575M Air Conditioning Maintenance

That is crazyness. Unless there is a leak in the system, you should not have to do anything other than drive the car. It is a sealed system, no moisture or dirt is getting in there.

 

I have a friend that has a 1995 Toyota L/C that they bought new in 1995 that still has the original a/c gas and drier in it. After 13 yrs, it still blows ice cold air. They should have it serviced, but they are not interested. When it lets go one day, it will let go in a BIG way and cost them $$$$$!

Anywho, I wouldnt worry about replacing it EVERY 2 years Terry. But I would replace it at least once every 5 years. The reason they reccommend replacing the drier is because not only does it store refridgerant, it also acts as filter for the a/c system. It catches all the crap that is in the a/c system, mainly metal from wear and tear of the a/c compressor. Any crap in the a/c system can block the TX valve and cause a/c issues.
The dessicant pellets in the drier also break down over time and they can flow through the a/c system and block the TX valve.

We do a/c repairs daily at work. We always replace the drier because the compressors usually let go on those machines and it fills the system with metal. We clean/flush all a/c hoses and condensor, replace compressor and drier, vac down and charge up.

So replace it/service your a/c every 5 years mate and you should be right Terry. If you ever get a new drier, please do not open it up. Keep it sealed until you or they use it. As soon as you expose it to atmosphere, moisture gets in and starts to block it up if you dont fit it within 20 mins and start vaccing the a/c system down. Moisture is the BIGGEST killer of the a/c system and the drier plays the most important part in keep moisture at bay. So please keep it sealed.

We had a drier at work that was sitting around open and exposed. We dont know how long it was sitting around for, but we REALLY needed it to get the machine going, so the boss made the call and told us to fit it. We fitted it, replaced compressor, vacced down, charged up etc..etc...

We started the machine and it had no a/c. Of course!
The drier had blocked up, from sitting exposed to atmosphere. Lucky, it didnt send the pellets through the system and block the TX valve etc....
We recovered the gas, waited for another new drier, fitted it, vacced down, charged up and started the machine again we had a/c again!

 

If it is 5 years old, then I would get it serviced mate.

They should/will drain the compressor oil, replace the drier, vac it down and charge the system. Then, check for leaks after that.

We have little moisture here too Taz, but it is still VERY important to the a/c components that minimal moisture exists the a/c system.

You have to vac it down for minimum of 1 hour, but the longer the better. So if you like, ask them to vac it down for a few hours as that will only remove more moisture from the air. They may not be able to do so, if the are busy and need the vac pump for another car. Also, dont do it if they are going to charge you more money to do it. I asked my mate to do this for me when he did my 348 a/c early this year. He runs his own workshop. My car was vacced down for around 4 hours and the a/c is ice cold.

Anytime mate, fire any question away.

I used an aftermarket drier when I did my a/c. It was less than half the price.

The best advice I can give you is to call your nearest a/c expert and ask them to cross-reference that Ferrari part number with one they sell. If they cannot, let me know and I will try and match one up here for you. Should be able to do it VERY easy. My friend you ordered me mine without matching any numbers up. He looked at the fittings on my old drier and ordered a new one without trying to match the numbers up. He said most Euro cars use that style.

 

Wow!! Interesting!!

 

PAP,

Why vac it down for so long? If you go negative about 1 atm it take all the air out and the moisture. What does "time" do for you? I have never heard of doing it for a long time.

I also have revived driers by sticking them in the oven at about 250F for an hour. Whenever I put a new dryer in I usually cook it for a while too because when I receive them they are never covered by anything more than those non-hermetically sealed pipe caps. Maybe that's overkill but it has always worked for me.

 

Well most pros beat us to death over following the WSM go read a few of the timing threads for example. I don't see why they would not follow this Ferrari recommendation. Perhaps Ferrari knows their system is crap and will fail by at least leaks in the system. So by mandating 2 year service their porous A/C lines and poor connections can keep the refrigerant in there for 2 years and we won't realize how bad their system really is.

