A/C condenser dryer?

JustAnotherSaver

What's this 'dryer'? As i'm looking at images and don't really see a difference in listings that are for the condenser and those that include the word dryer?

Had my wife's car in for A/C regas but it couldn't be done as they said the condenser is goosed.

Looking at it, i'm wondering if it can be fitted just by removing the front grille. Not too sure on that. Probably going to be a bit fiddly so it'd mean removing the front bumper. Once this is done then it appears pretty simple, even for me.

I tried looking up the correct condenser but got various listings, some including the word dryer, others not.

I remember when it went on my old car years ago, i supplied an aftermarket one for about £50. The garage fitted it and gassed and within a week it had lost its contents. I then bought a genuine GM one for £209 with trade club discount and the garage commented how it came with something (i forget what it was) that the previous one didn't have .... i'm wondering if this was a dryer now? Maybe came with seals, i've no idea. They said it was much better quality.

All in we're looking at £330. I'm thinking if i can tackle that bumper thing then the rest should be a doddle. Should save myself somewhere in the region of £150-£170 all being well.

Car is a Z16XEP Astra H.

AdrianC

The condenser and the dryer are two different things.

The condenser is the "radiator" up front alongside the main rad. The dryer is a separate component in the refrigerant circuit.

Dryer for your car - 
https://www.buycarparts.co.uk/opel/astra-h-gtc-l08/22680/10457/dryer

angrycrow

Technically it is illegal to deliberately discharge a car aircon system to atmosphere. Of course if the system is already empty, and only if you are certain it is empty, then no issue with swapping out the condenser and dryer yourself then getting the garage to pressure test and refill the system. Make sure you use all new seals. The front bumper needs to come off for access to the condenser. 

JustAnotherSaver

AdrianC said:

The condenser and the dryer are two different things.

The condenser is the "radiator" up front alongside the main rad. The dryer is a separate component in the refrigerant circuit.

Dryer for your car - 
https://www.buycarparts.co.uk/opel/astra-h-gtc-l08/22680/10457/dryer

That makes sense then. I shouldn't need a dryer. I don't even know where it's located on the car.

It's the condenser itself that's goosed. The guy showed me it and i don't know if a stone has been kicked up or what but it looks a bit of a mess. Fins all over and wet in an area, though don't know if the wetness was from anything they'd done. Little different from the time when we had her Golf in at Kwik Fit (i know, shoot me now) which was working fine but thought it could just do with being a bit colder. Took it in and then get a call - it's leaking. Well that's funny because it's been working for months and was working when we came in. I always wondered if they'd knackered something. Whether the seals were all crusty or whether some apprentice ballsed something up. It was just too strange for my liking.

AdrianC

You should need a dryer. Once the aircon circuit's been opened to the atmosphere, you should replace it as a matter of course. It's so cheap that you might as well.

As for suddenly leaking... If the refrigerant pressure was low - hence not being very cold - then repressurising may well have caused a weak point to fail.

JustAnotherSaver

What's involved in replacing the dryer?

I've seen videos on a Corsa D condenser being replaced and once the bumper was off it was as i thought - simply undo the torx bolt, unclip, renew seals, re-clip, re-torx.

Not sure about this dryer though or even actually where it's located. The relevant car forum seems to have died off now. Probably in part due to the newest version of the car being 10 years old.

AdrianC

Follow the high-pressure aircon circuit. It's in there.

JustAnotherSaver

Found this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Jk8S27oIII

If the diesel versions of the H are anything to go by then it's an all-in-one unit with the condenser. I'd need to have a look at it on her car to see if it looks like that which will probably end up being next Sunday now. With Xmas coming up there's going to be no rush on getting this job done.

mattyprice4004

I was just going to say it might be built in with the condenser - a lot of cars use this method now.