Ok, here goes..

we bought a Freelander 2 in September, and it was a very good price indeed!
You know the thing they say about if it looks too good to be true and all that, well luckily its not as bad as it could have been that's all im saying.

issue 1. A mouse living in the rear boot side panels (trunk for my American friends) Now i know the previous owners knew about this issue as i found a little plastic mouse trap under the spare wheel just yesterday.

issue 2. It is hot here right now and the AC is not working, but ive only noticed it now that i need it. I took it to get it re gassed at KwikFit, which they did and it seemed to pass the leak test.
After the process had finished I started the engine and a steam started emanating fom under the bonnet (hood) and an aweful smell I remembered very well from my helicopter days, refrigerant!

Today i took the front bumper cowling off the car and had a good look around, there is loads of old, matted black sticky oil all over the air charger unit and the bottom of the condenser. It's been there for ages and my little trip to the regassers seems to have added more. I should mention that its only black due to age and dirt sticking to it, It probably started out a nice green colour.

Im confused though, why would the refrigerant only come out when the engine was running and not show up as a leak under regassing? Oh and for the short time the compressor was running it sounded screachy, will this resolve itself as AC oil works its way round the system?

I am now planning to replace the condenser as it must be that leaking.

Any idea what size / type of orings i need for the 2 pipes into the new condenser?
will this be the end of it or will the fact that its been so obviously broken for so long mean other parts will be dmaged, shall i just replace the condenser and take it for a professional vacuum and regass and see what happens?

big post for my 1st post, any help gratefully recieved,

Andy.

The A/C compressor may be goosed now, it needs to be run about once a month to lubricate the seals, if it was dry of refrigerant this wouldn't have been possible. p****d off with a Digital Keyboard Warrior

Can I strip it down, clean and lubricate it?
I've bought some proper ac lubricating oil for the orings, and a box of green orings all in different sizes. What are the seals like? Any idea?

Thanks by the way.

Hi,

the leak test during regassing is made by only small vacuum and it will only show relatively big leaks.I can honestly say I am not doing this test at all during regassing as it is only "theatre" for customers watching.As the system is charged the pressure on condenser side goes to around 6 bar but as the A/C kicks on the pressure raises up to 15 - 20 bar depending on the ambient temperature and the condition of the radiator fans.This is what probably happened to you. Most time new O rings comes together with new condenser - if not buy them from LR as there are many dimensions available with "unmeasurable" differencies.The O rings also have to be designted to R134a refrigerant - do not use O rings designed for water etc.While installing new condenser ensure it comes with new drier and the condenser comes with sealed holes - if not do not install it and ask for another one.Remove the seals from condenser just before connecting the tubes - short the opening time as much as possible.When regassing after new condenser was installed ask the A/C guy for extended time of vacuuming - 60 mins should be adequate.
Hope this will help you and sorry for my poor english

Quote:

Can I strip it down, clean and lubricate it?
I've bought some proper ac lubricating oil for the orings, and a box of green orings all in different sizes. What are the seals like? Any idea?

NO NO NO do not touch

djaspen - would love any pics you have when you do yours.... mines dripping fluid after a regas but hasnt been a real problem.

Planning on getting it looked at soon ( http://www.freel2.com/forum/topic16182.html )

T Terran



'The' Car For The Modern Day UK Roads ( ie all the pot holes )

'A Freelander that leaks oil is just marking its territory' - Wise words

Now a member of the FL2 'Silly Bill' Club

You guys are great, thanks so much.

I will take pictures of the procedure, and post them. Tbh it'll take about an hour as its not that hard to get to.
Think ill just see what happens with the compressor.

Wish me luck.

michal969 wrote:

Hi,

the leak test during regassing is made by only small vacuum and it will only show relatively big leaks.I can honestly say I am not doing this test at all during regassing as it is only "theatre" for customers watching.As the system is charged the pressure on condenser side goes to around 6 bar but as the A/C kicks on the pressure raises up to 15 - 20 bar depending on the ambient temperature and the condition of the radiator fans.This is what probably happened to you. Most time new O rings comes together with new condenser - if not buy them from LR as there are many dimensions available with "unmeasurable" differencies.The O rings also have to be designted to R134a refrigerant - do not use O rings designed for water etc.While installing new condenser ensure it comes with new drier and the condenser comes with sealed holes - if not do not install it and ask for another one.Remove the seals from condenser just before connecting the tubes - short the opening time as much as possible.When regassing after new condenser was installed ask the A/C guy for extended time of vacuuming - 60 mins should be adequate.
Hope this will help you and sorry for my poor english

...as the condenser includes drier you should not install it if it came opened.The drier absorbs moisture and can reduce system performance when full (few drops of water means full).

You can install it but give the system extremly long vacuuming before regassing (vacuuming removes the moisture from entire system).

Update, a few months on and the new condenser is working perfectly and AC system is fantastic, very easy job to do actually.
Compressor is still very whiny but working perfectly too.

Thanks for the help guys

Hi djaspen

I have exactly the same leak and am getting a friend mechanic to replace the condenser this week. Can you tell me if the condenser replacement requires the bumper to come off and has your replacement proved to be a success in the long term? thanks

anyone else know an easier way to replace the condenser without taking the front bumper off please?

Guys....
Take into consideration that on the lower side of the radiator pack is the turbo intercooler.
The order is, from front to back, intercooler, AC condenser, engine cooler.
And the intercooler is possibly to leak oil at the side connections, where the metal touches plastic.
Verify that's indeed AC oil and not motor oil from intercooler....

And no, the bumper has to come off in order to replace the condenser...

Thanks for the info Alex. There is some engine oil around the intercooler but mainly it is bright green air con oil coming from the bottom of the receiver / drier. You can see it bubbling out around the bottom of the plug and has happened after getting a recharge a few weeks ago. I know it is a screwed plug with an O ring but my mechanic thought probably best to change the condenser instead of just the O ring. He won't be happy with bumper off though! No way to move the fans and engine radiator forward to gain access to the condenser?

Nope.
Pretty hard, if not impossible, to access the fixing points without bumper out...