[Closed] Aircon compressor broke 🙁 would it be crazy to...

What's the worst that could happen?

How old is the car?

Not as difficult as you might think, BUT... Have you got all the tools you will need already?

The front bumper will need to come off too, and probably the crossmember. Even if you know what you're doing it's several hours work. The problem is you've been quoted a labour rate that sounds like it's gonna be £100 an hour. Find a good independent mechanic for £30 an hour instead, and you'll more than halve that repair bill including the cost of the new compressor.

Check eBay for compressors too, my passat engine died but the compressor was fine, broke the car for bits and sold em all on eBay, I only got £40 for my immaculate condition compressor! You Might be lucky possibly...

Once fitted, assuming correctly, you can then get it regassed. But for the love of god, stay away from Kwik Fit(up)...

Well, it was an independent that quoted me 100ph!! I kind of knew he was trying it on - a right pain though.

The car is a 2006 but it has done 140K so it's not like I'm ruining anything sparkly!! (I'd really like a Fiat 500 but not just yet...)

Maybe I need to find an independent that doesn't want to fleece me and have a better look at the secondhand part market...

mmm

thanks

Rachel

Has the system lost its gas? if not you might get a bit of a surprise when you undo the pipes.

Also if you do fit it make sure you dont run it until its got the gas+oil in it.

yes - it's nicely full of gas - I'll try to avoid breathing it in!! 🙂

Haynes book for an Octavia? There must be, they are fairly common, and not just amongst STW members.
Step by step guides to everything with lots of pictures.
And if you do balls it up, does it matter? No air-con, same as now. It's not like ballsing up a cambelt where it takes lots of other things with it.

There probably wont be a haynes manual for the octavia, but there certainly is one for a Golf and its pretty similar once you get down to it. I used to use a golf manual for a seat toledo which is the same car underneath as well.

Many independents will try and fleece you Rachel. Especially as you're a woman (sad but true).

Get quotes from a few, but let them know you know what's involved. Find out exactly how many hours Skoda themselves would quote for the job, then go to independents armed with that knowledge. Then ask them their labour rates, and try and beat them down. I've got a couple of very good independents near me (well guys doing it in a lockup near their home, but ex main dealer mechanics in each case) that charge about £30-£35 an hour typically, and are 100% trustworthy and very good at what they do. I'm not exactly round the corner from you though, so suspect you'll have to find your own...

There probably wont be a haynes manual for the octavia,

[url= http://www.amazon.co.uk/Haynes-Workshop-Manual-Skoda-Octavia/dp/B0012631GQ ]Haynes manual for Skoda Octavia [/url] R reg to 04 reg

😀

mboy - you have no idea how true that is!! I was cross enough yesterday when there was a guy in a parked car making arm-swinging movements when I was reverse parking next to him. I probably drive twice as many miles a year as he does!!

I'll the a look at what other garages can do first and then decide what to do.

Thanks everyone!! ( not enough people on here say thanks after getting advice! )

Rachel

Try to find an online guide (perhaps on a Skoda forum), the Haynes manuals are famous for saying things like:

'loosen bolt'

when they should have said

'attempt to loosen bolt with proprietary head that no bugger sells a socket or spanner for, which in any case is obscured by various other components that you'll first have to remove'.

Don't get me wrong, I always buy the Haynes manuals for every car and bike I've ever owned, but they certainly aren't the last word in accuracy or completeness.

sounds like bitter experience, Tucker??

Attempt to attach socket to rusted nubbin where there used to be a bolt, skinning your knuckles to buggery in the process; grunt and strain in incredibly awkward position until the socket comes off and smashes your fingers into something pointy that you didn't see; try and find something long enough to get a decent amount of torque in; strip the crap out of whatever's left; then realise Halfords is closed so you can't buy an more tools. Finally get it moving after days of swearing and soul searching, but it's really stiff and you can only move it 1/256th of a turn at a time, so it takes hours of moving the ratched tiny amounts in the above mentioned painfully awkward position, giving you RSI.

Note that access is greatly improved by removing the entire front of the car, the engine, the road wheels, the suspension and the steering rack.

Refitting is the reverse of removal.

I've just had the air con compressor on my Ibiza replaced at my usual garage. They reckoned it would be £600-650 but it ended up costing 'only' £503. I think the compressor was £295 ex. VAT.

I went to the Skoda dealer next door to work as I figured it would be very similar to a Fabia one & they reckoned it was going to be £850 with a re-conditioned unit, so I walked out quick smart.

Vent it (not ideal, but really only fairly low GWP) and replace the pump yourself, piece of cake. It's not toxic, but I wouldn't go sniffing it in in lungfulls.

whats up with it , is it just the air con motor clutch , or the motor full stop, dont just dump the gas out , besides its illegal ( we had a freelander 1 into day with an aircon fault , turned out to be an ecu fault ) not the motor etc.independent mechanic should be about £30.00 / £40.00 squid an hour .

whats up with it , is it just the air con motor clutch , or the motor full stop, dont just dump the gas out , besides its illegal

I was making the assumption that he's not a numpty and has ruled out such faults.

