Hello!

I own a 2006 Jaguar XJ, x350 series, 2.7 diesel engine, Sovereign.

When I bought the car (2019), the car had 300,000 km driven.

The air conditioning didn't work, so I changed the climate compressor. Then in 2019 I bought a used compressor. After one season of operation, the air conditioning did not work. I went to the service and found that the compressor coupling (pulley / clutch) broke.

I bought a new "890117 NISSENS" compressor. When replacing the compressor, I also replaced the "dryer filter". We carried out this repair in 2020. The climate worked throughout the warm season of 2020.

Now in 2021, when it was a warmer day, we turned on the air conditioning, but it didn't work, meaning no cold air came. I went to the service again, and the mechanic noticed the same problem: the compressor coupling (pulley / clutch) broke again.

What advice can you give me?

I know that when the climate compressor is replaced, a deep cleaning of the entire piping system must be done. But I did not find anyone in Romania, willing to do such a work for me. I was told that I needed to take the whole board down for such a work, so I gave up thinking.

Even now, in my situation, I would like to avoid such a work of cleaning all the pipes in the air conditioning system. I know that it is a work that requires a lot of time and a lot of money, and this work exceeds my budget and the value and importance of the car. However, I would still like to keep the car for another 2-3 years ... but with the air conditioning system, functional.

The mechanic suggested that we repair this compressor purchased in 2020 again ... because it is almost brand new. There are all kinds of repair kits. So I'd like to fix it. And he also advised me to try to replace a valve that deals with the transformation of freon into gas. My mechanic also consulted with someone and was told that now, when repairing the compressor, we should also replace this valve, which is usually mounted somewhere in the evaporator area (the air conditioning radiator on board).

So, in addition to the advice I am waiting for from you, please also help me with a diagram of the air conditioning system, a diagram in which to locate this valve as well.

Thank you very much in advance for your support!

 

I just watched recently a Car Wizard video on YouTube on this very subject, aircon compressor failure and the need to clear out the pipes of metallic particles or the the warranty will not be honoured. Yes, It is very expensive, but my view on this is that the cleaning is probably as a minimum, (if you're short of money), to the outlet pipe from the compressor, and then to the Thermal Expansion Valve, the valve that releases refrigerant into the evaporator depending on feedback on cabin temperature. It would be prudent to replace this valve as well as the compressor. The compressor on the X350 cars is not conventional on/off, it has no magnetic clutch, and varies its output continuously via a PWM signal, rather than switching on and off depending on temperature feedback. If you can find a copy of the technical notes for the car of 2004/5 it is all explained in there. I have the file here on my hard drive, but it's 65Mb, so very large to send via mail. I can't remember what source I got it from.

 

I know this is an old thread - just found it! I do not understand the requirement for total system cleaning. If it was just the clutch that failed no metal would enter the lines. Does not make sense that the coupling breaks. Is it electrical fail or mechanical? I would think low pressure would be more likely.

 

There is no clutch, the compressor output is varied using the PCM signal as I said earlier, therefore is always rotating when the car is running.

 

Are you really sure the diesel's does not have a clutch? They are different than the petrol ones!

 

There's a reason that pulley keeps breaking, and if the compressor's internals have failed in a manner that grinds metal surfaces, those bits of metal get into the plumbing and will simply get circulated into the new compressor, causing it to fail early. If the compressor seizes from that failure, breaking the pulley is a likely scenario. I had a compressor seize on a car back in the late 90s and it threw the accessory belt rather than destroying any more hardware. I was a hundred miles from home, though, so I had a bit of a towing bill!