Are AC leaks common? Bad condenser?
 

2008 MCS with ~47,000 miles

wife texted me when she got home saying there was a hissing sound after she parked the car in the garage. I told her I would look at it when I got home.

i figured it was a tire going down, but the car has runflats so no big deal. it would get her to and from work for a couple days and I could get a new tire put on this weekend.

the tpms wasn't lit so i got in the car to drive it around and get it up to temp to see if it would make the sound again. it's texas so of course i had AC on full blast but it never got cold. drove around the block and still never got cold. turned it to heater and it got real hot, turned it back to AC and it went to ambient temp so i know it's not a stuck blend door. the rpms bump up when i turn the AC on but i dont hear the compressor clutch engage and the fan(s?) don't turn on high.

i found the high and low AC ports and pressed the schrader valve with a screwdriver... nothing came out of either one. so this leads me to believe something happened to either one of the AC lines or the condenser developed a hole

i found this thread talking about someone who lost a condenser to a rock and i'm thinking that might be what happened here.
http://www.mini2.com/forum/second-ge...r-removal.html

the part is $515 with a forum discount from sewell mini and i was quoted $202.50 for a vac/evac/recharge

are there any other things i should know? I was planning on getting a recharge kit with dye tonight to fill it and see if i can confirm where it is leaking from.

also, i found this which seems WAY too good to be true..

http://www.carparts.com/details/Mini.../KVAC3884.html

$62 shipped vs. $560 seems way too good to be true... but it does have a 1 year warranty :popcorn:

First, check under the front bumper. There is a line there that is held up by one clip, and if that clip fails the line can drop down low enough to drag on some things. (Speed bumps, driveways, the concrete things at the front of parking spaces, etc.) We have had more than one forum member lose their refrigerant to that.

http://mini.sewellparts.com/images/oem/ETK/26177.jpg

so we're looking at $80 for #1 or $160 for #2. that's cheaper than the condenser. fingers crossed this is it, thank you!

oil that isnt motor oil all over passenger side of condenser and under bumper.. looks like we found the culprit. too bad it's not just the hose.

thanks for the reply. i can pick a condenser/dryer setup tomorrow after work and toss it on then drive on up to mini of plano and get em to vac/evac/recharge.