91 jetta ac condenser replacement

[jersey36]

New to this site, as in viewing, seems like a great place to get some help on a job I've never had to do since getting this vehicle in 91. Don't know where to start, except to hope someone else here has done it before. My service manual ( Bentley's) is of no use in this case. I don't know if the front bumper and other parts have to come off, or that the condenser can be removed after the radiator is out. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I only have a floor jack and jackstands no lift available to me. I refuse to take the car to a dealer or shop, but I'd like to be able to do this in one day if it is possible. Thanks to all, Bob

[TylerDurden]

It's not too hard. No need for lift. No need to take out the radiator. Easier to get to stuff with the 91 big-bumper off.

On my small-bumper 86, I remove:
grilles w delicate plastic snaps
unplug headlight bulbs
remove headlights in their buckets, or remove with core support
unplug horns, if in core support.
disconnect hood release cable from latch
remove radiator top brackets
unbolt core support from fenders and center/lower screw behind bumper

Be careful leaning over/around near exposed sheet metal edges... trust me on this.

You're probably gonna want to also replace the receiver/drier (~$25).

The Harbor-Freight air-driven vacuum pump and gauges work pretty well... pull the air out after installing the ac parts, or the drier will go bad. An AC guy I spoke with said to put some refrigerant in to get back to 0psi, repeat vac/refill to zero 3X to purge all moisture.

How many miles on the machine?

[jersey36]

Tyler, thanks for the advice, have a day off so I will give a go as the British would say. This great little machine has 270K on the clock. Great story, I bought this for my wife (at the time) in 91 and assumed the 80 Rabbit diesel we bought new, so she could have a new diesel w/ ac and power steering and a 5 spd which she wanted. It is a shame that not only has the Jetta lasted longer than our marriage, I had to buy it back from her after the divorce when she bought a new diesel Passat. I told her I had already paid for it in 91 and her reply was that I would have to pay for it again. I wanted the Jetta bad enough to agree. To me this is one of the longest lasting cars ever built and so inexpensive to maintain, as long as you can do the work yourself. Will let you know how I make out. Thanks for taking the time out to help, Bob

[TylerDurden]

Haha... My story is similar.

Bought a gasser Rabbit for my GF that I later married, and after a long string of VWs & Audis and ~20yrs of being a couple we split up and she bought a new TDI wagon. 11 yrs later, we are still close and I buy her wagon (with 230K on the dial) after she buys a 2016 TDI Passat.

She regrets buying the Passat and returned it under the buyback, then got herself a Honda, which she doesn't like nearly as much as her old TDI wagon.

Totally agree the MK2s are great vehicles. The WinXP of Volkswagens. Not perfect, but like old tractors... they get the job done on a shoestring.

TD

[damac]

it is rather easy work once you get into it and poke around. take off the front end in little time and you have all the room to work with.

having messed with these air conditioners if my ac had been working many years and you are just replacing the condensor because of a leak, i would be breaking down the whole system with the dash out, refurbish the heater box and blend doors.

then you could clean the whole system and flush, put a new compressor and dryer on, modern orings, nylog and either get some original charge or retrofit.

i just haven't met a used system yet that didn't show the wear on seals once inside.

its also suggested you replace the dryer when doing service, and that is connected to condensor and easy and the part is cheap.

then you are suppose to vacuum everything down and recharge.


just throwing it out there in case you didn't know. or you could just slap on what you are dealing with and see what happens in the future as issues arise.

[jersey36]

First off thanks Tyler, you were right . 3.5 hrs including putting the tools away, and that was taking an hour to rework the condenser. Drilling , bending and reworking what I had to . The connections for the drier and the hoses were close enough as supplied. VW original would be nice, but those days are over. For about $ 100 I got a reasonable facsimile. I had to replace the evaporator,compressor and lines in 2014 when it was converted to R-134A, but never replaced the condenser or receiver drier until now. At that time my buddy did that job in his shop as it was winter and I had the time to help. As I read posts on this site I see so many of these cars being so well cared for because they just can't be replaced. How many other vehicles with 270k on them have the original engine, clutch and transmission, CV joints (not boots) and complete exhaust system to name just a few items. VW built a great car and I hope I can keep from having an accident, because then its over. I remember having a cataloge from (competitor's name removed by moderator) and their slogan I believe years ago was " piece it together forever" , kind of says it all doesn't it? For now I can take the time to view the pages of posts to see what others have encountered. Thanks to all, Bob