Greetings guys

Need some help on replacing A/C compressor on our Cayenne S 955 4.5 V8

When we bought the car the A/C wasn't working and the dodgy dealer gave some crap excuse about not using it . Anyway after a visit to a local garage and hoping a re-gas would fix it, turns out the compressor has failed and not been working for some while now. A brand new was big bucks so we got a second hand one which unfortunately also failed to engage. A replacement working one is coming soon
So being tight and quite used to doing work on our own cars, we thought it was something we could do ourselves. Obviously the garage will remove the gas in the system and put it back in when done as we dont have that facility but just how hard is it ?

I saw this thread on here from a few years ago

A/C

Sounds easy enough (famous last words) but it looks like you remove the wheel and inner arch lining and then you can tackle it from there.

Just wondering if anyone has done it or any handy tips/what to look out for ?

many thanks
Chris

 

ha, I guess by no replies means a) no-one has ever attempted this or b) you lot are so loaded that you get your local garage to do it

I am going to have a go and if I mess up then back to the garage with my head held in shame and cough up or it all turns out amazingly well in which case I will document it.
It may come in handy for someone else, wish me luck !

 

Tony - I look forward to your story when done..

 

Well it has been completed. I didn't take any photos as I was far too busy struggling with the job but suffice to say its a bastard to do !
When I went to the garage for the first time they said it was relatively easy to do and should take about 2 hours. Well that may be the case if a) you know what you are doing b) have a 2 post lift and b) access to some air tools.
Sadly I had none of those except a driveway, a ton of hand tools and some limited knowledge. But I have bags of enthusiasm .
Whole job took about 4 1/2 hours but that did include numerous breaks

Jacked up the passenger side of the car as that is where the A/C is located , took the wheel off and then set about taking about every cover I could find. That including both under trays , the entire wheel arch liner etc. Now the garage may just access it from underneath but I found have the side access via arch is also helpful. Note : the arch liner is a bugger to get back in as you have to line up and get so many clips/torx screws to match the holes it is definitely a two man job. Luckily my wife is a dab hand at mechanics .

She also loves weight saving and when she spotted about a ton of accumulated dirt and soil hidden under the arch liner to the where the door starts she set about removing all that as well.

The bully tensioner is a bit of a fiddle as well as getting access is tight with the top radiator pipe in the way but it turns clockwise with a 30 mm socket and breaker bar. This is where you need two sets of hands, one to relive the tension and another to loosen the belt of the top pulley. That way you can then remove the belt from the lower A/C pulley.
With that out the way we then tackled the connections to the compressor. Now we had already had the system emptied but were warned that some residual gas may still be in the pipes. So be careful when removing the two pipes as sure enough the system still had pressure. Also its a weird toxic green colour so looks like some ghostbusters slimed stuff.

With that done it is now the three bolts to remove the compressor. Be warned there is one of them that the porsche engineers must have put in as a joke as it is so inaccessible that you might want to give up.
It is the one right at the back and it took two extensions bars and a swivel socket to gain access as the chassis is right in the way but we did it with some considerable amount of swearing
Once all out the unit will simply drop down so get ready to catch it. Porsche manual says swivel out and to the left (out the wheel arch) but we found it easier too simply tip and drop out forwards towards to the undertary.

Then it is a case of reversing your steps however note the unit will not sit straight for the bolts so get one of them in hand tight before locating the last two. I found the one at the back is really guesswork as the tolerance are so tight.
Reconnect the pipes, electrical plug and put all the trays and liner back in.
Pelican have this great diagram for the belt position so I used that as a reference and then relieved the tensioner.

Now it is time to re-gas and fingers crossed it works

 

Tony - congrats. Wish there had been some pics. When the garage fills the system - make sure to mention refrigeration oil to them, since the old one undoubtedly has some left in it. Might be worth draining it out overnight and measuring the amount.