My mechanic advises me that the clutch on the compressor is finished - based on the noise coming from the a/c compressor. I see the Sanden 507 from Vertex for sale for 500.00 or so dollars. Has anyone installed one of these? Is the cooling much improved? If you did do this job, did you replace any other parts ie; hoses, condensor, etc? Thanks in advance.

 

This is the one the PO put on my car. It works fine but I have a slow leak somewhere and have to refill every summer. I dont know what was replaced when it was put on.

 

Thanks jimq, i saw the picture of the installed sanden 507 when i did a search. It looks like a pretty straightforward install. Nice and accessible. Do you notice any significant power loss when you have the a/c running? Any different from the stock unit?

 

Hi Jimq,

I also have the Sanden 507 on my car. My air-con is part of the Diavia 964 kit and was fitted in 94. It is non-factory fitted but uses all the components of a factory install except the heater control panel. I used a genuine air-con switch and fitted it in the console along with a 993 spoiler and sunroof switch....My air-con switch lights up correctly when the headlights are switched on and the little orange light comes on when I switch the air-con on too

Looking at your unit I can see the label says R-12. You have R-134a ports on the compressor so this is probably one of the reasons for losing a bit of gas as the 134 molecules are smaller and therefore leak through the pipework slowly. Additionally it looks like your pipes are held onto the compressor pipes with jubilee clips. This seems unusual givien the pressures involved in the system. Note the different arrangement of my pipes and service ports.

Luckily I managed to get my hands on some virgin R-12 gas recently and should still be able to maintain my system for a very long time........it's not easy to get in the UK anymore.

Hope this maybe helps.........

Gary

 

Porsche does sell magnetic clutch rebuild kits (the part number is model year dependent) . I would check for pricing with some of the mail-order dealerships (Sunset Imports, etc.) as the MSRP is kinda high.

 

actually the leak is in the condenser up front. It doesnt leak from the hose connections on the compressor. It held pressure for over 2 years after i bought the car before it first got low. It came with the hose clamps when i bought the car. A $6 can of 134A once a summer is cheaper then a new condensor for now.