Smithy111

I was thinking of original lotus hoses with the fittings already on that sj sell? Im taking about the suction line from evaporator back to compressor. So the hose passes through the sill and strait into the cabin and is only under the carpet? My carpets been replaced so i can probably get it back up.

The suction hose had a massive hole in it so as a trial to check for other leaks I cut the hose and rejoined it and a load of thick yellow oil came out I assume that’s the compressor oil as it’s been fitted inverted and probably run out of the unit and into the low point on the hose? How difficult is it to replace the suction line? Was thinking I could replace one hose at a time and that ones in the worse visual condition

Im going to leak test this myself with some of the cheap hydrocarbon gas and uv dye but how much and what type of oil should i use?

I’d hope the evaporator is fine as it’s protected in the hvac unit and that’s one thing I won’t be doing if that’s failed! Would the shaft seal be leaking if the clutch has never been engaged though? I’m going to have to pull the compressor out anyway as it’s been fitted upside down 🙄

Ok so theres a better chance of the condenser being intact and leak free on an older car like ours than newer ali units, i rekon its the hoses. Im tempted to just do this myself, gas it up to the correct pressure with some cheap refrigerant as above put the correct type and amount of oil in? and dye and run the system and then look for the leak with uv light (my garage is pitch black as no windows) anyone see any problems with this method?

Wow im amazed thats standard even for Lotus there must have been a better way to do it?! I was going to chip it all off as i think it covered the expansion valve as well by the look of it! Guess it could still be leaking under all that crap. The hoses are also in a pretty bad way so i think its most likely the condenser and or hoses. Not sure i care enough about air con to drop the rad pack and replace the very expensive condenser unless theres an alternative fit item?

Thats a pretty big leak! think ill have to get mine diagnosed and rule out as much as i can to start with, im guessing the condenser isnt going to be in great shape after 35 years! I did however find this bit of bodging under the dash which looks more than a little suspect!

perhaps but where or who do I use, I won’t just pick someone out without a recommendation also it’s not the easiest car/system and I’m sure some won’t want to try

I’m thinking of recharging the system myself as it is with fresh ether oil, uv dye and this https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F372684217332 in an effort to find the leak by running the system. I’ve checked as much of the hoses, connections and condenser that are accessible and can’t find anything using the bubbles method. if I can find and repair it then have the system evacuated and recharged correctly. Maybe with a sealant as well? opinions on this? I really need to fix this as it’s bugged the hell out of me since I bought the car

Further to this topic, the high and low side ports are very inaccessible on the back of the compressor (compressor upside down doesn't help) can i remove the quick connect conversion bayonet fittings and screw the diagnostic hoses directly to the compressor as a permanent thing and then move the ports to the rear of the engine bay where they would easily accessed and just p clip the hoses? i cant see any reason why not except that you would waste a very small amount of extra refrigerant that would fill the hose extensions?

I’m going to try with soapy water spray on the joints and hoses first then if nothing else get some dye and air pressure in. If its tight after that then I’ll take it to be vacuumed out, replace the receiver drier and re-gas with the good stuff. ‘Taps nose’

Good point, maybe i need to put pressure in the high side as well, its bloody awkward to get to the ports on the back of the compressor when its been fitted upside down! Will get a dye kit as well and see if anything shows up. The whole system is original except the compressor so was expecting more leakage than im getting. Does anyone know the acceptable pressure loss and over what time? I assume there is some sort of standardised specification?

Traced a major leak in my a/c system to a holed low side hose and have cut and repaired the section. I know it’s not strictly the correct way to test a system but I’ve managed to push 45psi into the system via the low side port and it’s only lost 5psi in an hour. Is that good?

£30k for an n/a!? I wouldnt even consider that. As above you can get a very well sorted Turbo for that money or less! Should be no more than £20k imo, £25k for a mint one.

You need to get the trunnion undone and out of the way so you can get on the nut with an open ended spanner if i recall correctly, do you not have the service notes?

Sounds like an air lock or blockage but I’d expect some flow across the rad as the engine stat must have opened to heat to the front

Sounds like a thermostat issue, does the fan stat pipe at the front get warm?

Ok thanks guys ill try that, have a suspicion of the fan relay...

Jack the back end up and fill/bleed the system and run with the cap off to clear all the air only way ive found that works well. Have you bridged the two spade connectors that go to the fan thermostat to test the electrical circuit is ok? and check/reset the otter thermal cut out on the left front wheel arch? Since sorrting the cooling system on mine it runs at about 88o (checked with 3 different electronic thermal probes). Fan stat should cycle fans on at 92o and off at 82o (green dot for temperate climates) Also check if yours has the revised curved pipe inverted so the fan stat should hang below to prevent air locks

When I refer to the otter I mean the thermal breaker in the service compartment on left wheel arch not the fan thermostat by the rad Already replaced the fan thinking that was the problem and same issue

Thats what im thinking, that maybe its tripping to early, might have to borrow one to try for 10 mins from a local member at next meet

I thought the otter thermal breaker had a circuit for each fan hence the six terminals on it and would trip any circuit independently which is what I’m having - fans run for 5-10 mins, otter trips power but only to right fan and fan fail light comes on. Reset works again

That’s great news Fabian! It’s always something small that creates a big problem!

I’ve started a new thread as didn’t want to hijack esprit22’s one below as problem is slightly different and thought I’d fixed it. My fan fail light used to come on quite often and the otter thermal trip would cut power only to the offside fan, thinking that maybe the fan was faulty and drawing too much current I replaced it and all has been fine for a while till the light came back on yesterday and again the otter had cut power to the same fan. Apart from a faulty otter what else could be the cause of this? (Trips after running for a while resets all works again till the next time)

If you need another pair of hands/eyes I’m around till Thursday 👍