[slowtype]

Sprung a leak in my AC system. Had it recharged last weekend and it only worked for 2 days. When we hooked the gauges to the ports they showed almost no pressure in the system.


Used a refrigerant sniffer immediately after the recharge and it picked up some signs of a leak between the dryer and the condenser. FYI, the sniffer is notorious for false positives so I don't trust it.



The service manual indicated that the AC system comes with dye from the factory. I looked around with a uv light, but didn't see and obvious leaks.



Are there common AC components that fail/leak on these cars?

 

[Hus_sho]

Buy a can of refrigerant with UV dye and charge the system, drive it a week or so and test with the black light again.
Could be the condenser, but better test ..

 

[CJPeterborough]

Most common fail is a hole in the condenser rad.
It isnt well protected unfortunately,from stones etc and having had a couple fail this way I now fit a wire mesh screen behind the grill.
However swapping the condenser is a relatively easy DIY.

 

[slowtype]

Thanks for the tips.



Most/all of the cans of r134a for consumers that contain dye also contain leak stop. Which I am weary of. This will be a last resort.



My next step is to pull some of the front end parts to get a better look. I don't have a lot of time these next few weeks, so I was hoping to hear something like, "blah blah blah fails on everyone of these cars." And I would simply replace that part without properly diagnosing the leak.



Anyway, I'll let you know what I find out.

 

[Hus_sho]

U don't have to worry about the stop leak in R134a can, i wouldn't use stop leak anywhere else like coolant or PS fluid....etc
But in A/C system the stop leak is just a silicone grease that help rubber get soft.
So its totally safe, I've been using it for years on many cars.

 

[slowtype]

I found the leak. Looks like the expansion valve. Hopefully its as easy to change as it looks.

 

[Hus_sho]

Its probably the metal bracket got rusted out and let loose .. change the bracket, bolts and all the pressure washers (OE washers) .. and if the valve look funny change it as well

 

[slowtype]

Its probably the metal bracket got rusted out and let loose .. change the bracket, bolts and all the pressure washers (OE washers) .. and if the valve look funny change it as well

I read that the expansion valve gets corroded and stuck onto the evaporator so I just checked the 4 mm bolts to see if they would loosen. One did, the other is now stripped.

At this stage I am only going to have access to the pressure washers on the engine side of the expansion valve. I'm guessing those are not the ones that fail though.

 

[salth2oj]

I had the same issue last year, the bracket that holds the expansion valve to the Evaporator ( where the two 4 mm cap head screws screw into) rusts. This corrosion cause the two seals to leak.

After reading about it, i ordered all the associated parts, so I wouldn’t waste time. With that said, I was lucky enough to get both screws out and was able to save the evaporator. Many weren’t so lucky, I have read about having to cut the evaporator lines to get to the expansion valve.

With that said, I have some new and used good parts for this job if you are interested.

Good luck

 

[slowtype]

I had the same issue last year, the bracket that holds the expansion valve to the Evaporator ( where the two 4 mm cap head screws screw into) rusts. This corrosion cause the two seals to leak.

After reading about it, i ordered all the associated parts, so I wouldn’t waste time. With that said, I was lucky enough to get both screws out and was able to save the evaporator. Many weren’t so lucky, I have read about having to cut the evaporator lines to get to the expansion valve.

With that said, I have some new and used good parts for this job if you are interested.

Good luck

If you don't mind, could you post the parts list you came up with? Also, I might be interested in some of the parts. Send me a PM.
Thanks

 

[salth2oj]

If you don't mind, could you post the parts list you came up with? Also, I might be interested in some of the parts. Send me a PM.
Thanks

No problem, these are the list of parts i ordered to address the AC leak on my 07 9-3 Aero. I ordered from RMeuro.....com

A/C Evaporator 93172073-MFG262
Expansion Valve 93171816-MFG23
Expansion Valve O-Ring Kit 93171817-MFG179

The only thing i would have ordered had i known would have been "Expansion Valve Seal Boot" item 62. When removing the expansion valve, it got damaged a bit.

In my case, i didn't need to replace the evaporator, as i was able to get both allen capped screws out. Since i had the evaporator at the time, i made a decision to replace it.


They also listed a expansion valve kit with includes the boot on saabparts..., 93171816.

Over all not a crazy hard job, but removing the evaporator takes some time and patience.

 

[salth2oj]

give this a watch

This video really helped with the repair

 

[slowtype]

No problem, these are the list of parts i ordered to address the AC leak on my 07 9-3 Aero. I ordered from RMeuro.....com

A/C Evaporator 93172073-MFG262
Expansion Valve 93171816-MFG23
Expansion Valve O-Ring Kit 93171817-MFG179

The only thing i would have ordered had i known would have been "Expansion Valve Seal Boot" item 62. When removing the expansion valve, it got damaged a bit.

In my case, i didn't need to replace the evaporator, as i was able to get both allen capped screws out. Since i had the evaporator at the time, i made a decision to replace it.


They also listed a expansion valve kit with includes the boot on saabparts..., 93171816.

Over all not a crazy hard job, but removing the evaporator takes some time and patience.

Thanks, is the bracket that the cap screws go into shown in the parts diagram?

 

[salth2oj]

Thanks, is the bracket that the cap screws go into shown in the parts diagram?[/QUOTE]

The bracket is not shown on the diagram. I wasn’t able to find a part number for it either.
Here a a picture of it.

 

[slowtype]

I'm going to replace the dryer while I have the system apart. Do I need any additional o-rings when replacing the dryer?

Also, I purchased an evaporator and it came with the bracket. It also came with screws, but they are Phillips head. What length are the hex screws that are normally used?

 

[salth2oj]

I believe the dryer with come with the seals. At the time I preformed my repair, the dryer wasn’t available for the V6. I didn’t replace it. I know I should’ve, but couldn’t.

I can double check the old cap head screw I have, but I think they are 35mm long. They are stainless. I can check for sure later tonight.


Just checked, The caphead screws are M5-0.8 35mm. That is the OEM that i removed.

 

[slowtype]

Most of my parts came in this weekend.

-Screws that came with evaporator are too short and not metric.
-New dryer did not come with seals. Need to track some down.
-New dryer soldering job looks awful. Should I even install it?

 

[salth2oj]

Most of my parts came in this weekend.

-Screws that came with evaporator are too short and not metric.
-New dryer did not come with seals. Need to track some down.
-New dryer soldering job looks awful. Should I even install it?

What brand evaporator did you pick up?

 

[slowtype]

It was an "aftermarket" from Eeuroparts.

They didn't have a lot of options for vehicles with manual transmissions.

 

[salth2oj]

It was an "aftermarket" from Eeuroparts.

They didn't have a lot of options for vehicles with manual transmissions.

I thought the evaporators were the same for auto and manual.
Maybe you are talking about the condenser (in front of the radiator)? Those are different from a auto to a manual.