Leaking air con pipes
 

I've had my air con checked by an a/c specialist and it seems it's not the evaporator leaking - it's one of the metal pipes just behind the heater blower. The a/c guy thinks they've been rubbing together.

So - a couple of questions :

1) Anyone know the part numbers? It looks like 964 573 105 00 and 964 573 098 00 but I'm having some trouble figuring out the Pet diagram.

2) Anyone know how easy it would be to replace them? I don't want the a/c guy starting without some idea of what he has to do. Looks like they disappear into the lhs rear wing.....

3) Any idea of costs? Pet seems to think about £200 for the two.

If this is correct, then I guess it could be good news costwise, depending on labour....

By the way, (and I hate to say this because everytime I do the car is delayed again...) but it looks like I will travel up to 9M on Friday to pick it up.

Well, it's definitely leaking from one of those pipes - he put nitrogen in the system and you could hear it hissing out. He used a sniffer which went off at one point along the pipes. Of course, that might not be the only leak!

I'm actually a bit annoyed that he found it in 5 minutes, and my mechanics came to the conclusion it was the evaporator because they couldn't find a leak elsewhere - even though it is a very significant leak. Guess they checked condensor, compressor and maybe not much else.

If the pipes are hard to get out (or expensive) then he can repair them if it's on a straight part where they leak - he showed me the kit - looks a bit like plumbing compression stuff - but he says it's excellent and gas tight. I need to find out what's involved in replacing the pipes though so if anyone wants to tell me.....

As for Friday - unfortunately, I can't come on Friday and probably can't make a weekday in the near future, and I'm guessing that even if it's not ready Friday then it will still be the first weekday it's ready that you pick it up. If that's the case - we need to meet up fairly soon afterwards!

Good luck with the repair. I guess if the pipes themselves hardly ever leak then a Porsche specialist might discount the possibility - hampered by experience you might say...

Don't worry, I will be trying to get a lot of miles done over the next few months and am keeping weekends free. In any case, there is no guarantee that the car will be ready this week anyway, so....

I just spoke to GT One to get advice on replacing the pipes - and they are fairly sure they did check for leaks everywhere - and also fairly sure that the evaporator does leak. So they warned me that although the pipes clearly do need fixing I may still need the evaoprator.

They said they can also repair the pipes - and that they have even had some welded before.

I'll get prices for new pipes - but I could also do with getting the old ones off and seeing where the leak is, and whether it's in a repairable place. I may try this at the weekend myself, or I may try the guy that Bins told me about.

Dave,

If you do decide to get the pipes welded, be sure you get it done with a TIG, and not one of the rods that some people use with an acetylene torch. Some of those rods have very nasty acids as flux, and they will often remain in the repair and cause it to fail again.

.. Gregg

I pulled all my pipes not long ago. It takes a bit of time, but it is not a technical challenge. The clamp in the back of the heater blower was the biggest PITA to get to and remove. The entry into the front trunk was the next biggest slow spot. I think it took me about 4-5 hours to remove everything from the engine and up to the front trunk - and doing some cleaning as I went.

Dave,

I had exactly the same problem with even the same diagnosis from my shop. I eventually found the leak because of the oil on the soft rubber that surrounds the hose where they are held to the body behind the blower.

I had and entire new section put in rather than changing the hoses, I got this done for very little money by a company called Enzed. They crimped in a new rubber section and cut my old section near the joins at the compressor side and where the hose joins under the wheel arch.These guys are basically hydraulic & pneumatic hose and connection specialist. They did a great job, the orientation was the same and I fitted them back myself easily. Change the Orings if you do this also.

Good luck.

Youcef