Hi All,


First time Jaguar owner. I have just got a 1997 XJ6 LWB 4.0 X300. It has 275 000 miles on the clock, I took it straight for an MOT and amazingly it passed! Quite a car indeed. If only it weren't quite so long! Pretty much everything works, but one thing is broken. The air conditioning. A quick check sowed the drive belt to the compressor was gone and the compressor pulley quite loose. Suffice to say it at the very least needs a new compressor. Using a Jag specialist is not an option. They quoted £600 to source and replace a non-genuine compressor, but that doesn't guarantee it will be fixed. I don't think they wanted the business. Does anyone have any experience of changing the air conditioning compressor theirselves? Access doesn't look too horrendous, but any tips would be great. I found a compressor for substantially less from another Jag specialist.

 

Make sure you fit a new reciever/drier along with the compressor. It is mounted atop the condenser. You will very likely need new upper and lower condenser mounting bushes, as well.
A common leak-point seems to be the valve in the hi-side charge port.

 

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...stions-183829/

 

What you may be feeling could be the clutch bearing ( ? ) and the compressor may be serviceable without touching it . There are Youtube videos to remove the clutch while leaving the compressor installed . I removed both as a unit on mine so I can't say if just clutch removal only on this model is an option . But it could save you alot of money by doing the minimum required without doing a larger overhaul and recharge .

https://forums.jag-lovers.com/t/x300...moval/242144/5


http://www.ebay.com/itm/AC-Compresso...-/111038155048

 

Thanks for the quick replies guys. My replacement compressor hasn't arrived yet so I don't have a point of reference for whether the clutch is gone or the the main bearing is at fault. I'm pretty sure the bearing on the pulley is done because the tensioner is also in a poor state. Thanks for the link to the bearing Lady Penelopy, I was looking for something like that. Here's an idea. Would it be possible to change the compressor pulley bearing without removing the compressor?

 

The first thing I would do is grab the nose of the compressor, which has the clutch and see if it can be turned by hand. If the belt is gone I suspect a seized compressor, so no point in changing the clutch if the compressor is bad.

You should do a flush of the system too, to get out any metal particles from the failed compressor ( if in fact the compressor has failed)

 

For a on car spin test to ensure the compressor is not locked up by damage you will need to engage the compressor clutch by turning it on . With the clutch disengaged you will get a false positive and will spin depending on the condition of that half independent of what is going on with the compressor . You can make a pair of jumper wires to do this without the engine running if that is a requirement for the full system as designed is most likely inhibited until after the start-run sequence . You should feel or hear a thump that it has engaged . You might be able to get by with just a clutch bearing and a tensioner pulley / bearing and see how the clutch coil works out . I was not able to get the center 10 mm bolt out with a locking arrangement and socket combination so you may be wasting your time in that manual approach to it's removal . But a pulley belt installed in holding it may work before using a impact gun

 

 

Agree with all of the above, but the first thing I would do is take the car to Kwik fit or the like and have them pull a vacuum on the system to check for leaks. If it holds a vacuum, that would be great news, and lets you know the evaporator, the pipework and the condenser are OK. These cars are well known for condenser leaks, often brought on by the failed mounting bushes mentioned above.
The other benefit of this approach is that it safely removes any residual refrigerant which you need to do before opening any parts of the system to work on it.

 

Any suggestions on clearing a clogged expansion valve ? My Lady Penelope was wrecked under the previous owner the condenser was punctured so no freon at this point . While it is in this state I want to exercise the expansion valve and blow out any possible particles in the valve as I am overhauling it without digging out the expansion valve . What I came up with was with a heat gun blowing hot and cold air into the lines will trigger the bulb to exercise and open and close the valve blowing out any trapped particals . I may have to trigger the bulb external to the line piping . I never heard of this being done before and as I came up with it and the physics behind it I thought to myself " I gotta get a life "

Thanks , Parker

 

Not sure what MY you have (it would be worthwhile for you to add a signature line to your emails) but I don't recall the expansion valve is either expensive or difficult to replace...

 

Agree on the vacuum....but beware it will not expose a leaking charge port, unless you are looking for it. One of my 96's went low. I pulled a vacuum and it held overnight. So changed the R/D, pulled vacuum again, also held overnight. Charged the system, pressures looked good and it was cooling just fine, as it should. When I disconnected the Manifold/Gauge set from the high side port, Refrigerant started spewing out....I quick-refit the plastic cap and retreated to Rock Auto to order a new discharge hose. All is well so far and I have the new hose still in stock...for next time it gets too low to work.

The other 96 ($200 Bruce) showed up not working. Seller told me it had been working fine until a day or two before we met to complete the deal, then quit. (It is somewhere between parts-car and long-term project) I had it in the shop a few months ago and pulled a vacuum on the system. It held steady overnight. Decided I could just leave it at vacuum until I got it closer to "driveable" and unhooked everything....again...when I disconnected the M&G from the hi-side port...giant sucking sound ensued. Hooked it back up and everything was at ambient pressure. Then learnt from Motorcarman the entire charge port unscrews from the line and can be replaced! I have a port, a R/D and enough cans of R-134a in the shop (somewhere!) to mend that one....if ever I get 'round to re-fitting the crank-damper, radiator, ABS module...etc. etc.

TXV: Parker, they are normally only clogged by dessicant beads from a ruptured bag in the reciever/drier. Some have had success by disconnecting the lines and blowing compressed air backwards through the valve and the lines. I have not heard of anyone attempting to make the valve actuate whilst doing so.

 

Thanks again for all the wisdom on this matter. This forum is a wealth of information indeed. Still waiting for my replacement compressor. Also a replacement tensioner is on its way too. New belt waiting. I'm going to try another garage close by an see if they will do the job with me supplying the parts. For those who have changed the compressor theirselves, what about oil? Does it not leak out the compressor? Do air conditioning specialist have the correct oil they would do as part of a service?

 

Definitely do the drier part as aholbro1 suggests, as long as you have the system open.

 

My Lady P. is a 1996 X300 4.0 N/A Sovereign with 110,000 miles and in very good shape with the exception of some mechanicals . I looked at updating my signature line some time back but it didn't want to open up for me . On the expansion valve , cost is not bad but from what I understand it is on the front side of the evaporator . I can do it , just a matter of time involved . I did see a writeup somewhere on the steps . I received Lady P. with a ruptured non-running A/C so as I rebuild the A/C to 100 % I would like to address it while the dash is apart and not in service . Flushing seemed a compromise to at least do something . I did see some freon cans at the auto parts store while working on someones ignition ( Honda ) and I quickly noticed can position arrows for direction of can while servicing where both up and down . Not enough time to discern the difference . I know you don't want a slug of fluid ( oil ) vs. gas hydrolocking the compressor pistons .

 

Ok, I got the replacement air con compressor. First thing I did was take the clutch and pulley off the replacement. Easy job and all the bits are in great shape. Next I went about doing the same to the compressor on the car. This is where things got a bit more interesting. The clutch has separated into two pieces because the rubber holding the centre to the friction material had disintegrated. It managed to get the centre nut off and remove the clutch with a bit of struggling. This left the pulley. All I need to do is remove the c-clip, but that is where I'm stuck. Access is poor (from underneath) and I can barely see what I'm doing. I did manage to get a look at the bearing. It looks pretty destroyed since I can see the ball bearings. I'm going to continue to struggle with that c-clip tomorrow. Other than that it's all pretty easy.