Ebay $60 AC condenser?

[chris142]

The desicant in my Accumulator got out of the bag and contaminated my entire AC system. I back flushed everything , replaced the Orifice etc and really gave my old condenser a major back flush. But I don't think it worked as the AC is not as cold as it was before the disaster.

My regular AC parts supplier wants $140 for a new condenser, I see new ones on Fleabay for $60ish.

Anybody seen one on the Ebay ones? How is the heat transfer capabilities vs the OE condenser?

 

[icanfixall]

With any kind of radiator or ac condenser you need to ask a few questions before buying. They need to tell you how many fins per inch these radiators or condensers have. The amount of "S" passages are important on the ac condensers too. An example is the three row dimple core radiator for our trucks... The dimples are in the tubes to slow down the flow of coolant thru the radiator causing more time for heat transfer... Well, that does not work nor can the dimple core be cleaned properly when it needs to be rodded out. Oem was 4 rows and they worked very well. Now we know the two row aluminum Rodney Red radiator is the best thats available anywhere. The tubes are 1 1/4 inch wide and they work so well you may have issues with coolant temps being too low. I rarely see temps at or above 200 degrees ever. Hope this helps to answer some questions.

 

[chris142]

I'm part owner of a radiator and ac shop here I know how heat transfer works. it's just that my cost on a condenser locally is 2x what the ebay one costs. I'm also throwing the idea of a pf condenser and making hoses to work with it. the oe ford condenser is very well built. its a 2 pass. I doubt if the eBay ones as good....... but what if it is? I saved over $60!. the accumulater that blew up was less than 4 mts old

 

[Blind Driver2]

$60 isn't that much money to take a chance on a Chinese part. If the Chinese part fails, then you are out $60, time, and other materials.

stick with the thing that work

 

[OLDBULL8]

I'm part owner of a radiator and ac shop here I know how heat transfer works. it's just that my cost on a condenser locally is 2x what the ebay one costs. I'm also throwing the idea of a pf condenser and making hoses to work with it. the oe ford condenser is very well built. its a 2 pass. I doubt if the eBay ones as good....... but what if it is? I saved over $60!. the accumulater that blew up was less than 4 mts old

I deleted my 1st post, after seeing this. Why did you even ask?

 

[itsacrazyasian]

Man this feels like Dejavu. If you had a visteon or oem ford accumulator, i can guarantee that there would not have been a dessicant bag failure. 2nd, those ebay condensers are the same price as i can get a import condenser for my truck here.

I told a fellow member here what to look for in a condenser. The asian imports are not built near the same. you will not achieve the same output air temp. buy a visteon or vistapro condenser. it';ll cost a few dollars more. Check rock auto. They sell them for not much more money. look for a discount code too.

you never stated the info from the truck. A quick check from rock auto shows both a tube and fin style and serpentine style condenser available for under 100 before discount.

 

[chris142]

I deleted my 1st post, after seeing this. Why did you even ask?

Just askin if anybody had bought one. Wonderin if they are any good. hopin to save some $$$ if they were comparable to the OE.

 

[towcat]

Just askin if anybody had bought one. Wonderin if they are any good. hopin to save some $$$ if they were comparable to the OE.

not to give you a bad time....but you own a shop. time=money. we are dealing with a shrinking domestic parts supply that cost a little more but you don't have to go back in so soon. I won't install questionable offshore parts if I have a inkling that it is going t o bite me in the ass. btw....if you guys have an issue with cheap chinese parts, you will really love the quality control( the lack of) of the cheaper stuff coming out of south eat asia.

 

[chvycmnslvr68]

The desicant in my Accumulator got out of the bag and contaminated my entire AC system. I back flushed everything , replaced the Orifice etc and really gave my old condenser a major back flush. But I don't think it worked as the AC is not as cold as it was before the disaster.

My regular AC parts supplier wants $140 for a new condenser, I see new ones on Fleabay for $60ish.

