Omega Owners Forum
Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: Rebel on 19 May 2009, 13:53:53
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How easy is it to re gass the aircon on a 97 elite? is it a diy or a garage job and how much is it likely to cost?
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How easy is it to re gass the aircon on a 97 elite? is it a diy or a garage job and how much is it likely to cost?
I would personaly always use an air-con specialist! ;) ;) Depends who you use but the going rate seems to be between £50-70, just to regas and test.
This is good value as I remember paying £95 to have my Senator regassed on my drive in 1995. :'( :'(
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You can get the kits from halfords mate for about £40 mate,just be careful with the gas,its illegal to let it into the atmosphere.
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the halfords kit dont work with the omega well the 3.0 anyway ive tried it not enough umph in the crappy little bottle im afraid
call an Aircon specialist in i had my'n regassed and serviced for £60 a good price i reckon considering halfords charge £40 for the useless can that wont work in many cars
i made halfords take there can back and got my £40 back :y
where abouts are you? as a member maybe able to recommend a specialist nr you
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I am in leeds, i have seen a car that i am fairly sure i will get, 3.0 v6 elite, needs regassing though so i wanted to see how much it was, seems reasonable
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also, does anyone know how much a lpg conversion would cost?
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My Zavoli LPG conversion on a 3.2 elite cost £1800 (professional install). You need to budget for £1500 - £2000 for a convert dependent on installer. DIY for kit only will be about £800
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lol, ok. that rules that one out then :)
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never use the halfrauds ones because they only recharge the gas not the oil.
kwik fit in NI are doing a full service include oil change and gas recharge for £45
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i might drive over then ::)
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haha funny....
im guessing you dont have kwik fit over there. never mind, ill take my advice elsewhere
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We do have it over here, sorry, i couldnt resist. Cheers for the heads up.
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Before paying for a re-gas have a good look at the bottom rows of the condenser (bits can be seen through slot in bumper but remove grill for a better look).
Any sign of the bottom rows separating from the spacing fins is a sign of corrosion and is a likely leak.
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never use the halfrauds ones because they only recharge the gas not the oil.
kwik fit in NI are doing a full service include oil change and gas recharge for £45
:o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o ::) ::)
Of course that is one option, but I wouldn't let them change a nut!! ::) ::) ::) Not in England anyway! ;) ;)
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neither would i, but i know the fella who works in it and he assured me it would be fine.
my previous car went from blowing 27degrees to 4 degrees and was a top job. kept it for a year after that with no issues
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Kwik-Fleece used to not charge if it failed the pressure check, but they do not use the UV dye.
Had mine done there and it was fine...for a day. :-?
Following day it was not working.
Took it to a local A/C specialist that used the dye and when checked the condensor rad was glowing green. It had become porous. It was not leaking enough to fail the pressure test but the refrigeration gas had leaked out within a few hours. Replaced the rad with the one from my spare Elite and returned to the A/C specialist for a check and re-gas. All sorted and it's been fine for the last two years.
Not sure if the fact that Kwik-Fleece do not use the dye is totally legal. There's a hefty fine for knowingly releasing refrigeration gas to the atmosphere. £30k rings a bell.
Asked Kwik-Fleece for a refund and was told no as it was working when I left. I advised that their method had allowed a leaking A/C system to be recharged. The manager overheard and was suddenly very helpfull and only to happy to refund.
If the A/C system is working and you feel it just needs fresh refrigerant then there is nothing wrong with Kwik-Fleece, but if the A/C is not working at all, I would leave it to an A/C specialist.
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Good advice, thanks allot!
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Local air con specialists are doing a "free check" and/or a regas for £39.99 (inc VAT)
Took mine in as it didn't seem to be as good as it used to be, they pressure checked it, scanned with a light/goggles and said it all seemed OK.
I opted for a regas, they sucked out all the old stuff and found it only had 1/2 the amount of gas in that it should have (by weight) !! Did a full vaccuum (25 minutes) and regassed it.
Their opinion is it was badly filled, as a leak would lose ALL the gas, not just half, the stuff they took out had the dye in it and no dye was seen on my system.
Now works fine .. well worth the £40 :)
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£40 for a Halfords DIY kit, or £40 for someone who knows what they are doing.....the choice is yours.
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Always better getting and Air-con Specialist to do this.
The omega takes 950g (+- 50g)of R134a, any air con system should always be drained, vacumed for a very minimum of 30 mins, refilled with the correct oil, noting the air con compressors on Omegas use a far thicker oil than than the normal stuff, put in the dye and then the correct weight R134a.
Then once the above is done normally the operating pressure of the system would be checked, the level of cooling and the correct operation of engine fans.
If all the above is done every 2 years you will have many years of trouble free air-con.
You can't check how much gas is already in the system using a can, and that includes the one with a pressure gauge, as the pressure is always changing.
The cans are good to maybe bring life back into a system in an emergency but they don't in any way match what any air-con system need every few years, a good service that's even generally missed by dealers.
Note most dealers will get a Air-con specialist in to do any work on car air-con system anyway.
It doesn't really come down to cost a can of 400g gas from halfords will cost 40 pounds, air-con specialist will be around 40-50 pounds, it comes down to convenience and how long you intend to own the car.
Generally the omega air-con system will be trouble free if serviced every 2 years. It's better to service and keep it running than to repair a broken system as it will normally be costly and why people normally don't bother.
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i drain,vacumn and refill mine every year.sweating is for mortals ;D(also helps if you have your own kit :y)