lindenengineering
Well-known member
If you are a Sprinter aficionado you will know the Bird Beak frontal bodywork emerged in mid 2013.
It can be argued it wasn't just for a cosmetic mode revamp to have some of you salivating with the latest & greatest, but also for improved airflow for heat rejection.
Now with enhanced air flow comes increased dirt, road debris and things like grasshopper guts.
So that means service problems and increased service costs.
Cleaning of the condenser & radiator has to be service job number one!
With this derivative it cannot be just serviced with a quick dowsing with water & a garden hose and detergent or a shop air blow gun!
Firstly the two cooling fans are sited so close to the condenser core matrix that a huge amount of contamination builds behind them effectively blocking air flow!
Add that is not all !
Now hanging down in the middle of the arcs formed by the fan is now a transmission cooler!!
Again mounted on its own bracket and close proximity up against the condenser is yet another area of restriction.
This must be de-mounted to clean the matrix PROPERLY,
So a proper A/C service will be about 3 to 4 hours of labor time at a conscientious dealer & that is about $600 for starters .
Now abrupt compressor failures.
From our experiences the service issues are often connected to failures.
The most common issue is of course the safety clutch disintegration which results in no drive.
Essentially the drive clutch cush drive tears or ruptures and then it slips causing rapid destruction.
So again precise service attention is key here, including refrigerant charge, which should be checked every two years
The most prominent leaks apart from obvious damage or compressor deterioration are charge valve assemblies mounted behind the air cleaner box.
The other which is not so obvious is where the receiver drier is clipped mounted onto the condenser end tube arr"
The source of a difficult to locate slow persistent leak, in short, corrosion attack between the alum carcass and the clip eats away at the structure.
Any meaningful disturbance can cause instant detachment of the condenser wall structure and sudden loss of refrigerant!
So as usual the wearing of safety gear like googles are essential
Trust this might be of interest to you all
Dennis
It can be argued it wasn't just for a cosmetic mode revamp to have some of you salivating with the latest & greatest, but also for improved airflow for heat rejection.
Now with enhanced air flow comes increased dirt, road debris and things like grasshopper guts.
So that means service problems and increased service costs.
Cleaning of the condenser & radiator has to be service job number one!
With this derivative it cannot be just serviced with a quick dowsing with water & a garden hose and detergent or a shop air blow gun!
Firstly the two cooling fans are sited so close to the condenser core matrix that a huge amount of contamination builds behind them effectively blocking air flow!
Add that is not all !
Now hanging down in the middle of the arcs formed by the fan is now a transmission cooler!!
Again mounted on its own bracket and close proximity up against the condenser is yet another area of restriction.
This must be de-mounted to clean the matrix PROPERLY,
So a proper A/C service will be about 3 to 4 hours of labor time at a conscientious dealer & that is about $600 for starters .
Now abrupt compressor failures.
From our experiences the service issues are often connected to failures.
The most common issue is of course the safety clutch disintegration which results in no drive.
Essentially the drive clutch cush drive tears or ruptures and then it slips causing rapid destruction.
So again precise service attention is key here, including refrigerant charge, which should be checked every two years
The most prominent leaks apart from obvious damage or compressor deterioration are charge valve assemblies mounted behind the air cleaner box.
The other which is not so obvious is where the receiver drier is clipped mounted onto the condenser end tube arr"
The source of a difficult to locate slow persistent leak, in short, corrosion attack between the alum carcass and the clip eats away at the structure.
Any meaningful disturbance can cause instant detachment of the condenser wall structure and sudden loss of refrigerant!
So as usual the wearing of safety gear like googles are essential
Trust this might be of interest to you all
Dennis
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