R230 SL350 Air Con condenser replacement?

[derin100]

Hi
It’s a good few years since I’ve been on here, for various reasons.

The air-conditioning condenser on my R230 SL 350 has a proven leak and needs to be replace. I’m struggling to find a guide on how to this anywhere online.
Is that because it‘s a very difficult task or requires special tools or reprogramming is involved after installing etc?

I’m reasonably handy mechanically having restored quite a few older Mercedes in the past….but to me this is a “modern car” D)…and I have plenty of time being retired now.

Any pointers greatly appreciate.

 

[Stratman]

Legally you must recover all the refrigerant in the system (without any of it escaping to the atmosphere) and then carry out a leak test before refilling. I'm quite handy with the spanners too but happily paid a mobile AC expert to do mine. You need specialist equipment to recover the refrigerant, perform the leak test and recharge the system. The metal pipes into and out of the condenser can, and often do, seize as well. It took Mac two cups of tea to get them out without damage. The £470 it cost was money very well spent.

 

[derin100]

Legally you must recover all the refrigerant in the system (without any of it escaping to the atmosphere) and then carry out a leak test before refilling. I'm quite handy with the spanners too but happily paid a mobile AC expert to do mine. You need specialist equipment to recover the refrigerant, perform the leak test and recharge the system. The metal pipes into and out of the condenser can, and often do, seize as well. It took Mac two cups of tea to get them out without damage. The £470 it cost was money very well spent.

Many thanks for the reply.
The refrigerant was already evacuated yesterday by my local AC specialist. He also did the leak test which confirmed the leak and diagnosed it as coming from the condenser by means of detecting a hydrogen leak (which is what is used to refill and pressure test the system). A hand-held hydrogen detector/probe.

I got up at 5 am this morning and started on the car at 5.30 am. Despite being slow and had to keep checking and ‘sussing‘ things out, I had the condenser out before 7am.

Having done it once now, I reckon I could get this down to 30 mins.

Contrary to what I had read online….1) You do NOT have to remove the front bumper 2) You do not have to remove the engine radiator OR drain the cooling system. 3) You do not have to drain or lose any transmission fluid. 4) You do not need to take off engine undertrays or wheel-arch liners.
The only fluid I lost was some power-steering fluid when disconnecting those hoses from the condenser. I could have waited until the hand pump I ordered from Amazon to arrive tomorrow to avoid this as well….but I was impatient!

All done with little more that a 10mm socket, 10 mm spanner and a 19 mm spanner to undo the top transmission hose as it enters the side of the radiator to get the engine fan out.

I ordered a new condenser, receiver drier and a set of O rings which should come tomorrow morning.
My concern remains this bit I read some about needing to re-code/programme?

Many thanks indeed.

 

[derin100]

Ok, I’ve now installed the new condenser and put everything back together, corr the power steer fluid level for the amount lost during the dismantling.

I’ve put the new receiver dryer in place but left it sealed and not connected the pipes from the a/c system to it yet. Am I right in thinking this should be done just prior to re-gassing the system to prevent air contamination from the air that will currently still be in the pipes?

Also, I still can’t find an answer on this ‘reset business’ for the R230.

 

[Stratman]

From what I remember, before recharging the system the machine will draw down a vacuum to remove residual air and the moisture it contains. This vacuum is held for some time, both to remove all air and to check for leaks. If all is well the correct amount of refrigerant and oil is added.

 

[derin100]

From what I remember, before recharging the system the machine will draw down a vacuum to remove residual air and the moisture it contains. This vacuum is held for some time, both to remove all air and to check for leaks. If all is well the correct amount of refrigerant and oil is added.

Thank you.
I just a message from my AC man. Taking it to him tomorrow afternoon to re-fill. So, fingers crossed!
(He said it’s ok for me to connect the dryer up now)

Thankfully it all went back together ok.

Thanks again

 

[Stratman]

I hope it all goes well.