Venting it is of course illegal, as is speeding and a whole heap of minor infractions, however in reality I'm fairly sure that 99.5% of all people wouldn't take it for a proper vac down due to the extensive costs involved when paying someone to do any work on a car, and thats if you get a fair one, which many are not.

I found that the compressor was missing off my car when I bought it (a little while after actually buying it). Taught me a lesson about buying cars from lockups beside the road. I was quoted £800, so came to the conclusion that opening windows is a cheaper option!

But for the love of god, stay away from Kwik Fit(up)...

Why? In the case of a re-gas Kwik Fit have been getting some very good reviews for their 'if we can't make it cooler it's free offer'. They do a full leak check, flush out the old gas and then replace. Don't write them off for every single job.

http://pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&t=1019497&r=18272994&hm=49649&mid=49649#18272994

Why? In the case of a re-gas Kwik Fit have been getting some very good reviews for their 'if we can't make it cooler it's free offer'. They do a full leak check, flush out the old gas and then replace. Don't write them off for every single job

I used them, they filled it but didn't check it despite showing me a receipt with temperatures on it, it leaked out within 2 miles.

Got it free but had to argue it.

Venting the gas is illegal. Although most 306s do it by design when the pipes corrode.

I would certainly have a go myself but I would suggest taking a good look underneath 1st and seeing what the access is like. If you can get to the pipe connections and the compressor mounts easily then good but then also check how easy it is to remove and refit the aux drive belt - how easy is it to get to the tensioner?

If you still think it is doable then find a local aircon place (ones on industrial estates charge about £35 for an aircon service - ie vacuum down and refil/lube/dye). Get them to vacuum the system down for you, then go do the work and then go back and get it refilled and leak tested.

kwikfit may be okay, just make sure you don't take any crap and keep the system running for a bit before you are happy. They do a % reduction in temp which I am interested to know how they work out as I have my doubts about it.

am i missing the obvious ?

do you need aircon - this is the uk where i find about 5 days a year where i find my self wanting aircon in the van .... or is it a case in modern cars where no compressor = no heating of any kind ?

labour cost - nil. Could even remove the aux belt going to the AC compressor (long as it doesnt run anything else)

think of the fuel savings 😉

[url= http://www.messybeast.com/dragonqueen/real-haynes.htm ]What the Haynes Manual Really Means[/url]

just to check - I thought my compressor had gone (Golf, so probably similar bits and bobs?) and it was actually the pressure switch. Far cheaper to replace! Might be worth seeing if that is gone? I don't know how you would go about this though

am i missing the obvious ?

do you need aircon - this is the uk where i find about 5 days a year where i find my self wanting aircon in the van .... or is it a case in modern cars where no compressor = no heating of any kind ?

labour cost - nil. Could even remove the aux belt going to the AC compressor (long as it doesnt run anything else)

think of the fuel savings

Air con isn't just about cooling though, is it, it dries the air and clears windscreens faster too, hence the climate control side of things.

(preaching to the converted, neither of my cars have air con working, one has it removed entirely to save weight - almost 20kg of it)

it dries the air

Useful in the UK I think you'll agree 🙂

In all seriousness, before I had air con I only wished for it on really hot days, where it's great. However on normal sunny days, whilst you would be pretty much ok without, you are still much more comfortable with.

I don't miss the sweat line across my tshirt from the seatbelt, and I also have become rather attached to being able to hear the stereo instead of having it drowned out by wind noise from open windows.

it dries the air and clears windscreens faster too

get up 5 minutes earlier

reminds me of a comedy sketch by brian regan

"microwavable poptarts - the instructions say

remove pastry from pouch

place in microwave

set microwave for 5 seconds

eat

anyone that needs to be eating and haulling ass 5 seconds after they get up needs to reevaluate their priorities NOBODYS LIFE IS THAT BUSY THEY NEED TO BE EATING THAT SOON AFTER GETTING UP! "

obviously better in a yankee accent 😉

molgrips
I don't miss the sweat line across my tshirt from the seatbelt

Too many of those Oreo milkshakes! :p

anyone that needs to be eating and haulling ass 5 seconds after they get up needs to reevaluate their priorities NOBODYS LIFE IS THAT BUSY THEY NEED TO BE EATING THAT SOON AFTER GETTING UP!

Never overslept then? What a **** hero 🙄

People that think aircon is synonymous with cooling air is one of those (many) things that really grate on me.

You can't beat aircon for getting in your vehicle wet (because you've been caught out in a shower), sticking some heating on to warm up, and still being able to drive without the whole car misting up. I actually use my aircon in winter more often than in summer!

anyone that needs to be eating and haulling ass 5 seconds after they get up needs to reevaluate their priorities NOBODYS LIFE IS THAT BUSY THEY NEED TO BE EATING THAT SOON AFTER GETTING UP! "

I generally either eat in the car on the way to work or when I get to work, I rarely manage to get up leaving enough time to saunter around making breakfast- I have sleep issues (not coffee related).