Hey all!
In December I bought my Jag with a broken AC pump pulley. I brought it to my mechanic and he put on a used pump. Noise was gone, AC wasn't working yet. I didn't bother putting money into it because it was winter and at least I could drive my Jag. When the MOT came up in late June, I asked them to look at the AC. They said it was empty (which was weird because they filled it in January), filled it again and it worked flawlessly for about a month, very cold. Then it started hissing and it stopped cooling. Now, a week or two after that, the pulley is making the exact same racket again and has play in it, putting me right back where I started last year.

I can deal with most mechanical stuff but AC is very much out of my league. I assume there is a (very slow) leak in the system, possibly caused by my first broken pump wrecking other parts? That would explain the AC not working again after a month. But what about the pulley now being noisy again? Can that be related at all or is that just bad luck on my side?

 

First NEVER install a used AC compressor!! You have no idea what condition it is in or what it went thru. Hopefully it did not come apart and fill the system with junk?
You obviously have a leak and that's why it quit working. You need to get a set of AC gauges on the car and post back the hi and low side pressures as well as what your duct temperature is. Do you or your mechanic have a sniffer to find leaks?

Can you explain the broken pulley? Is the magnetic clutch bad?
I would purchase a new compressor with magnetic clutch and then find your leak. Did you replace the filter/dryer when you changed compressors? This is mandatory and it gives you a chance to see what the inside of the AC system looks like. It has to be spotless and again NEVER put anything but pure R134A in the system. No stop leak junk or any "improved" additives. Only the correct PAG oil and Freon that's it!
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You have two or more faults in your ac system at the same time. Small leak and broken compressor wheel. You did not mention how it is broken. If it's broken by the bearing. It is just bad luck. That bearing spins always with the engine when compressor does not spin.
For the leak, I strongly suggest that you do refill, maybe half of the gas amount and ask to put UV with it. It will usually make visible stain where gas is leaking from. You'll need uv light and yellow glasses to see.

Do not buy used compressor unless you know the car where it is coming from.

 

Well, I learned the hard way to not use used AC components I guess! I am going to search for another mechanic to do this one. My current one is great with most things but I'm disappointed he didn't warn me about used components as well as not replacing the dryer etc. I found an actual AC specialist nearby. I'm trying to get a quote. Is there a rough estimate of how many hours it takes to replace the compressor, condensor and dryer?

The 'new' one seems to be broken at the bearing again as it rattles even with the clutch disengaged, just like the old one. I guess that's just bad luck then and unrelated to the leak, which I suspect might be at the connector from what I've read.

Guess I'll pull out my wallet again and get this thing to a specialist, as I don't see myself fixing this one in my driveway.

Also, anyone familiar with INTL compressors? I cannot find anything in my country so I either have to import a Denso for €300 from the US, or get this INTL one for around €200.

 

Sounds like a bad compressor to me. Rebuilts can often fail very quickly
as I have found with Mitsubishi AC units. Finding warrantied compressor
would seem to be your next step.

 

Yeah, seems like it. The only one available in my country is nearly €900 for the pump alone. I can import one from the US or China but that's gonna be an issue with warranty, plus most mechanics don't wanna install parts I bring in. If I had a proper place to work on the car I'd tackle it myself, but I don't so I'm kinda screwed for now.

It sucks that I can't even drive the car without the pulley racket and the risk of snapping a belt now. I'm gonna seriously consider measuring out and custom ordering a belt that'll skip the AC pulley and drive without AC for a while until I figure this out and/or save up some money. Kinda done with it for now.

Thanks for your help everyone. I appreciate it once again.

 

Sorry to hear!
I get factory AC compressors in the US for around $300-$500 or so?

Would this one work? It's under $400 but don't know if they will ship international or if you want to mess with international shipping?
They show shipping to the Netherlands and import duties of around $100 so more cost. It is a Denso brand which is a big name.
Jaguar AC Compressor
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Autodoc Friend of me just ordered meat & doria compressor from here. What arrived was reman Denso, wich is original.

 

Get a new Denso A/C compressor and drier, all new o rings and flush out the entire system with a solvent, blow it out with compressed air, then add the proper amount of oil and refrigerant to entire system.

 

Yes. A2B spiked it. Now, all you need is the resources to do it.

 

Yup, I'm going this route next year, guess there's no way around it. I'm Jagging on a very tight budget though so for now I measured out and ordered a belt that should bypass the AC pulley. That will hopefully keep me on the road for €6 until I got cash and time to tackle the job properly The heat is almost over here anyway.

 

If anyone else is Jagging on an extremely tight budget and needs to bypass a broken AC pulley and/or pump like me:
You can bypass the X308's aircon pulley with a 7pk2200 belt. Just follow the same loop and skip the AC pulley. Works flawlessly. I also tried a 2155 (too tight to go around the tensioner) and a 2250 (too loose and flops around horizontally). The 7pk2200 is pretty hard to find but it works flawlessly and has the same fitment around the tensioner as the stock belt.

This way I can postpone the €1000 repair until next spring without a noisy pulley and the risk of snapping the belt if it seizes! Total cost: €35 for the rare belt.