nigelbb wrote:

I have owned my P38 for 13 years & every year or two the A/C needs to be regassed but then works well for a year or two. This year I was going to add some of the A/C leak sealant while having Richard's mobile A/C chum regass it but as he was on holiday I got the regass done at Kwik-Fit so will need to wait until next year to use the sealant now.

For getting a system regassed taking the car to Kwik-Fit or ATS (regass currently only £45 with Groupon offer) is the cheapest option but if there is anything beyond that then you are much better off taking the car to an independent auto A/C engineer. You should be able to use Google to find a local ndependent auto A/C engineer.

Never tried ats for anything before. 3 times I've had the 38 in for ac, the indy and the place I went to yesterday you have to leave the car with them and wait for a phone call to collect. I've no real idea of what they have done because I'm not there and I doubt they would let me stand in the workshop looking anyway. Kwikfit, however, when it had its first ever regass under my ownership, had the machine right by the roller shutter door so the bonnet was just poking in and I did have a little chat with the guy but just about the ac button' light off ac on thing' incase he didn't know. Then I wondered off and sat on a nice picnic table they had under a shady tree. Kwikfit have a time slot so I CAN be there and maybe be sure the correct amount of gas is put in without maybe going into the workshop and upsetting the H&S peeps if the ac machine is in the same place as before.

Gilbertd wrote:

You'll need a pair of these,https://www.amazon.co.uk/Connector-Extractor-Condition-Adjustable-Coupler/dp/B083M2CV1P/ref=sr_1_21_sspa. The standard connection on all AC hoses is a 1/4" flare so you'd need the correct hoses too, although for the price you could even splash out and get yourself a kit like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/KATSU-Tools-Manifold-Conditioner-Refill/dp/B094R8NCVZ/ref=sr_1_5 so you will have the connectors and hoses.

The recommendation is not to use air to pressure test as it will introduce moisture which means you should really replace the dryer. However, there's thousands of cars that have been running around with no refrigerant in them for years before someone decides to sort things out and the while system will have been full of air all that time and a simple regas will do the job.

£50, that's not too scary really. I've ordered them. My system was empty for around 5 yrs before I got the car anyway. I was discussing the use of necessary 'trades' that we've had to use over the last 35 years and 3/4 of them have done a bad job or ripped me off as I later discovered. I'm self taught in most DIY things now around the home and competent at most things except AC!
A few examples..
When I was 19 I picked up a rear tyre puncture on my rd400 yamaha, nail into the inner tube, removed the wheel on the side of the road and walked 3 miles with it to the nearest tyre place. They patched the tube while I waited , pumped it up and I walked back to the bike and refitted it. Set off home and only made it a few hundred yards and it was flat again. Got recovered back home by my dad who had finished work by then and we picked up some tyre irons and removed the wheel again and the tyre to find a hole perfectly in the middle of the inner tube patch repair., and the original nail still in the tyre poking through inside.
I'm now 25 got my first house and a leak was evident on the roof near the gutter, rang a roofer from the local paper who came whilst I was at work to do the job after looking and quoting the day before. Said 3 tiles were cracked (concrete) and would need replacing and the under felt had rotted. A couple of years later the roof leaked again, same place so I decided to have a look myself, found the broken tiles had been siliconed together and a couple of plastic tesco carrier bags had been used to patch the felt.
I'm now 29 (not now now, I'm 61 but was 29 then) sold that house to buy the one I'm in now. Decided to have a swanky alarm system fitted after being accosted at the exit of B&Q by a canvasser. This actually made TV news and the guy was jailed over it, long story short, he fitted a timer in the alarm control box that knocked the system out when the warranty expired, so you had to pay for a repair, I and other victims didnt know this of course,but the nice guy did apologise for the malfunction of the system and after fitting a new battery and some other bits gave me a hefty bill but as a gesture of goodwill also gave me another 12 months warranty on the whole system free of charge as "these units never go wrong and I've just been unlucky"
15 months later and the system goes down again, getting suspicious I rang a different alarm company who found this relay and removed it and suggested I rang trading standards. I did so and they had already built a case up against him after numerous complaints.
The rangey needed 4 new tyres when I got it, shame really as they were all perilli scorpions with loads of tread but perished after standing for 5 yrs. National tyres had an offer on 4 new tyres with free mobile fitting so for convenience I had that done then drove the 2 or 3 miles to their local branch to have the tracking done as I had replaced every steering component with new during the recommisioning. Then straight to the mot place where she sailed through. The next bit is really my fault, but 4k miles after the new tyres and tracking were done I had my head under the front looking for an oil leak and noticed no tread at all on the inner quarter width on both fronts, the bit you can't easily see with the wheels straight ahead, but that's how it's always parked. Went somewhere else who said it was miles out and did it properly, been fine since. She seemed to steer fine with the tracking out but as it was my first 38 and my other car is an old defender I never thought anything was wrong.
Since my early years I've moved on a lot and built a two storey extention from digging the footings, casting the reinforced raft right up to the chimney pot and all internal work, everything except the plaster skim, just can't get the knack of that. Fitted new bathroom and kitchen, knocked down internal walls, built staircases, dry lined the cellar, made iron railings, laid a block paving drive, fitted a log burner, built my 110 on a galv chassis, restored a few Japanese motorbikes and hospitalised my self twice and set myself on fire once.

