Jetta A/C (Help!)

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fishystuff00@cablespeed.com - 29 Jul 2007 05:36 GMT

Pardon me, I am new to newsgroups, I've tried to research this
subject, but have come up with no results. I hope I am not asking the
same question that others have asked. So, here is my situation:

Got into a wreck- rear ended someone and their trailor ball punched
through my A/C core/radiator (along with my radiator, p/s resevior and
many other things).

We're talking a 94 Jetta GL III 2.0L

Question is... The A/C has never worked any way (probably ran out of
fluid a long time ago). This car has a great engine, no damage to any
MAJOR parts, so I am piecing it back together. I see four options as
far as getting my car back on the road, and am not sure what to do:

1) Run the thing without the A/C radiator, tubes and everything
hanging out. (Seems like this would cause problems).

2) Somehow bypass the condensor pump, but this seems like it would
not work because my car has a serp. belt that runs everything.

3) Go to a junk yard and buy a used A/C radiator. Is this risky?

4) Buy a brand new A/C radiator and hope to God that my $200
investment brings the A/C back to normal and in working condition.

Any advice appreciated!

-Chrispy

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dave AKA vwdoc1 - 29 Jul 2007 05:51 GMT

I vote #4

ebay item #
190134736977 used $20 but shipping is over $40
330148223029 new $92 and shipping is $15 ( I guess I would go this route
unless there is something better)

And please be careful out there! ;-)

Signature

later,
dave
(One out of many daves)

> Pardon me, I am new to newsgroups, I've tried to research this
> subject, but have come up with no results. I hope I am not asking the
[quoted text clipped - 25 lines]
>
> -Chrispy

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Madesio - 29 Jul 2007 08:29 GMT

On Sat, 28 Jul 2007 21:36:37 -0700, fishystuff00 wrote:

> Pardon me, I am new to newsgroups, I've tried to research this
> subject, but have come up with no results. I hope I am not asking the
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
> 1) Run the thing without the A/C radiator, tubes and everything
> hanging out. (Seems like this would cause problems).

Won't be a problem leaving the condenser out of the equation if you don't
plan on using the A/C.

> 2) Somehow bypass the condensor pump, but this seems like it would not
> work because my car has a serp. belt that runs everything.

There are bypass brackets with pulleys should you choose to remove the
compressor. Give your parts stores a call.

> 3) Go to a junk yard and buy a used A/C radiator. Is this risky?

Yes, but I've seen it done with good results on more than a few occasions.

> 4) Buy a brand new A/C radiator and hope to God that my $200 investment
> brings the A/C back to normal and in working condition.

There are plenty of things that can cause your A/C to become inoperative.
If your strapped for cash, here's what I'd do. Go the the junk yard and
get the used condenser. Install, charge your system, and observe what
happens. You may want to have a shop check it for you if you don't have a
set of manifold gauges, because system problems are easily diagnosed by
judging the variances in the high and low side pressures. If it turns out
that the repairs are going to be out of your willing price range, you can
walk away from that thought of having A/C again without having spent too
much money.

Reply to this Message

Karl Perry - 29 Jul 2007 19:24 GMT

> On Sat, 28 Jul 2007 21:36:37 -0700, fishystuff00 wrote:
>> 4) Buy a brand new A/C radiator and hope to God that my $200 investment
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> walk away from that thought of having A/C again without having spent too
> much money.

I'm the OP's dad, trying to help out too. I don't have any experience with
automotive a/c other than turning it on from inside. A couple of follow-on
questions:

1. Is it possible to test the compressor without hooking up the rest of the
system? I'd hate for him to spend money buying a replacement condenser -
new or used - just to find out he has to spend potentially hundreds more
because his compressor was broken even before the accident.

2. The a/c in his car hasn't worked for a couple of years (at least as long
as he's owned the car). Has he likely damaged the compressor by continuing
to run the heating system - which cycles the a/c when on defrost - during
this time? In other words, will running an a/c system without refrigerant
damage the compressor motor?

He's trying to get back on the road as inexpensively as possible without
causing more long-term damage to the car's components.

Thanks for the responses so far.

KP

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Madesio - 29 Jul 2007 20:13 GMT

>> On Sat, 28 Jul 2007 21:36:37 -0700, fishystuff00 wrote:
>>> 4) Buy a brand new A/C radiator and hope to God that my $200 investment
[quoted text clipped - 18 lines]
> new or used - just to find out he has to spend potentially hundreds more
> because his compressor was broken even before the accident.

No. A/C system needs to have some kind of charge in order for you to check
the actual rate of compression. You can however activate with clutch with
jumpers, but that's all you you can do, and it doesn't prove much.

> 2. The a/c in his car hasn't worked for a couple of years (at least as long
> as he's owned the car). Has he likely damaged the compressor by continuing
> to run the heating system - which cycles the a/c when on defrost - during
> this time? In other words, will running an a/c system without refrigerant
> damage the compressor motor?

Did you actually hear the compressor cycling when you had the setting on
defrost? For a compressor clutch to even activate, a number of
things have to be in order such as ambient temperature, engine
operating temperature, and low and high side a/c system pressure.Nothing
should be damaged on the A/C side from running defrost heater.

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fishystuff00@cablespeed.com - 30 Jul 2007 00:15 GMT

I've never heard or felt the compressor kick in, whether I'm trying to
run the A/C or whether I am running the defrost heater...?

I have a VW junkyard that I am in contact with. After reading all of
the feedback, it sounds like I should just replace the old a/c
radiator (I am thinking about that EBay listing, too) and, when the
time and money comes, I will have the system checked out.

-Chrispy

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dave AKA vwdoc1 - 30 Jul 2007 01:12 GMT

IF it is about the money then don't put on another A/C Condensor. Try to
seal up those two A/C hoses and electrically disconnect the A/C compressor.
Then drive the car. ;-)
If the compressor locks up in the future then you can deal with that if it
happens.

I personally like the comfort of the A/C system when I need it! ;-)

good luck,
dave
(One out of many daves)

> I've never heard or felt the compressor kick in, whether I'm trying to
> run the A/C or whether I am running the defrost heater...?
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>
> -Chrispy

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none2u - 31 Jul 2007 03:25 GMT

> IF it is about the money then don't put on another A/C Condensor. Try to
> seal up those two A/C hoses and electrically disconnect the A/C
[quoted text clipped - 22 lines]
>a new drier. A used one is a crap shoot. And not worth the labor effort .
>Then I'd charge it and see if it works.

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