k langdon
Active Member
I had an interesting chat with an air con specialist who fitted a new compressor in my J plate W124 diesel estate for the previous owner. I have the original receipt from June 2000 and so decided to ring the firm to gain an idea of its life expectancy, etc.
During the course of the conversation, I asked him about how often the system should be re-gassed. He then said that it's a load of rubbish when manufacturers/dealers recommend topping up or re-filling every couple of years. Unless a driver uses his air con virtually all the time, he said it should last for years. He then told me that his boss drives around in an Isuzu Trooper which has run perfectly fine on the original gas for 10 years!!!
He did say that if you don't use the air con reasonably regularly that you then run the risk of the seals breaking down and the gas escaping which would obviously mean new seals and more gas.
Anyway, I thought I'd just share this with the forum in case any of you feel that you may be being ripped off.
Regards,
Kevin
During the course of the conversation, I asked him about how often the system should be re-gassed. He then said that it's a load of rubbish when manufacturers/dealers recommend topping up or re-filling every couple of years. Unless a driver uses his air con virtually all the time, he said it should last for years. He then told me that his boss drives around in an Isuzu Trooper which has run perfectly fine on the original gas for 10 years!!!
He did say that if you don't use the air con reasonably regularly that you then run the risk of the seals breaking down and the gas escaping which would obviously mean new seals and more gas.
Anyway, I thought I'd just share this with the forum in case any of you feel that you may be being ripped off.
Regards,
Kevin