I know my compressed air will allow some moisture in(bad) but only for a day or so until I can get her booked in for a vac/regass (good? No real harm done?). I'm sure I read somewhere ages ago about someone using compressed air at home to find a leak but can't find it now. I recall the fittings needed caused some head scratching but was solved somehow. I've got pipe fittings, bsp, here and pressure gauges, hoses, pushfits, ballvalves etc so I could probably knock up the bulk of it just the port fittings to solve.
If I do get it regassed along with dye..what's the best method or stuff to use to get the old green staining off, it's everywhere. If I could pressurise the system at home I might be able to hear a hiss at 10bar but I could be talking ball clocks haha 😄

Or a way to use compressed air to find leaks? Got a compressor to get to 10bar. Guess I'll need special fittings for the ports.

romanrob wrote:

Clean the whole engine bay and then have a look for UV traces after running at pressure... I've had various leaks across a few LRs, condenser and hoses were the easy ones, but I also had a leak from a compressor, at the clutch
...Unless you find the UV trace then dont waste time, and just recharge in May each year?
I assume the clutch is pulling in as it should? If not then there are other fixes to consider

I've got a uv torch and had a look a few weeks back but there was green everywhere, even fingerprints, either from the last leak test and regass from the tech or from me working on the condensor/hose replacement. System works great, with gas in it, its 100% a leak somewhere which they, according to their website, would find.
If I get it regassed, with dye too, is it possible to differentiate new leaks from the old staining? Am I expecting to see a mist?.

Back story- I got my 2001 dhse around 3 yrs ago, basket case really but I like a project! Renewed and serviced everything and coughed up for a nano, in it for the long haul! Anyway, ac didn't work and I knew nothing about ac so I booked it in for a regas at kwikfit around a year after she was put back on the road, vac test passed, regassed and lovely cold air but failed after approx 3 months. Left it around a year then booked her in at a local landrover indy, they found a leak in the condensor using dye and a uv torch. I renewed the condenser and the compressor to condenser hose and took it back to the indy, they confirmed no more leaks and regassed the system. Lovely cold air again but failed again after around 9 months. Left it another year until today when I booked it in at a local garage who, according to their website they can find any leak using nitrogen and a sniffer probe, Google EAC in telford, shropshire to see what I'm on about. They have said they found no leak for the 20 min test. Although my knowledge of AC is minimal the bloke in reception suggested a full ac service and dye added to the system to find the leak! I was a bit pissed at that comment so paid the bill, £70, and left. They did suggest also a longer pressure test for 35 mins and a full diagnosis, I also questioned that and got a load of flim flam, I knew more than him and couldn't speak to the tech who did the sniff test as he had "gone home".
They were my last chance really and I've lost any faith I might have had in garages. In all my life I've only gone to garages for tyres and even that's gone wrong twice, and tracking which cost me 2 ruined tyres in 4k miles.
So where do I go from here?
I'm handy, not too stupid (except car electrics but I'm getting better!) Can I DIY leak find on an empty system?
Tia
Chris.

What I've found with island is if the order qualifies for free postage it takes longer to come. 3 days if I pay and 5 if I don't.

And mines a diesel 38 and I have no idea what that petrol part looks like either!

Good point with the heat. I made a ss exhaust for my motorhome but used the original downpipe which was around 3ft long, ss from that to a side exit silencer and that was fine for the 6 yrs I owned it but things would be a lot cooler that far from the turbo.

