W204 C63 air con condenser replacement

[tentacle]

Hey guys,

My car's been diagnosed with a leaky air con condenser which I gather is a pretty common issue. I read some forums and found that ECP have a replacement part which I got my local indy to order because the genuine part is coming in around £500 and the Hella model was about £120.

I got a call from the garage today to say that the Hella unit (and also two other non-genuine units which they also ordered) isn't quite correct and there is a pipe fitting which is backwards among other issues.

Has anyone had any luck replacing their condenser with a non-MB part? Does anybody know of a pattern part which I could order so I don't have to buy the genuine one?

 

[BlackC55]

We've had this issue so many times with non-genuine AC condensers for AMG's they just dont fit and are a total pain! Weirdly we dont ever have the problem with non-AMG's and Hella are perfectly fine. We only fit genuine on AMG's now BUT.... a customer did manage to find and supply a really well priced non-gen one a while back for his CLS63. If they would be able to supply one for a C63 that fits I dont know as we haven't tried yet, but they are worth an ask. This is copied and pasted from an email he sent me with the companies details in -
“Parts2Clear” on EBay - my invoice says Parts Alliance Group Limited, The telephone number I used to call them on to discuss the specification etc was 03330090506."

Worth a try.

Natacha

 

[tentacle]

Thanks Natacha, that's really appreciated!

 

[BlackC55]

Thanks Natacha, that's really appreciated!

No problem. If they do supply one that fits please do let me know so I can pass the much reduced cost onto our customers!

good luck

 

[tentacle]

Does anyone know the part number for the original OEM W204 C63 condenser unit? I might have found a copy part that actually works, but I need the original part number to confirm.

 

[tentacle]

(The original part number is 1975000054/003 in case anyone else needs to know...)

 

[tentacle]

Okay, I've got one, and it seems to fit. I'll report back in a few weeks and let you know that it's still working...

 

[BlackC55]

Okay, I've got one, and it seems to fit. I'll report back in a few weeks and let you know that it's still working...

did it come from the place above?

 

[tentacle]

did it come from the place above?

Okay - here's what happened. I called the place you gave me and they were totally cool and helpful and said that they could get me one. I asked for some more details and got the part number etc. off the guy I spoke to, and then managed to find their supplier online and ordered direct through them.

The company I ordered from was Autoair, and this is the unit in question. It's bordering on suspiciously cheap, but the garage who fitted it for me said that it looked totally fine, and actually - it's just a radiator, right? How complex does it need to be? (Famous last words...) . So fully landed it was under £90 which is incredible value providing it doesn't fail on me, but it does have a 2 year warranty apparently. The Autoair telephone number never connected but I managed to get solid email responses really quickly from them and the person I spoke to assured me it would fit and that he'd take it back if it didn't. It's so cheap, I nearly bought a couple and then marked them up on eBay like everyone else does...

So providing the condenser doesn't fail, I've managed to replace a part for under £90 that MB wanted about £540 for. That's a hell of an AMG tax.

 

[st13phil]

The company I ordered from was Autoair, and this is the unit in question.

Well that was quite a find - bookmarked in case I ever need any air-con spares!

Thanks

 

[tentacle]

Just as some closure, I got the above radiator fitted and it worked perfectly for the next 18 months that I owned the car. It was still working faultlessly the day I sold it and I would expect it to continue to do so - definitely recommended from me, especially given just how much cheaper it is that the MB official version.

 

[MissyD]

Thanks for the update

 

[FlypigU]

Just as some closure, I got the above radiator fitted and it worked perfectly for the next 18 months that I owned the car. It was still working faultlessly the day I sold it and I would expect it to continue to do so - definitely recommended from me, especially given just how much cheaper it is that the MB official version.

Wow, Sounds nice. My condenser is failing. Maybe it is time for me to try change it on my own to save some money.

 

[FlypigU]

I guess Auto air should give you some commission for the post in the forum. Finally got time to order the part and try fix the problems. And hopefully I can enjoy the AC cheap.