Hi, my 95 x300 doesn’t get cold air and won’t hold freon..the mechanic said it needs to replace expansion valve and that’s a 4k job as the whole dash need to come out.I really want to love my jag but the problems and cost it keeps giving me with my first month of ownership really scares me…someone please tell me if there is another way to fix the AC before I’m going back to Toyota..

 

There is a front control panel test for the X300 that someone put on Youtube

See page 60

T701 TITLE (jagrepair.com)

Motorcarman ( Bob ) had a suggestion to blow out with compressed air the TXV without removing it

There are other things to look at before ........

 

Codes here

14-10 (jagrepair.com)

 

Don't panic. Get a new mechanic.

With that kind of quote, he probably wants to replace every component of the system. Obviously that is not prudent cost-wise with a car of this age and (low) value.

True I think the dash needs to come out (or be significantly disassembled), but there are many reasons why the a/c won't cool and many locations where the freon could leak out. What kind of proof do you have that the expansion valve is the root of the problem? Or is it a case of the warranty on a new compressor requiring a new expansion valve? Again its not cost effective to dig out that piece for the sake of a 1 year warranty.

The mechanic should be able to document and explain exactly what he knows and what needs to be done in your case. It doesn't seem that way because he would rather charge you $4000 to replace everything. Most on the forums are able to repair their a/c systems with relatively minimal cost.

 

The expansion valve for the XJS is in the engine bay, right at the firewall.

The x300 has it inside the firewall, behind the dash?

 

Expansion valve on the x300 is part of the evap and yes its behind the firewall.
That said, I've only heard one or two people actually having a leak there and it was due to leaky evap anyway. Pointing fault to an expansion valve would be a major red flag for me, because its not really possible to say that its valve leaking without having it out. As SleekJag12 says, find another specialist. x300 almost always leak gas somewhere under bonnet, condenser is always number 1, seals on the pipes going to compressor number 2 and compressor itself at number 3, all easily accessible and fairly cheap too.

 

I'd like to add that, on the XJS system, the schrader valves also leak, and are also easily replaced.

 

Someone had a good picture of the X300 TXV valve sandwiched between the rear engine firewall and the evaporator in the cabin

looking for the picture

Motorcarman said he had good results from blowing the TXV valve out and leaving it in place

If you know the freon charge is empty now would be the time to clean it out to cover that base if it is even a issue

The 2 solid freon lines to do this are short pipes sticking forward through the firewall

A competent shop can do that or even yourself

On refill with freon have them be connected to their freon charging charging system for at least an hour to draw out water vapor in the lines

There are a couple of things you can do yourself before charging so once you have it refilled you can have a fully functioning system to test

Any codes ?

4 things you can do that are not seen as faults on the front panel test are

Dirty cabin temperature sensor . Do not use a solvent spray to clean

Outside air temperature sensor connector cleaning

there is a conditioned air ( hot and cold ) mixing valve or door that has a large control knob between the center vents that as an assemble just pulled straight out

This feature was not included in the later X308 models with the V8 so it's not mentioned in the Jaguar training guide

This is code 24 if at fault and if the self test sees it

If you have a problem with one of the plenum doors you can drive them one at a time with a 9 volt battery back and forth and listen for them if you have good ears , I heard mine

This keeps you from having to dig them out of the dash and some have clipped the wires to the troubled door motor once you have them in the winter or summer positions and can be drive them back the other way on the next season

 

The expansion valve would be a relatively uncommon place for a leak on these cars. The condenser at its lower mounts would be far more common (and easier to fix). Dye is readily available which can be put in the system to help identify leaks, and compressed air can be used to pressurise the system to force it out of the leak, avoiding the need to vent expensive and harmful refrigerant. Google is your friend on how to go about it.