You can mig weld stainless using the wire and gas used for mild steel.

Fixed! (I hope..)
Googling about I found a few posts, one of which was yours on rr.net about unplugging the motors at the hvac panel and plugging back in. I first read the nano and the distribution stall fault was still there and wouldn't clear, then I did the unplug/plug thing then ran through all the values and the values were all changing on all three which the rh blend wasn't doing yesterday.
Book symbol gone, no faults on nano.
Turned the ignition on and off and still no book.
Glad I tried the unplug/plug thing first so thanks!
Hope I haven't spoke to soon.
Taking the steering wheel off next, battery disconnected while I have lunch, and stripping that down to release all the buttons so I can redo the decals, another first for me.

Cheers Richard, quite new to p38s and never had a diagnosis reader before, so new to nano too.
Rubbish on computers too just to add to my woes hahaha 😆.
Only got a smart phone.
I'll have another play tomorrow. I did look at values/inputs and did see things that didn't look 'right' but that was on the rh blend motor and nano says that's got no faults.

That's what nano says.
Back story...
Book symbol up, nano says pot fault on rh blend motor. Replaced the pot on that yesterday, horrible job. That fault has now gone but a new one has popped up as per title. I should say that I removed the DISTRIBUTION motor first for a look see inside to check for wear, bad joints etc then put it back together making sure the gear arrows were enligned, then refitted it insuring that the flats were mated correctly. Then I removed and repaired the BLEND motor pot.
Refitted it all, plugged in the hvac and clocks but not the radio or upper console with the time clock in and read the nano. Pot fault on the blend is gone but I now have the title fault that won't clear on the DISTRIBUTION motor.
I've taken the distribution motor off again and opened it up, can't see anything wrong, enligned the gears again and refitted to the box, observing the flats locations(again). Flaps move freely and , indeed, I can see the box gear wheels moving through their full movement, air changes direction as expected, recalibrated a few times, fault won't clear, book up.
I have noticed, might be relevant, that if I turn the ignition off then on again the book has gone whilst the hvac motors are whirring away for maybe 15 seconds (self test?) Then the book comes back as soon as the motor(s) stop.
TIA.
Chris.

A Google search has sort of explained where they are, a real pain to change.

Gilbertd wrote:

2 wire one is a recirculate blend motor. Swapping the motor should get it working. When you put it back together, make sure you align the arrows on the cog on the pot and the main output cog. That will set it at mid point on the travel so you just slot it on and rotate the whole thing until the screw holes line up.

Nice one! All up and running, tested with the nano too. Where's the recirculate blend motor? I thought there was only 3, 2x blend and 1 distribute? Are they on the blower motors? Had a look at the right hand blower and couldn't see anything on that.
One thing I did notice on my friends , that we've been fixing the blend motor on, is that you can hardly hear the motors moving with the nano but mine make crunchy noises but do move as they should. I've got the book symbol up which is a recent thing, nano reports pot fault. His book symbol has been on for 2 yrs but now out.

OK, we've taken them apart and the 2 wire one has no pot in it. We've tested the dead blend motor with a 9v battery and it's deffo dead so We've unsoldered the good motor off the ebay one and are about to unsolder the original one to swop them over.

We've hit a snag!
The old blend motor(2001) has 4 wires, the replacement s/h one off ebay has only 2 wires , a yellow and a brown, are we stuffed?

leolito wrote:

Richard your "little jobs" they always turn into an adventure!!!

Me I had a simpler life ... after months of procrastinating, finally I decided to deal with the broken bumper (front), for which I had a plastic outer part in good shape, but without the metal part. I took mine off, unglued the metal part, and was ready to transfer it to the other when I noticed the sides in the "plastic" were shaved off, probably somebody ripped them off when splitting the metal inner part with the plastic outer part. So off loaded everything and went up the road where there is a shop where they do "plasticky" things, so they can weld new fittings to fix the metal sides. Will take a few days but oh well.

In the process, unfortunately removing one of the breather hose into a fog light, it was very stuck and it broke the little pipe in the body of the light. Any ideas to fix that? The stub that was left into the hose disintegrated when I was trying to remove it whole .... darn

Bit of tube same diameter or close and glue it in with araldite or something. What's the O D of the stub?

Working assistants are a pita. LOL!

That's handy to know, Ta.
Ducting needs cutting to?