groves73

I am trying to change both ac lines that go to the compressor. I figured the easy way would be to drop the compressor or move it to access the lines a they are under all the ABC stuff. I am trying to remove the Abc pump without disconnecting any lines. Both item are not cooperating. one compressor bolt is against the subframe and the abc pump wont slide off the back bolt because the compressor wont slide forward due to the bolt still barely in. Also the line on the back of the ABC with the banjo fitting is pushing on the ac comp.
I need to either jack the engine up 1/2 inch or lower the subframe. i dont have a hoist.
anyone have tips for me? Am i making it more complicated that it needs to be to change the hoses?

alk247

Just use scissor jack under the engine to lift it a bit. No need for hoist. Put a piece of wood between jack and the engine and make sure not to push on any vital organs. You might need to lift the car on jackstands to be able to slide the jack deep enough under the car.

groves73

is it safe to put a lock of wood under the front oil pan to raise it? I would think its not a good idea. Rudney, Bahas? any input? If its good to not cause damage Im all for it.

Rudeney

Don't lift against the oil pan - lift against the block. You can find a place to put a wood piece on a jack and against a solid place on the engine block. I don't know if you can lift enough to get this job done, but for motor mounts, that's how I do it.

alk247

I have not done it on SL yet, but on my SRX I have loosened nuts (not removed) from engine mounts, then you do not rely on mounts' elasticity while lifting the engine. But at the same time it keeps mounts' studs in place. There should be enough thread to allow engine to go up. If not, keep nuts on one side studs, this way it is easy to get studs on the lifted side back into holes. As for the support point, transmission also is a safe place to put a jack under.

groves73

thanks guys. i put the block under the oil pan. it was the clearance i needed. one suggestion I have for anyone taking on this job (or compressor replace). get a set of torx keys not the ones that are on a swiss army knife (like allen wrench) home depot $15. its hard to get enough room for a torx/star socket plus the ratchet head.
this job takes a long time. even longer since it 115 here. I can do about 30 minute in the garage before I overheat. I do think it is worth saving the 2k some have been quoted but you will work for it and be scratched to hell.
Take the rad fan a shroud out, I did not and my arms are scraped bad. at least tape the edge of the shroud so its not so sharp.
Im half way done, need to put the puzzle back together.
I didnt see any write us on this one so if you have questions , I will try to help you out

Rudeney

I know this is not going to help you now, but for the next job, check into the Max Axess socket set - it's great for working with e-Torx bolts in tight spaces.

groves73

Now you tell me about the sockets,
OK I replaced two more of the ac lines with this job (had leaks with the dye), expansion valve, and dryer. yes I am throwing parts at it. Had it charged and its holding the vacuum well. so no leaks. it blows ice old to the point I have to turn it up or off. that lasted until I shut the car off and restarted it. it now blows 115 degrees out the vents! its that hot outside also. I plugged in the icarsoft and read some values and codes. it did have a dtc of b1269 multi function. I read the values on that and the thing that see odd is -29F dewpoint. would that cause it not to cool? I ordered a used one off ebay where is that thing located so I can swap it out? sometimes it works great but once you turn it off or rise the temp its done for a while

Rudeney

It's located on the side of the air intake, under the hood, behind the starter battery.

secondchance550

I am having a same issue where at first start, ac works great. Shut the motor off and restart 30 min. to one hour later and get warm air. I too noticed 10 degree or colder dew point temp. Used air quality sensors are hit or miss. Bought a brand new sensor for $260 and doing the same thing. I am talking with the part seller hoping for an exchange and the last part although new was malfunctioning. Keep us posted.

groves73

Changed the multi function but got same readings. next step I have been reading online is the ac control. thats an expensive guess. anyone one have a working one for sale? or loan to see if its the issue?It worked great after I changed the multi for about a day. Now i cant get cold air at all. It will eventually catch on for a while but it will go out again

Rudeney

I poked around in SDS some. Check fuse 47 (right front SAM). If it's good, check voltage on the multifunction sensor connector - pins 1=ground, pin3=+12v.

alk247

For what its worth, I just have dealt with somewhat similar issue on my daughter's Subaru. We added "freon" to all cars and after that Subaru AC stopped working. To be exact, the AC would try to start and immediately shut down. And this was going on constantly. Next morning AC started fine, but later on stopped working. I figured out that system is overcharged, let some freon out, and now AC is working like a charm.
YMMV.

groves73

took the console apart and took the control module apart to see if I see any damage inside from liquids or what ever. Put it all back together and still nothing. Made an appointment with my indy for today. last time he checked it out he could not get it to fail. So you can guess how this went. It has not worked in 2 days of running. I didnt work when i started it up this morning so I left it of so it was still failing. as I turn on to the street of the shop I try it again and ICE cold air!! I am trying to sell it now, so I wont touch it until the test drives are over. I am going to let them know of the intermittent ac. However If I cant get half decent money, it will be added to the collection and I will order the ac module. ebay has them for around 575-700 but there is a place n Fl that ill rebuild it for 450. if I decide to keep and get it fixed I will let you know if that was the problem.

