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A/C Repair - High & Low Pressure Line Replacements
Did a search but my issue might be a bit too specific.
Took my 981BS to get the A/C looked at and diagnosis was that I needed to replace the High and Low pressure lines (part #99157310906 and #99157309300) due to the plastic hoses causing a leak.
Looking at a $1,400 bill pre-tax for labor and parts ($500 diagnostic charge included due to their time spent searching for the issue). Has anyone ever dealt with the same issue? Just trying to double check if the pricing is in the right ballpark.
Not sure how intensive the work is, but am also open to DIY if it isn't too fairly complex.
$500 diagnostic, holy crap! No experience so can't help, but that seems pretty crazy. Looks like the parts are about $500? A/C is a PITA to work on, and you need someone with a refrigerant machine/gauge to properly fill it.
Did a search but my issue might be a bit too specific.
Took my 981BS to get the A/C looked at and diagnosis was that I needed to replace the High and Low pressure lines (part #99157310906 and #99157309300) due to the plastic hoses causing a leak.
Looking at a $1,400 bill pre-tax for labor and parts ($500 diagnostic charge included due to their time spent searching for the issue). Has anyone ever dealt with the same issue? Just trying to double check if the pricing is in the right ballpark.
Not sure how intensive the work is, but am also open to DIY if it isn't too fairly complex.
Thanks in advance for any insight.
Kind Regards,
R
1) It actually IS pretty complex for a DIYer. At a minimum you would need a refrigerant recovery unit, a vacuum pump, and a set of refrigerant gauges (along with some knowledge and training).
2) But more importantly it is extremely unlikely that you would need to replace either of the refrigerant lines, let alone both. I think they're trying to bend you over.
From my knowledge this is a reputable indie shop in my area so hopefully they aren't just taking me to the cleaners. My understanding from his explaination was that the rubber hosing that is clamped in with the metal portions of those lines were worn/ruptured (due to old age? 2013 981BS).
Unfortunately I have never messed with any A/C unit to be knowledgable in the construction of the lines.
I will try to stop by the shop tomorrow and take a look and have him give me a walkaround to see it in person, but it looks like I am most likely just going to have to close my eyes and take the nut shot.
I'll keep everyone updated and try to take photos and post for general knowledge.
From my knowledge this is a reputable indie shop in my area so hopefully they aren't just taking me to the cleaners. My understanding from his explaination was that the rubber hosing that is clamped in with the metal portions of those lines were worn/ruptured (due to old age? 2013 981BS).
Unfortunately I have never messed with any A/C unit to be knowledgable in the construction of the lines.
I will try to stop by the shop tomorrow and take a look and have him give me a walkaround to see it in person, but it looks like I am most likely just going to have to close my eyes and take the nut shot.
I'll keep everyone updated and try to take photos and post for general knowledge.
Pretty unlikely. 5 years old is NOT "old age".
If there really are leaks at those lines.fittings, they should be able to demonstrate it with a little liquid leak detector. Even a very tiny leak will form obvious bubbles.
IF those lines do in fact need replacement, then $1400 isn't bad.
I’ve been reading RennList and various other Porsche forums for 2 years and I don’t ever recall anyone ever stating they had issues with a 981 series car AC.
Also, as billwot stated 5 years old is definitely not old age for something like this. Friends of mine have cars that are 10years old and they still have the original AC lines in their cars.
Requested some photos from the shop and this is what I received.
As I am unfamiliar with A/C configurations, not sure there is much I can determine with my lack of knowledge. It seems like there is an imperfection where the rubber hose meets the metal lining.
Most likely will be biting the bullet and just getting the work done there as I am already in the hole ~$500.
Requested some photos from the shop and this is what I received.
As I am unfamiliar with A/C configurations, not sure there is much I can determine with my lack of knowledge. It seems like there is an imperfection where the rubber hose meets the metal lining.
Most likely will be biting the bullet and just getting the work done there as I am already in the hole ~$500.
Spraying that area with an inexpensive liquid leak detector would give a definite answer in 2-3 minutes. Less than that, if its a significant leak.
And any area where there is a refrigerant leak will almost always have an oily deposit around it, as there is oil mixed with the refrigerant. There is no oily deposit visible in those pics.
After a conversation with the shop just now, I decided it would be easiest to go ahead and just get it taken care of and replace the lines due to the fact that it would either:
1.) cost me more to have the shop charge me labor and time to remove more parts to get access for additional inspection
or
2.) be a rather large effort on my end to get the car back, pay what I currently owe, try to run my own diagnostic inspection and then determine alternatives
My hope is that at the end of the replacement service the original lines are not tampered with too much with the removal so I can perform further root cause analysis to give you guys some value add.
Got the call last Friday that both A/C lines were replaced and it would be ready the following day (Saturday). Before I went to pick it up Saturday AM, got a call from the shop to let me know they took the car out of the loading bay and the A/C wasn't holding the refrigerant and was still blowing warm air.
Their tech worked on it this weekend and I recieved a call today to let me know that they identified a leak in the Pressure Switch of the new A/C line and had to replace the o-ring.
Seems like that resolved the issue, who knows if the o-ring was the initial issue and was all that needed to be replaced. Will ask a few more questions when I collect the car this evening, but am just glad the issue was fixed regardless of the $ hit.
I would be willing to bet the O-Ring was the issue all along. Those high pressure lines infrequently fail on cars less than 15 years old. It would be a design flaw IMHO and many others would be talking about it by now. I would imagine that many 987 owners would also be complaining about it by now assuming the same materials were used.
I would ask the shop to discount their labor since they likely made an error.
I would be willing to bet the O-Ring was the issue all along.
+1 - The new lines likely did not come with new pressures switches attached to them and that pressure switch/o-ring was probably the cause all along. These types of problems are about the most frequently misdiagnosed of all. The first thing I do when facing an a/c issue on a car that's not nearly brand new (5 years old is not nearly brand new) is to simply evacuate and recharge the system and see what happens. Most of the time I get another several years of cold a/c. If I do, and all I need is an evac and recharge every several years, that's what it gets. If I don't get a year out of an evac and charge and the compressor fails to engage again due to low refrigerant level within that one year, I take the next step(s) in diagnosis. And that next step always involves putting dye into the system and using a sniffer to pinpoint the source of the leak. I do not just start replacing expensive hoses in a trial by error scenario.
07-09-2018, 06:06 PM
A/C Repair - High & Low Pressure Line Replacements
