Mine was delayed start, insufficient cooling, intermittent cooling and when very hot it was actually heating up the air! 2012 TDV8 Vogue (L322)

In order to replace my Radiator, I just had my AC de-gassed. I am going to replace the AC compressor as well as I have this problem that ac blows cold intermittently.
I had my AC serviced last year to make sure its the compressor.
After one year, the shop evacuated only 550 gr of refrigerant.
Local mechanic says its normal, this doesn’t mean there is a leak in Ac system.
My question to you guys, is it really normal?
Quick google search suggests that this not. Still interested in your experience.
Any o-ring or something to replace as Im taking the front of the car apart to reduce the leak?
Any ideas how to detect leaks diy at home?
Thanks all for your responses 2011 Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8

If not used regularly, AC systems do leak refrigerant - which is why in the UK at least people are constantly selling cars that 'just need the AC regassed' because they've never turned it on.

Many people don't understand that AC is 'Air CONDITIONING' not 'Air COOLING' and therefore it's not just useful in the summer. Drive along any UK road in wet weather and witness the people invisible behind their fogged up windows in cars with AC fitted that they're not using.

So, people don't turn it on, seals in the system dry up and shrink (as they are lubricated by the oil borne by the refrigerant/oil charge which also in most modern PAG lubricants contains seal conditioning components) and refrigerant and oil leak past the seals, the AC stops working, and the seals end up never sealing properly again because they're too far gone to recover.

Thus starts the endless 'it just needs regassing' cycle.

Case in point - I had an old Volvo V40 I bought off a mate of mine. He'd had it from new in Germany in the mid 90s and brought it back when he was posted. Like me, he never turns the AC off. When I sold that car in 2013 it was getting on for 20 years old and the AC had in that time been recharged a grand total of once when the condenser was changed sometime in the early 2000s. Other than that the rest of the system and hence its seals was all still good due to regular use. 2012 (L322) 4.4TDV8 Vogue SE, RSE, Fuji White over Arabica.
Previous V8s: BMW 645Ci, P38 4.6, P38 4.0, Merc CL500
Previous others: Honda x1, Volvo x7, Rover x6, BMW x6, Ford x1, Mercedes x2, Skoda x3, VW x2, Renault x2, Citroen x1, Mazda x3, Nissan x1, Audi x3, Kia x1, Fiat x4, Subaru x3, Austin x2, Triumph x2, Jeep x2, Hyundai x2, Lexus x1, Mitsubishi x1, Saab x2... and some others I've forgotten!

The 4.4 TDV8 has a recognised fault with the air con compressor control valve.

It's not about whether A/C has been used or not.

For example, mine worked perfectly sometimes and others not, creating too much pressure on one side of the system. A burst of revs through the compressor would cause the valve to unstick. 2015 Range Rover Autobiography 4.4 SDV8

Thank you guys for your feedback. Im aware of the issue of ac valve getting stuck. Thats why Im going to replace it, hence I degassed the system.
The amount of gas came out was just surprising knowing that I gassed it last year.
And I always have my ac on but I own this car for one year now, dunno about the previous owner.
So anything I can replace in terms of o-rings etc as Im there already? 2011 Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8

garyRR wrote:

The 4.4 TDV8 has a recognised fault with the air con compressor control valve.

It's not about whether A/C has been used or not.

For example, mine worked perfectly sometimes and others not, creating too much pressure on one side of the system. A burst of revs through the compressor would cause the valve to unstick.

Hello everyone,

today I wanted to replace my aux drive beld and ac compressor on my LHD 2011 4.4 TDV8
I managed to take out the fan and schraud, two of the ac bolts and disconnected the bot refrigerant pipes from the old compressor.

I could not manage to even touch the bloody third bolt (the rear one) of the effing compressor.
I followed the ws manual instructions and I did all the steps except for one, which I cannot understand what I need to do. Is this the undertray?

