Working on my AC because of a DPS valve problem and decided to change the desiccant bag up next to the condenser.
Just a bag full of desiccant beads but it does need to be kept air tight until it's installed.

Jaguar C2D9728 around $190 or so. BUT I found it's an Omega 37-13686 which is all over and about $12 on Amazon.



It's so cheap I will just keep one in stock!
.
.
.

 

Fantastic!

 

I have replaced the bag and found out a few more details?

Here is the old and new to show how much dirt/debris these bags catch. I was surprised at the difference too. Car has about 60K miles on it.



The used bag was hard to pull out and different from the other ones I have replaced? Jaguar added a restrictive ring inside the dryer tube for some reason? I had to use pliers and the bag started to tear a bit. Looks like the beads settled some making the bag bigger at the bottom. The new bag was consistent in diameter and slid in fine.




Next the bottom plug is more complicated than I first thought?
It actually is a filter with a fine screen in it. Apparently again to catch fine stuff.

Here is my used one. I also split the filter and got some fine Aluminum powder out so it does catch some stuff.





Here it is split and has another bit of fine screen inside. There is a small chamber that collects the powdered metal. You can see some the particles in the picture.




Here is the powder. It's Aluminum as I checked it with a magnet to be sure.




Compare this new one to mine and note how dark the fine screen is on the used one.




So if I did this again I think I would replace the bottom plug also. Part # C2D9729. About $50. I don't find any after market versions. All the other Jaguars I have worked on just had a simple machined Aluminum plug. No screen or filter stuff.
.
.
.

 

Some car manufacturers are now adding this service to their maintenance schedule, while many do not. Your findings support that it's a good idea to do this service on a schedule.

 

It also supports the common practice of replacing the condenser (which the filter/desiccant is in) when a compressor is replaced.
We can see what residue is in a filter/desiccant bag when they're removed. We can't see the rest of what's inside the condenser coils.
Of course we can choose to save some $$ just replacing the cheaper filter & desiccant bag instead & get most of it.

 

Is the filter and bag on the entrance or exit of the condenser? If it’s on the entrance, I can’t see how it would get and sizable debris in it.

 

Good question.
Then there's also the age and external environmental wear on it to consider.
I just ordered a whole new Nissens replacement condenser from FCP for $113.
Don't get me wrong - I was considering replacing just the filter & dryer in the existing condenser. I even bought a filter/dryer kit.
I also considered replacing just the DPS in the original compressor but have heard enough for me to decide to go with a whole new compressor too.
For those who choose to go that route, nothing wrong with that. Personal choice.
To me, the savings isn't worth putting too much thought into it.

 

Good advice! I wish I had went straight to the AC compressor replacement and NOT messed around changing the DPS valve! Because I have now went back in and swapped the compressor too.
Since I had no condenser problems and really did NOT want to swap them I changed the bag only. Now I wish I had also changed the bottom filter plug after taking the old one out!

lotusespritse you got me interested and here is what I found?

This is from a "Climate Control Systems Training" manual.
Here is the XJ AC System. The condenser is more complicated than I had thought too.







But this does not show how it's plumbed in and where everything flows. I did find this and it does indicate the flow path.




Looks like the refrigerant goes thru most of the condenser and is mostly a liquid before it enters the dryer assembly at the bottom of the condenser. Interesting in the both the inlet and outlet of the dryer is at the bottom of the dryer and I think they are showing the filter screen between the inlet and outlet. That explains why the bottom plug has 2 O-rings and a separate screen filter. It forces the flow up and thru the dryer bag and the fine screen filter.
.
.
.

 

Well I for one certainly appreciate your work and sharing what you've done and your results.
It's great info that provides the rest of us with very valuable experiences that most of us will have to confront at some time with our XJs.
I was going to replace just the DPS valve too, but your personal experience with that suggested to replace the whole compressor, and I'm glad you provided that wisdom.
I personally appreciate it because I prefer to take the same route as you & service/repair anything possible.

 

Well I do thank you again because you pointed me in the right direction AFTER I screwed around with the DPS valve!
Sometimes it takes me several attempts to get a proper repair. The problem with this one is it's not easy to remove and install the AC compressor on these XJ's!

As of right now the AC is operating fine and hopefully that is a repair in the rear view mirror!
.
.
.

 

Fantastic thread and great find on the desiccant part number. Did you add any oil to the system after replacing this? Or did your new compressor come pre-filled?

 

Interesting question and it's always a bit of a crap shoot since we can't really know how much oil is still left in the system after a leak.
There are rules of thumb and what I do is add so many ounce's for each item replaced.

The filter/dryer I added 1 oz. This was kinda difficult to do because you only have access from the bottom of the dryer. The bottom screened filter had enough room to hold about 1 oz of PAG 46 oil.

The compressor is more complicated and you need to read the paperwork that comes with the compressor. Different brands handle the oil question differently. Sanden claims to come pre-filled with the correct amount of oil. Now again there is no way to actually know this as Sanden has no idea what happened to the AC system or why we are replacing the compressor.

These compressors do have a drain plug which I had not seen before? Makes it easy to drain and measure the oil quantity. I removed about 3 oz and replaced it with 4 oz because that was my guess of how much was needed. I based that on the lack of oil I found in the old compressor. I drained that one too but got very little oil out. Maybe 1 oz or less?

Here is the insert that came with the compressor.




Here is the oil instructions and while they maybe correct I will say there is just no way you can extract 100% of the oil with any machine. Just no way to do it.





I did NOT flush the system and don't unless I find debris or the compressor came apart and trashed the system.
I do vacuum the system extensively and way more than any commercial shop. The reason is simple because the harder and longer you pull a vacuum the less moisture the system will have. Ac performance is directly degraded with increasing levels of moisture in the system.

I vacuum for about 1 hour then shut in and watch for leaks for about 1 hour. Then I again vacuum for about 1-1.5 hours. Then shut the system in all night and mark the gauges so I can tell if anything changed. The next day if everything looks good I start filling the system.
.
.
.