replace 308 AC Condenser

[nikeastwood]

the Ac in the mrs 308 has never worked since we got it last year, we took it to KwikFit for a regas to take a chance on it but it wouldnt hold a vacuum so we got our money back, thats the only good reason for using kwikfit, ever!

Its probably the condenser at fault, cos looking through the front grille all the gills and guts are hanging out the condenser

so the question is, are they hard to replace? is it a bumper off job? if so how difficult is it?

cheers all

[GiveMeABreak]

What year is the 308 - there are 2 versions - better still the VIN please.

Bumper may or may not be necessary to remove - depends on engine, but you will need proper plugs to plug the A/C pipes to prevent humidity from entering the system. The refrigerant ducts have to be removed The radiator fixing bolts and the securing nuts for the AC pipes on the compressor have to be removed, as do the air inlet duct and sleeve and the turbo air piping. Then the radiator has to be moved aside to get the condenser out.

It's probably similar for both models. Then it would need to be pressure tested and checked prior to a full service I suspect as at this point, I would of thought with gaping holes in the condenser and being like this for some time, the internal seals may be compromised (they can break down) if left for this long. You may have moisture in the system and that's not good. Also, the oil compressor oil may need replacing - but they should be able to do all that when it is serviced.

In my opinion, you'd be better off taking it to an AC specialist who have all the kit to do the job properly.

[nikeastwood]

its a 2008 1.6HDi

[GiveMeABreak]

Ok so pre 2013 when the T9 was released - so above info is relevant.

[RichardW]

I did one on a 2007 307, so probably similar. From what I remember I took the radiator out - I think in theory it's possible without removing the rad, if you take the top mount off (which on the 307 really requires the bumper to be removed, but I managed to get in just by unclipping the top of the bumper / grille) which allows it to move back to slide the condenser out. However in practice access to the connections on the condenser is tricky, and much improved by removing the rad. Hardest part was getting the bottom connection off - the bolt is supposed to act as a puller, but the connection was seized on and the head just stripped. A lot of wiggling (and a bit of cutting / levering) was required to get the connection off. If I was doing it again, I would get the connection moving first before trying to take the bolt out to pull it off.