1996 Audi A4 aircon packed up

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
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Sat 1 Mar 2003 12:15
1996 Audi A4 aircon packed up - phillipo
My aircon expired in a cloud of smelly white gas coming through the vents. I thought of offloading the car because I have been told it's an expensive (£1000 +) repair (for an oldish car) but my low mileage (48,000) persuades me to hang on to it for now.

Should I trust an independent repair or is there any strong reason to pay Audi's top whack charges?
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Sat 1 Mar 2003 15:24
1996 Audi A4 aircon packed up - lauriew
I had my Scorpio regassed after a pipe split. It was done by a small domestic air/con firm(ie not car).I paid £80 for pipe (Ford part), and £25 for regas.
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Sat 1 Mar 2003 15:37
1996 Audi A4 aircon packed up - Dave N
The cloud of gas could be from a busted evaporator behind the dash, or a stone or something through the condensor (in front of the radiator) and sucked in through the ventilation system.

A4's are well known for busted evaporators, but they only usually leak slowly, not suddenly let go. However a stone through the condensor will suddenly let go.

If it's the evap, a main dealer could be your best bet as they will have done many and have the kit to reset airbag light and climate panel should any errors occur. I think it's about 5/6 hours as the whole dash comes out. Condensors are much easier and cheaper. Find a specialist with dry nitrogen to test it, and with a leak that big you should be able to hear it coming out easily. It is easy to remove the blower motor to get near the evap to have a look. Using this method you shouldn't have to recharge (and pay much) to find the problem.
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