already, and I know the proper thing is to replace the drier when the system gets opened up. However I've heard several people say, if the compressor didn't fall apart (which I don't think is the case), I should be fine with the old drier. What do you think?
It's not the cost of the drier, I just rather not pull the front apart if the new one won't make a difference. The compressor can be changed without touching the front but the drier is impossible to get to without cutting some of the carrier and that's not something I prefer to do.

All the work carried out was by a specialist garage. I do remember giving them the instruction to change the drier too if they were going to change the compressor. Whether it really needed to be done or not - not sure, but I read somewhere it was best to change that at the same time.
Not sure whats involved, but can you leave the existing drier and see if all works and only replace it as Plan B.
When I got the final invoice for practically renewing the whole system I was a bit taken back, but was told if they put the real amount of time they spent on my car I would fall over. The amount of times the system was filled , lost, refilled, drained, bumper off/on , off/on and wiring issues they also found due to all the work they were doing.

 

[OsterForever]

Yes, you are supposed to change the drier as per the instructions from the companies that engineer the A/C solutions.
Does anyone actually do it? Not really, in the 8 years I've worked as a car mechanic I've never replaced one. They pretty much always come new paired with the condenser (and some cars even have them built into the condenser).

It's not the cost of the drier, I just rather not pull the front apart if the new one won't make a difference.

Will it make a difference? Probably not. Does it have potential to cause problems? Yes. Small chance, but yes. You're supposed to change the drier when replacing the compressor, and do an A/C flush (like an actual flush done with a proper A/C flushing machine). Again, noone really does it. Some shops do, but they're more of an outlier than the norm (sadly)

Our old Fiesta MK5 was like freezer for the 20 years we owned, never done anything to the AC.

I know this post is from a year ago, but the main point of servicing A/C yearly is to get rid of the moisture that gets into the system (and it will as long as you have flexi hoses). Your MK5 had some really airtight system, and that's great, but you can't say the same for 95% of cars. The moisture won't damage your system immediately, but over time it certainly will.

The amount of times the system was filled , lost, refilled, drained, bumper off/on , off/on and wiring issues they also found due to all the work they were doing.

That's why you test the system for leaks before you fill it with refrigerant. Vacuum testing works ok most of the time, but filling it up with hydrogen/nitrogen mixture works much better. You get a special sensor that detects the hydrogen and you can pinpoint the exact spot where there's a leak. Hydrogen is able to escape through small leaks much easier than pretty much any other gas. Had they done that they'd probably have spent much less time working on your car (wouldn't fix the wiring issues tho )

 

[thegoal007]

I cannot remember precisely how the garage explained the sequence of events on the work they carried out on my car and reasons, but at the time it did make sense.
I think it went something like this, A/C was empty - they filled it and left it overnight to find it empty again. Then did the dye test and found it was leaking from somewhere and that got replaced (condensor i think). They fixed that and filled it again, the following day no leaks, went to start the AC, but the compressor would not work. They checked fuses and power supply going into compressor and all was good so deteremined it needed a new compressor. I asked why they did not know about it in the first place and I was told the AC would not work until it was filled. I then told them if that was being changed to do the drier too. Once they were replaced and refilled again, they found the system would again not work. So they got their electrician to check and find/repair the issue. I think it went something like that ...! £960 later, i think the car was with them for just over a week, having some part they ordered lost in transit and had to be re-oredered.

 

[thegoal007]

so all in all, they replaced for new:
Compressor, Condenser and Receiver Dryer, some clip £3.
Charged me for only one air con re-gas and the auto electrician hours labour.
4 hours labour for all the work - £65 per hour.
+the dreaded VAT on the whole lot.
the whole lot was £900 - not 960 as I mentioned above - just found the invoice.