 

I have 2 X300 cars at the moment. (Don't ask me why!)
Both had leaky air-con problems. One had a compressor problem which was replaced.
However , both turned out to have leaky valves.
These valves are also used on GM Holdens in Australia and are known problems in the air-con industry.
As soon as my air-con mechanic took off the caps he recognised the problem and showed me the dye stains in the caps
My auto air-con mechanic replaced the valves with some other brand and I have had no further leaks.
Bill Mac
MK1
MK2
S3XJ6
X300 (x2)
!5 previous Jags. MK5 to X308

 

Long held a/c mechanic fix-all is to replace the TXV. Why? well....frequently, an evacuation, vacuum, and recharge frequently fix a host of a/c problems. But guess what a dealership cannot get paid warranty-wise, for? Yep, evacuation and recharge, so they normally replace a TXV, which gets a warranty payment as well as reimbursement for the evacuate and recharge, as that is a required evolution of TXV R&R.

What is quoted above about Motorcarman stems from the situation where the dessicant bag in the receiver/drier ruptures and spits little beads down the liquid line. Disconnect the liquid line from both ends and flush it with a/c flush and compressed air. Back-flush the txv with compressed air at the firewall...the beads are too large to get through the txv, but will congregate at the the liquid inlet. Recharge and run the system (Replace the rec/drier, of course) and then you'll likely have to evacuate and repeat the evolution several times to get all the beads out. Still, better than having to remove the dash to R&R the TXV.

 

I think I got code 23 and 20.
the mechanic told me I got low pressure reading on both high pressure and low pressure.
He performed a dye test and found fixed the leak. However he told me I have bad compressor and valve.
does anyone have indie shop recommended in SoCal?

 

The compressor can be overhauled yourself with a kit from this vendor

You have a Denso 10PA -15 or 17 , It will be marked


See also video part 2

The shaft nut is 10 mm and you can have any automotive shop remove just the nut for you if you provide a impact gun rated socket that they may not have , you can ask them first

Featured Products (shopcenturyautoair.com)

Codes .................

23 Refrigerant Pressure Switch S/C low

there are 3 pressure switches in the system , a lower freon operating pressure ( 2 wire ) , a higher freon operating , and a third which provides a super low freon ( which should not allow the compressor clutch to engage ) and a overpressure side contact which should disengage the compressor clutch ( this is your 4 wire switch assembly )

This 3rd switch operates between 2 - 27 Bar ( 29 - 392 psi )

There is a Jaguar TSB to remove the lower operating pressure switch and install a jumper plug on the connector

some have left the 2 wire lower operating switch in place as long as it does not leak and just spliced the 2 wires together ( I have an extra jumper plug if you want it )

So in reality you do not have to have this switch work as you are going to bypass it anyway with the TSB , does it relate to the specific code 23 is the question and if code 23 can be ignored as long as you have cool air

14-06 (jagrepair.com)



In reality how you would test the system as you now have the system somewhat freon charged is ...........

with a cold running engine before the engine coolant temperature comes up and the A / C switch on , remove the 2 wire connector and the single fan operation will turn off to have no fans running.........

With the TSB done the single fan will run at all times , this prevents the fuse from popping which is the intent of the TSB

The dryer should be replaced at this time and they are cheap

 

About a year ago I decided to address the A/C problem I was having with my 95 VDP, It worked great right up to the point it quit working. As I was traveling at the time I had a shop take a look at it and their diagnosis was a failed expansion valve. I decided to wait until I got back from my trip and put it in my shop. When I started to diagnose it something seemed not quite right. My initial diagnosis was a failed compressor, it was running but pressures were near 0 PSI. (I knew it had refrigerant of sufficient quantity) and as it turned out the drier had come apart. I threw in a replacement drier I had on hand (cheap, about $30 U.S.) and had great A/C again. A few months later due to a road hazard I developed a condenser leak. At this point I decided to take care of the missing condenser mounts, replace the compressor, expansion valve, drier and the lines ( the old hoses were showing their age). Total cost was about $400 U.S. and took about 6 hours total. I took my time doing the job.