Replacing the air condenser on the mk3 galaxy

[corbett891]

Hi all,  my wife has just bought a 06 plate mk3 galaxy,  the AC wasn't working so I had taken it to the local garage who have confirmed the problem is a hole n the condenser.

Is there any how to guides to change the condenser?

My wife's car is a 2.0 Diesel 06 P,ate MK 3.

Having had a quick look under the Bonnett I can see a small radiator at the front which I thought would have been the inter cooler, ( althrough is it the condenseor? )  followed by a large radiator next which is attached to the electric fan which I imagine is the main radiator.

I'm reasonably competent at basic jobs,  brakes,  shocks,  servicing.

All help and advice is welcome,

Many thanks

John

[insanitybeard]

The intercooler is indeed a long squat unit that should be mounted low down behind the front bumper with a couple of large bore rubber/metal hoses going into it, probably infront of the radiator. The air con condenser is a larger unit (closer to the size of the main coolant radiator) and probably also sits infront of it- see here for an idea of it's appearance. Bear in mind though the condenser is not a simple swap as the air con has to be degassed first in order to change it*, unless you have specialist equipment this is not something you can do yourself. There's a fair chance you may also need to remove the front bumper to as well, though I'm not 100% on that.

*-If the old unit has a hole in then it's likely the gas has all escaped so you may not need to degas the system, but regardless you will need to get somebody to test the system for leaks and regas it for you once the new unit is installed.

[corbett891]

Hi mate,

Yes I'm fairly confident it has been degased already due to said hole,  I was thinking of getting one of the LP Recharging systems from Halfords then plugging it into the LP side to regas it.

It's just frustrating not having a Haynes manual for the duty step by step instructions,  I'm generally happy at getting amongst it,  if a man can build it,   Man can fix it :-) just like the safety net of an idiots how to guide

[gregers]

personally i would not do that,as you have a hole in the system moisture may well have entered it.
so i would recommend you have the problem sorted,then have the system cleaned and then a regas.

[insanitybeard]

I've never used one of those kits but are they intended as a system top up or can they actually refill a system from empty? And how does it tell you just how much gas you've put into the system, as capacities vary with each different model of vehicle?

[corbett891]

Hi mate,

I've never used one before,  but it works on pressure,  so when you get within a specific bracket u should be good to go.

[Chrispb]

Moisture in the system will freeze damaging compressor, you should have the system vacuumed then pressurised with nitrogen to test for leaks.
Reputable aircon dealers will do this for you.

[corbett891]

Fair one,

The question is still really how hard is it to  replace the condenser?

I wonder if Haynes will ever produce a updated manual for the Mk3 Galaxy.

[gregers]

heres a pic for you,

http://eucatparts.com/?action=cat_ford_part&s_id_part=1232824&s_id_model=118

[corbett891]

Thank u.

[insanitybeard]

I wonder if Haynes will ever produce a updated manual for the Mk3 Galaxy.

I'm sure they will given a few years, the Mk3/S-Max is still a bit too recent at the moment, the Mk2 was 12 odd years old before the Haynes for it was released! I've not worked on a Mk3 to tell you what kind of job removing the condenser is but I would guess there's a chance the front bumper may need to come off to do it.

[corbett891]

Thank you,

Is it a hard job taking the front bumper off?

I need to bleed the wife's brakes later after changing the fluid so I might have a look whilst I have the vehicle jacked up.

[insanitybeard]

I can't speak for what kind of a job removing the front bumper is on an S-Max/Mk3 Galaxy unfortunately, the most recent Ford I took the front bumper off of was a 2009 on shape Fiesta in which the bumper was secured by numerous clips and screws to the wings, wheelarch liners and front panel, interestingly it didn't have any sliding fit brackets...... But the S-Max/ Mk3 Gal may be completely different, and it may not be necessary to remove the bumper on them in order to remove the condenser, without actually looking at one I couldn't tell you for sure.