Rudeney

Does it change when you raise and lower the top? There is a humidity sensor in the overhead control panel that can fail. When you lower the top, it disregards its input. If that's it, there may be a relatively easy and inexpensive fix. Here's a thread for a CLK, but the SL is essentially similar:

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/c209...re-sensor.html

groves73

I tried the top up or down. no difference till would not come on. I did have the"implausible" error on the OCP. did the repair with the diode and it had the proper reading now but no difference on if it will come on or not. I am thinking its the acc module. if i cant sell it at a loss i will order the module and let everyone know so they dont go dumping money on things they dont need! Rudney, I do thank you for your help!

groves73

I found a guy locally that had the ac module for sale.He was willing to let me plug it in first to see if it was the issue. Well it was not the issue so that saved me some money.

Rudeney

So you pull codes from the ACC module and get nothing?

groves73

With the icarsoft I can read the temps, pressures, error codes and clear error codes. when this thing fails to cool all the values look appropriate. temps are just higher. It can work then not work and it send no codes. when I say not work or fail I mean it does not blow cold. it still functions in every way no blinking lights. you can tell right away when its going to stop blowing cold. you can feel the humidity. its not freezing up and the floor is not wet. I think something is telling it that it is satisfied or a value is not correct. but no error code.
I did do the OCP fix. thats the only value I see off. When i view datastream from OCP it says 340 n70b1 is 32.45f and it does not change. even if its working or failing. When i view the datastream for the ac control i get n70b1 in the 100 range. seems to be a correct temp since its 100+ here every day. I ordered a 2006 ocp for $50 from ebay for kicks to see if its an issue.
I have also been hearing that cooling fan issues an cause ac not to come on. the fan is always running and kicks into high gear ac is working and just normal when its not working. i dont know where to start with that path.
when the ac works on max cool its very cold and you have to turn it up. thats when the problems start. so i dont think freon level is the issue.

groves73

ordered another OCP and had to do the repair on that one. Still has issues, I give up on it. Just have to turn it off for ten minutes and retry or drive with the top down end enjoy the heat! Fingers crossed i can sell this car at a great loss before the ABC or Batteries go! If it does sell, I am sure i will be back again! just need to find one that has minimal issues not a can of worms

carguyshu

these cars have a variable displacement compressor, so the only way to charge them accurately is by weight (preferable with a machine that measures by weight). pressure gauges are basically useless. you can under or overcharge and the compressor will compensate the displacement and make it appear on the gauges that the charge is accurate when it is not.

Not sure if this info will help the OP or not.

alk247

You might be right, but I suggest you try to bleed off some freon with compressor running but not cooling. It can not get any worse, so you have nothing to loose by doing that.

Rudeney

The compressor uses an internal swash plate in place of a pulley clutch, and that can compensate for overcharging, but not undercharging. A good gauge set can absolutely tell you if the system is properly charged. However, I have found many of those cheap recharge kits have crappy gauges that range form +/-20% error margins to "total crap".

groves73

Ok, I had it working intermittently then i took a turn at a traffic light and went full throttle. has not come back on since. 3 days ago. I skinned the feed wire back a nick and measured 10.3v when it was calling for ac on. Question is that too low to make it come on and what would make it that low. using icarsoft the voltages are at 14.7 just about everywhere. Or is the compressor malfunctioning. the starter battery is getting weak, cranks slow sometimes when engine is just shut off after trying to turn ac on over and over again. Or is that starter battery. no other electrical issues, got a "convenience not avail" about 3 weeks ago after leaving the carsoft plugged in for a couple days
when hooking up the gauge from store bought ac recharge its over past the red but compressor is not on. I did try to bleed a little off then put ore back in but that wont happen if the compressor isnt working!

Rudeney

You can't check pressure or recharge unless the compressor is running. At rest, the system will equalize pressures on the high and low sides at around 120psi, I think.