randolphscott

It's been over 100 degrees here for a few days so this seems like a timely topic. I got a great deal on a 2003 E320 a few months ago (I think I did...). Two days after I took delivery the AC went out. I read somewhere in this forum that a common problem with this model was losing refrigerant because the o-rings at the "receiver-drier" were leaking, and if this happened the drier would have black stains. My receiver-drier is really stained, so I figured that's it. I took it to my newest friend, who also happens to work on Mercedes, and he said $90 to replace the o-rings and recharge the system. After a few hours, he called to tell me the system was fully charged and his computers diagnosed a faulty expansion valve with a new price of about $300, including the recharge. I guess the stains were from an earlier loss of refrigerant. It's not the money and I'm going to get the repair (100+ degrees), but I'm wondering: What is the appropriate amount of sweating before I can roll down the windows?

Thanks in advance

Talbot

An ice cold RC wth the windows rolled down should get you to 105F or so.

Talbot

Double Eagle

Maybe I've been lucky, but yesterday in our trip to Hollywood, the outside temp was indicating has high as 107 and we were at a comfy 72 without any problems. We've been through death valley and the Mojave with temps up to 120 and no problems. Ths AC in the 2003 and later model E's is much better than in the earlier models. One trick we use to help keep us cool in the front is to set the temp for the rear seats at 66 instead of 72. You should use the cover in front of the sun roof glass to minimize the AC load on a hot day

Hopefully your fixes will keep you cool in the future.

DWP

Now you've got me worried. It hasn't been quite as hot in Sacramento lately as up the valley in Redding and Red Bluff (117 F last Sunday there), but it's been hot enough. For the benefit of mechanically-challenged people like me, where is the "receiver-dryer", and what does it look like?

Barry45RPM

In most cars it is a silver colored canister/tank. It is very studily made to contain high pressures. (In GM cars it is vertically mounted & about 2 inches thick by 10 inches tall near the fire wall.) It is a filter of sorts.

konigstiger

Here you go:

DWP

Thanks muchly, K-tiger. Any leakage would be where the two pipes join the canister?

randolphscott

First, thanks for the feedback Barry45RPM and Konigstiger. Hey Talbot.

I went to another shop (Foriegn Auto Repair in Concord, CA) to get another estimate. This guy seemed much more experienced and professional. He said if the expansion valve is replaced you need to also replace the receiver-drier. The RD acts as a filter (as verified by Barry45RPM), and may be the reason the expansion valve failed. He still has to check it all out, but here's the new quote:
New Expansion Valve $345
New Receiver-Drier $255
Recharge AC $155

72 degrees in the cabin on a blistering summer day. Priceless?

Naw, but it's worth the $755 bucks.

Oh yeah, I didn't get a picture of my RD, but their is a substance resembling soot near the two tubes that exit the larger tube. Alot of it.

R