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I've got a receipt for both AC condensers replaced and recharge of the system by Paul Stephens at £420 in total. That was 2010 mind you but gives you a rough idea.
When I bought the car last year I removed the front bumper and rads etc to give them a thorough blow out with an air line and a Hoover and fitted some black mesh to stop crap getting in through the intakes.
When I bought the car last year I removed the front bumper and rads etc to give them a thorough blow out with an air line and a Hoover and fitted some black mesh to stop crap getting in through the intakes.
Edited by ClarkPB on Wednesday 13th November 21:49
You can get some perfectly good ones for £55 each
http://www.boxa.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=5771...
http://www.boxa.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=5771...
oh I see so the AC Condensers are the components in the front side vents I thought that was the radiators or they the same thing?
last week I gave it a clean and found loads of leaves in there I take it too much of that rubbish will cause them to rot.
I guess I need those mesh things, makes you wonder why they didn't have them on there by default
last week I gave it a clean and found loads of leaves in there I take it too much of that rubbish will cause them to rot.
I guess I need those mesh things, makes you wonder why they didn't have them on there by default
If yours is a GT, 4S, Turbo or similar it will have 3 radiators (water, one in the middle) and two condensers (look like smaller radiators, and ally coloured rather than black) in front of the side radiators. If not just two at the sides.
As previous posts, only way to clean between the condensers and the rads is to take the bumper off, and separate the condensers from the rads (latter is the easy bit) unfortunately no amount of air blown through the bumper will make any difference, as one will appreciate upon doing the job properly.
Not done and assuming you drive when there are leaves on the road and bugs in the air, the rads and condensers will eventually corrode from the outside in.
I believe in mesh.
As previous posts, only way to clean between the condensers and the rads is to take the bumper off, and separate the condensers from the rads (latter is the easy bit) unfortunately no amount of air blown through the bumper will make any difference, as one will appreciate upon doing the job properly.
Not done and assuming you drive when there are leaves on the road and bugs in the air, the rads and condensers will eventually corrode from the outside in.
I believe in mesh.
AlexH997 said:
how difficult is it to take of the bumper to do this
I will look at getting these zunsport grilles they look the part
Not very. There are how to's that you can view and even on here there is a great post on this. Did my 996 3 times.I will look at getting these zunsport grilles they look the part
Just bag and tag all screws so you know what goes where.
Main thing is jack up the car as high as you can get it (at the front only) and whip off both front wheels.
If you jack up from the rear jacking points, the front should eventually lift also, and you can then place axle stands under the front jacking points.
I have just replaced my front left condenser. It cost £48 from Coolpartsuk (EBay) with a 2 year warranty. You should put in two new "O" rings at about 20p a shot. They are Nitrile Rubber (Porschapart). The problem is that the air con will be pressurised and will come out with some force when the joint is separated. It is not permissible to let this stuff fly into the atmosphere. If the system is empty it will be OK.
You will also need to replace the drier if you open the system. Also available from Coolparts at about £20. This is a generic part found on hundreds of vehicles. This also an easy fix as it's under the plastic cover next to the battery.
After all this you will need to get the system emptied with a vacuum pump and recharged at a cost of about £70.
The whole job cost me less than £150 with some new body poppers for the wheel arches (10mm studs).
Take your time when putting it all back together to make sure it all aligns and the gap between the nose cone and the bonnet are even.
You will also need to replace the drier if you open the system. Also available from Coolparts at about £20. This is a generic part found on hundreds of vehicles. This also an easy fix as it's under the plastic cover next to the battery.
After all this you will need to get the system emptied with a vacuum pump and recharged at a cost of about £70.
The whole job cost me less than £150 with some new body poppers for the wheel arches (10mm studs).
Take your time when putting it all back together to make sure it all aligns and the gap between the nose cone and the bonnet are even.
I've just had both my front ac condensers replaced on my 997. I'd reccomend doing both at the same time as the cost of having the second one done will be just the parts.
The two condensers plus the dryer (consider it like an oil filter to change everytime you open the system) cost £173 for "pattern" parts from Advanced Radiators (adrads.co.uk). The work was £311 including the regas. All in, inc VAT, £484.
I can't see how it would be £450 at an OPC when the OE condenser alone is around the £250 mark (plus VAT, fitting and regas).
996TT02 said:
If yours is a GT, 4S, Turbo or similar it will have 3 radiators (water, one in the middle) and two condensers (look like smaller radiators, and ally coloured rather than black) in front of the side radiators. If not just two at the sides.
This isn't quite correct, on non the 997 GT/Turbo cars the third coolant rad is fitted as standard to Tiptronics (nothing to do with 4S). Some people have it retrofitted on manual cars as they believe it helps with cooling and therefore reduces potential for bore wear (which is debatable as it seems more Tips are affected by bore wear, someting to do with the starting in 2nd gear).
I believe the third rad is also fitted as part of the Carrera's X51 optional power upgrade.
RiccardoG said:
This isn't quite correct, on non the 997 GT/Turbo cars the third coolant rad is fitted as standard to Tiptronics (nothing to do with 4S).
Some people have it retrofitted on manual cars as they believe it helps with cooling and therefore reduces potential for bore wear (which is debatable as it seems more Tips are affected by bore wear, someting to do with the starting in 2nd gear).
I believe the third rad is also fitted as part of the Carrera's X51 optional power upgrade.
I assumed the bore wear was due to the tip gearbox creating excessive heat.Some people have it retrofitted on manual cars as they believe it helps with cooling and therefore reduces potential for bore wear (which is debatable as it seems more Tips are affected by bore wear, someting to do with the starting in 2nd gear).
I believe the third rad is also fitted as part of the Carrera's X51 optional power upgrade.
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