 

Dont know mate. Thats what I have been told. All the auto-elecs (a/c experts) I deal with tell me they would prefer to vac down for 24hrs, but you cant do it when you are trying to run a business! So 1 hour it is! The longer it is on vac, the more moisture it draws from the system and the better a/c and longer component life you will get.

At my work now, we vac down for 1 hour MAX, sometimes only 20 mins depending on how quickly they need the machine. Sometimes we dont do it at all! But the a/c wont be as efficient and compents wear A LOT quicker than normal apparently.

 

Thanks for the info. I'll try it your way next time since I'm never on the time clock. Good info!!

 

Lol!! That is probably true mate!

 

Cool man! No problem.

 

Well Taz,

I just thought the 250F would drive off water. I let it cool so I can handle it and then install. Vac down and fire in R12/134. But I will do PAP's way since I have lots of time and only good things to gain. And Ferrari can be several decades behind GM. I'm one notch below you I have a 550 and a '04 Z06 so I know exactly what you are talking about. American and Japanese can do electronics. Italians still don't have a systems approach and have a more add on mentality and there in lie the problems with breakdown and maintenance. I think their motors and gearboxes and body lines are brilliant and we just have to suffer through the rest.

 

I just remembered FBB.

When we did our a/c refresher training course last November, we actually did a/c system recharges with 30 min vac down, so we could watch the a/c gauges to see what would happen with too much moisture in the a/c system.

After putting the gas, we started the car to put in more gas. We use (were trained/always told) to use the vapour method to charge a/c systems. The others use the liquid method.

When the pressure started building up on the high pressure side, the needle on the gauge would start 'fluttering'. That meant there was still moisture in the system and it was no good! Out of 10 cars that day, I think we had 4 that still had too much moisture in them after 30 mins of vac down.

It also happens at work when we dont vac down properly, but we turn a blind eye to it because they are RIDING you to get the machine going.

 

Gee...I wish I talked to you before I got the Blue Vette. After getting my Ferrari punted into a wall I turned the Z into a racecar. While I only been on track with it a couple times I feel slow. Maybe it is the color.

Are you flyfishing a favorite home river mostly like the platte? I have had way fewer days on the water about 1/2 to yours. I did have a phenomenal season catching about 20 over 4lbs out of Jackson Wy. and on the madison in Mt.. I lost about 3 huge fish this year on a 7wt rod and my biggest was 6 lbs to the boat. That's right a 7wt rod on 2x fish lost! I did not think I was that lame or those fish were really big. I'll ususally throw a 4wt or 5wt. I committed a sin however all my big fish this year were on nymphs. I caught babies this year on dries missed the ultimate dry days on salmonflys just by days. On Big streamers that usually never fail to raise a big fish resulted in just tired arms this year. I hope I get to fish with you some time in the future.
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Its your thread you can hijack it all you want. My hand is 4" wide I forget what this one weighed. This is a first time with a new guide out of jackson and he had to take a picture. Definately we should fish sometime. I am always in the Henry's fork area father's day-june to first week of July when my kid gets out of school. I also hate nymphing but hate not catching fish more so I swallow my pride and fish a bubble sometimes. Oh how I feel so dirty for saying that.
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Hopper fishing is fun fun fun! You are the only other person I know who likes to have the guide fish. I have learned my best techniques watching guides. I just wish I could do more of what they teach me. We will have to fish together some day. Keep in touch. Spring creeks are my favorite by the way. I'd rather catch a tough spooky little fish in a spring creek on a light rod than a big fat lazy pig in a lake. Some of my best days have been floating a river but getting out of the boat to walk tributaries and stalk fish. I have heard a lot about RSL but never been there. I'll have to try it sometime. With too few days to fish I end up revisiting too many of the same places.

 

Terry,

Just out of curiosity, do you use Jim's Fine Cars in Albuquerque? He's one of the best mechanics in the southwest. I get most of my 911 stuff from him.

Scott