 

[derin100]

I hope it all goes well.

Thank you.

I’ll report back!

 

[derin100]

Done!

Took the car to my local AC chap this afternoon and he re-filled the system.

First he pressure tested my new installation. Thankfully, even though I’ve never done it before, it was perfect.

Next, re-filled the system (surprising how long it takes when done properly and the capacity of the SL system is large ).

At first…..nothing!

He doesn’t have the STAR diagnostics system that people mention necessary to clear fault codes. However, he did have an older generic machine…..which worked! We cleared the stored AC fault code and it instantly works perfectly!

Temperature right down to 4.8C !

Total cost was £90 for the parts (condenser dryer and o-rings) and £85 to him. So, £175. My total labour time was probably 4 hours all in because I mucked about a lot.

 

[Major774]

Well done.

I just received my condenser, next job on my things to do.

 

[derin100]

Well done.

I just received my condenser, next job on my things to do.

It’s not too difficult really.

As said, the only fluid I lost was power-steering fluid which is unavoidable as this is connected to the condenser to cool it.

In the end, removing the front part of the engine undertray and the left corner one did facilitate the installation of the dryer and there’s one bolt to which access was better afforded by so doing. But, you don’t have to take wheels off or arch liners etc.

My car is only an SL350 so I don’t know if V8 cars have less space in the engine bay to do the job. Also, my car does not have ABC and so I don’t know if this complicates matters further but I think the radiator for ABC cooling is in front of and bolted on to the AC condenser (?) so I would imagine one could fairly easily detach that too.

Good luck!

 

[oldguy57]

It’s not too difficult really.

As said, the only fluid I lost was power-steering fluid which is unavoidable as this is connected to the condenser to cool it.

In the end, removing the front part of the engine undertray and the left corner one did facilitate the installation of the dryer and there’s one bolt to which access was better afforded by so doing. But, you don’t have to take wheels off or arch liners etc.

My car is only an SL350 so I don’t know if V8 cars have less space in the engine bay to do the job. Also, my car does not have ABC and so I don’t know if this complicates matters further but I think the radiator for ABC cooling is in front of and bolted on to the AC condenser (?) so I would imagine one could fairly easily detach that too.

Good luck!

Brilliant - very satisfying to complete an awkward job yourself.

 

[Major774]

It’s not too difficult really.

As said, the only fluid I lost was power-steering fluid which is unavoidable as this is connected to the condenser to cool it.

In the end, removing the front part of the engine undertray and the left corner one did facilitate the installation of the dryer and there’s one bolt to which access was better afforded by so doing. But, you don’t have to take wheels off or arch liners etc.

My car is only an SL350 so I don’t know if V8 cars have less space in the engine bay to do the job. Also, my car does not have ABC and so I don’t know if this complicates matters further but I think the radiator for ABC cooling is in front of and bolted on to the AC condenser (?) so I would imagine one could fairly easily detach that too.

Good luck!

Job done.

A fair bit of work involved, the V8 has a lot of parts in the the way. So front bumper had to be removed and 2 other small radiators had to be loosened and put to the side to allow room for the condenser to drop out. Taking the top panel off helped as well, it allows for more wiggle room.

The system can now hold a vacuum… and I have booked it in for a re-gas.

 

[derin100]

Job done.

A fair bit of work involved, the V8 has a lot of parts in the the way. So front bumper had to be removed and 2 other small radiators had to be loosened and put to the side to allow room for the condenser to drop out. Taking the top panel off helped as well, it allows for more wiggle room.

The system can now hold a vacuum… and I have booked it in for a re-gas.

Excellent!

Yes, I think the V6 is easier because there’s just enough room to push the engine radiator back (after taking the fan out) to wiggle the condenser out without having to drain and take the radiator out or remove the front bumper.
Also, my car doesn’t have ABC.

You have the same feeling of satisfaction (more actually !) as I had of having done the job and saved a very significant amount of money!