Xantia aircon

[Xantia97]

Hi All,
Aircon has not been used for a few years on the Xantia so I had it tested for leaks today. The garage (didn't speak English and my French for this sort of thing is not good) said that the system was leaking from the dryer and gave me a quote for a new dryer and pressure switch, plus labour and re-gassing. So I have the following questions please:-

If they located the leak does that mean that the whole system must be in working order?

I read on another post that the dryer cannot leak?

It looks easy to change both parts ourselves and we can get the same valeo parts substantially cheaper than the garage quoted here in France. If we do it ourselves are there issues we should be aware of? We will have the system serviced and re-gassed afterwards by a professional.

All contributions gratefully received
Thanks,
Juliet

[CGATCX25GTITURBO]

Get another opinion from another AC shop. I just had the same if you see my post leaking from the dryer.. maybe it has corrosion? Or the pipe and switch connectors need a little nip up?

Provided the system has no gas in it or is pressure up, you should be able to swap the parts then get it serviced- gassed up by a professional. I'd Look at youtube and observe safety precautions.... not telling or reccomending you do this that is what I would do, don't forget there are some err, less safety conscious people post clips on there.

[Xantia97]

Thanks for the suggestion, I had already decided to change the dryer because it is very rusted. The garage I went to is the only one I can find that would do a leak test. I 've had the system re-gassed twice in the past few years and each time the aircon has only worked for a few days, but the garages were not interested in checking for leaks they think it is very strange to want to spend money on such an old car!!! As for safety, my husband is a marine engineer so he tells me what is safe or not -there is no gas in the system at the moment.

[Xaccers]

Dryers often come up on ebay, but so far I've not found one suitable for the 1.9TD with 90 degrees between hose connectors so it'd be worth taking a photo of yours and sending it to any online sellers just to make sure you get the right one.
Swapping it is a doddle, the pressure switch which the brown wires go to unscrews, and the two gas pipes also just unscrew.

[Xantia97]

Hi Xac,
Is there any trick to making sure the joints are leak proof, my OH thought they may be sealed with something?
Thanks,
Juliet

[Xaccers]

Hi Xac,
Is there any trick to making sure the joints are leak proof, my OH thought they may be sealed with something?
Thanks,
Juliet

They should have an o-ring in the ends of the pipe if memory serves.

[DickieG]

Personally I'd only change the drier if having fitted it you have the facility to immediately vacuum the system otherwise the silica gel inside the drier will become saturated making the pupose of changing it rather pointless.

[Xantia97]

My plan was to remove the old dryer, seal the pipes as airtight as possible, Hammerite the mounting bracket because it is badly rusted, install the new dryer (is it dryer or drier - I've seen many sites spelling it with a y?) but not connect it up until just before I take the car to be vacuumed and re-gassed. Am I to understand this will not work? I know I have to very quick to disconnect and reconnect the pipes.

[citroenxm]

Ive got LOADS of S2 dryers, but I dont think they are the same as S1 dryers. And they came off working systems too..

Theres a O ring on the Pressure switch connection when you unscrew it, and theres one on each pipe connection too..

[Xantia97]

Do the O rings come with the new parts or do you think the old ones will be OK if they don't?
The dryers I've been looking at state manufacture of car up to 12/1997 so I guess they did change for S2 cars.

[citroenxm]

S2 cars had the dryer in a different place so actually, its Pipe work only thats different. Im certain now dryers are the same item.

As for O rings, unless they have dried out from lack of Air Con oil in the system, they can be reused no problem, they need to be round still, and not flattened..

[Xantia97]

Ah, I'll have to do some investigating to see the state of the O rings before I go any further, just in case I need renew them - the system hasn't worked for a few years.

[citroenxm]

Ive known Xantia systems to be unused for years, but a Vac down , regass and amazing they have worked again!!

Though you have had a leak identified change the dryer, and get a it checked over again.. chances are it will be fine!

The dryer is easy to swap!

[myglaren]

My plan was to remove the old dryer, seal the pipes as airtight as possible, Hammerite the mounting bracket because it is badly rusted, install the new dryer (is it dryer or drier - I've seen many sites spelling it with a y?) but not connect it up until just before I take the car to be vacuumed and re-gassed. Am I to understand this will not work? I know I have to very quick to disconnect and reconnect the pipes.

Drier vs. dryer:

Drier is a comparative adjective meaning more dry. A dryer is one of many types of electrical appliances used to dry things.

The words were once interchangeable. The distinction crept into the language through the 20th century and has only recently solidified. Some dictionaries still list the words as variants of each other, but the words are almost always kept separate in 21st-century publications.

[citroenxm]

My plan was to remove the old dryer, seal the pipes as airtight as possible, Hammerite the mounting bracket because it is badly rusted, install the new dryer (is it dryer or drier - I've seen many sites spelling it with a y?) but not connect it up until just before I take the car to be vacuumed and re-gassed. Am I to understand this will not work? I know I have to very quick to disconnect and reconnect the pipes.

Drier vs. dryer:

Drier is a comparative adjective meaning more dry. A dryer is one of many types of electrical appliances used to dry things.

The words were once interchangeable. The distinction crept into the language through the 20th century and has only recently solidified. Some dictionaries still list the words as variants of each other, but the words are almost always kept separate in 21st-century publications.