That is showing the sump. The 4 bolts across the top screw through the sump into the oil pump which can be accessed from above but the 2 holding the pipe will be much lower so will have to be accessed from below.

Thank you Greames, i found them and undid them. They secure second aircon pipe.
After 2 hours of battle, I managed to take out the third bolt and the old compressor. Key for me was to first finger that gap and touch and feel the bolt so i could better align the socket with extension. I guess my fingering skills came handy once again 😬 2011 Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8

To put the new compressor in, I removed the pully right to the tensioner next to the ac comp. There is a lot of gung in that area right above the ac comp and steering pump. Is there a leak here? What are the common leaks around this area?

Hi,

Fitted new AC compressor at the weekend. What a pig of a job, followed the comprehensive guide and all went well excepting anything under the car a real pig of a job and car fought we every inch of the way.

Hardest part was getting the new one located correctly, just would not go in straight at all. eventually gave up by this time in the dark after about 9 hours hard graft, just could not get enough space to be able to get the pipework out of the way without risking damaging something. Eventually after tracing all the pipes back as far as I could and loosening it all up managed to get enough space to cable tie it all out of the way enough to be able to flex the new compressor into alignment.

Came back fresh start next day, still fought me for a couple of hours again, just would not locate even after removing an additional idler pulley. Problem was the rear and lower locating points and you are doing it all blind and with finger tips and that compressor is heavy, lose all strength in your hands very quickly.

In the end more through luck than judgement managed to get the rear lug located from underneath and could then get the 2 front ones in. Again getting the pipework back in place was a nightmare.

Backs of my hands are all scratched to hell, can't wear gloves down that right side as there is simply no space.

Anyway, got it all back in, started with a few crossed fingers and no problems, got it re-gassed by ATS who degassed it for me the day before.

Instantly cold air, so relieved. Been running for a few days now and glorious in this heat.

I'm not surprised a garage charges in excess of £1k on top of the price of the part or wont even touch it.

I got a Nissen’s unit from Maltings, they delivered within 48 hours, great service and price was reasonable.

Many Many thanks to GaryRR for rthe guide, without this it would have been ten times worse than it was

 Fuji White / Jet 2012 4.4 TDV8 Westminster

My AC is on the blink too. It's occasionally sort of there then not. I don't have the time or patience to tackle this even though I've got the space and most of the tools, so it looks like it's going to be another £1k plus bill. That will be number 3 in a year!

While the garage tackle this, are there any other "while you're in there" jobs to tick off? Pulleys, belts, even the alternator?

Mine was intermittant, it got progresively less so, sometimes the AC would come on just when you got to wherever it was you were going, sometimes straight away and sometimes not at all for a few days. All that work just to change the valve and find out it wasn't that would have been too much to bear.

No real jobs to do directly while that's all out really but while I had the belt off it did give me the opportunity to give a good inspection and spin over all the idlers to see if any roughness or noise and also inspect the belt itself and look for any play in the tensioner etc. All good thankfully so a job saved for another time. As you have all the trays out you can have a good look around for leaks etc.

The job does needs 100 different combinations of tools to get done, no really specialist ones though, but a long reach socket ratchet is a must and ratchet spanners, some only work a little way then change to something else, and a third to finish it off. Seems like at least for a few turns of each bolt you've used every tool in the box 5 times, ratchets sometimes you are progressing literally 1 click at a time due to space. A bolt that takes 10 secs to get out normally, but down there in the pit takes 1/2 hour of more and getting it out is the easy part.

I know it sounds daunting and at the time I'd probably have kicked the dog up the drive a few times if I had one, but it coming together at the end, saving a grand or more and the satisfaction of now having reliable AC is worth it.

With a mate as a spotter and bolt starter I could probably have shaved 3 or 4 hours off the rebuild, he/she could guide the location from underneth while you take the weight and wiggle from above.

Now I have the tools and experience I would do it again, but with a mate, let's hope that day is way way off.

Cheers

Andy Fuji White / Jet 2012 4.4 TDV8 Westminster