Saab 9-3 Air conditioning woe

[james_tigerwoods]

The air conditioning has never been great, but I put that down to it needing regassing (as it worked weakly when I test drove it) - On Friday, I regassed it and all was well.

Saturday, however, there was no cold air - so I can deduce from that that the compressor and is working, but I have a leak.

Is there anything I can do or look for myself to check for a leak or is it a case of take it in to a garage to have it checked?

It's a Saab 9-3 57 plate (pre-facelift) 1.9 Diesel Vector Sport

Thanks

JTW

[Bluehawk]

I believe that the air conditioning gas should contain a Dye that is visible under UV Light, so if you can get it up on a ramp, or lift it up enough to get underneath, you may have some luck finding it

[TimeforTea]

I too have a 93 convertible. recently regassed (last August), A/C worked for about a month, then failed again.I contacted Autoair who came to my house diagnosed the fault (gassed system tested for leak), then returned with a new A/C Condenser and Drier Assy, vac and regas with R134a all for £250, great service and i reckon pretty good value. You can find him on any search engine, he is based in Knaphill

[MattW]

The condenser is set quite low on the Saab's so is prone to stone chips, I expect this is where you will find your leak. As has been said you can get a replacement fitted for anywhere between £250-£350 or you can do it yourself for well under half that.

I replaced mine last year and have had no issues since - and I am not mechanically minded at all. But if you have the time and the space it is quite a simple job. I wrote a 'how to' post here which should give a good insight:

http://www.uksaabs.co.uk/UKS/viewtopic.php?f=2&amp...

[james_tigerwoods]

MattW said:

The condenser is set quite low on the Saab's so is prone to stone chips, I expect this is where you will find your leak. As has been said you can get a replacement fitted for anywhere between £250-£350 or you can do it yourself for well under half that.

I replaced mine last year and have had no issues since - and I am not mechanically minded at all. But if you have the time and the space it is quite a simple job. I wrote a 'how to' post here which should give a good insight:

http://www.uksaabs.co.uk/UKS/viewtopic.php?f=2&amp...

Looks good - I'll have a look and I might have a go myself

[7795]

james_tigerwoods said:

MattW said:

The condenser is set quite low on the Saab's so is prone to stone chips, I expect this is where you will find your leak. As has been said you can get a replacement fitted for anywhere between £250-£350 or you can do it yourself for well under half that.

I replaced mine last year and have had no issues since - and I am not mechanically minded at all. But if you have the time and the space it is quite a simple job. I wrote a 'how to' post here which should give a good insight:

http://www.uksaabs.co.uk/UKS/viewtopic.php?f=2&amp...

Looks good - I'll have a look and I might have a go myself

Late reply but my Brother's 9-3 had exactly the fault as described above. He was told the do 4-5 every week as the condenser is low and attracts stones...