Anybody seen one on the Ebay ones? How is the heat transfer capabilities vs the OE condenser?

how much oil did you add to the system after flushing it ... I am assuming you have a 134 system ... What most a/c service tech's don't know is that 134 does not exchange heat directly to the metal like R-12 did so the oil in the system is critical to getting the temp down ... If you'r not getting at least a 40* drop through your condensor try adding a little more oil to the system ... If you have the tools to add it under pressure ... I have personaly seen systems go from 50ish to in the low 30's just by adding a couple ounces of pag oil to the system ... I would make sure you have it properly charged before I would go getting rid of the OEM concensor .... they are better built than any after market one out there .... FYI

 

[chris142]

not to give you a bad time....but you own a shop. time=money. we are dealing with a shrinking domestic parts supply that cost a little more but you don't have to go back in so soon. I won't install questionable offshore parts if I have a inkling that it is going t o bite me in the ass. btw....if you guys have an issue with cheap chinese parts, you will really love the quality control( the lack of) of the cheaper stuff coming out of south eat asia.

This is on my own 87 f250. When I bought it in February it had a flammable refrigerant in it. So I got rid of that, flushed it out with fast drying AC solvent , put a new accumulater on it and put R134a in it.

It was working great! Then one day it wasn't doing so well so I pulled the r134a out and found the Orifice completly plugged with Dessicant.

I'm very limited with parts here. I'm stuck with whatever the local auto parts stores have in stock (Cheap chinese junk). The Accumulater that blew up was from Napa but still made in China. We don't normally special order parts because everybody is in a hurry.

I'm not real happy with our 2 Radiator and condenser suppliers. Fin and tube count is very low on them. Was just wondering if the fleabay stuff was any good. Prolly not for just $60 shipped.

I'm at the shop now and I pulled the Orifice and it's clean. So I either got it all out or it's jammed in the condenser. Maybe I can find a good condenser @ pic a part?

Oh, Spec is 3.5oz oil per lb of R134a. I Put in 10 oz to go with my 2.75 lbs of R134a.

For giggles I put one of those VOV smart tubes in it this time. We have not had much luck with those but I had it so I thought I'd try it.

 

[RLDSL]

First off, you need to at the very least install a filter on the line between the condenser and the orifice, even after flushing, and it would be a good idea to put one on the suction line between the accumulator and compressor. Next, if you didnt flush the condenser out of the vehicle laying flat, you didnt get it anywhere near clean. and its usually best to replace, Jon at www.noatalgicairparts.com has a great upgrade condenser for these critters.
As far as temp, with a VOV, ignore the temp/pressure charts when charging. Place a box fan in front of the condenser turn on high to get airflow and charge till ducts blow cold, ignore the pressures, they will not read like the charts, low side will read high and high side will read low. Set with system on high ( recirculating ) and when it gets really cold inside lower fan speed , adjust teh pressure switch to cutout compressor at lower pressure so it can get colder at evaporator, dont let duct temps get below 33 deg or you will have evaporator icing

 

[towcat]

This is on my own 87 f250. When I bought it in February it had a flammable refrigerant in it. So I got rid of that, flushed it out with fast drying AC solvent , put a new accumulater on it and put R134a in it.

It was working great! Then one day it wasn't doing so well so I pulled the r134a out and found the Orifice completly plugged with Dessicant.

I'm very limited with parts here. I'm stuck with whatever the local auto parts stores have in stock (Cheap chinese junk). The Accumulater that blew up was from Napa but still made in China. We don't normally special order parts because everybody is in a hurry.

I'm not real happy with our 2 Radiator and condenser suppliers. Fin and tube count is very low on them. Was just wondering if the fleabay stuff was any good. Prolly not for just $60 shipped.

I'm at the shop now and I pulled the Orifice and it's clean. So I either got it all out or it's jammed in the condenser. Maybe I can find a good condenser @ pic a part?

Oh, Spec is 3.5oz oil per lb of R134a. I Put in 10 oz to go with my 2.75 lbs of R134a.

For giggles I put one of those VOV smart tubes in it this time. We have not had much luck with those but I had it so I thought I'd try it.

do you have access to 1800radiator? the rep told me he can source visteon parts. if you can get one, from what I understand, a condenser out of a '97 E350 ambulance prep package is designed to work with R134a type refrigerants. I wish I knew you did AC work when I was coming through sokal a couple of weeks ago. I literally burned up my compressor just outside of Tuscon and it is still broken today. My very insightful daughter remarked that not a single truck in my fleet has working AC now. I can live with it. She's spoiled rotten.

 

[RLDSL]

I understand, a condenser out of a '97 E350 ambulance prep package is designed to work with R134a type refrigerants..

Generally, the later PSD condensers will bolt up, but the hose fittings are on the wrong side and are different size fittings ( and the ones with them on the right side still have incorect fittings ). If you can make up custom hoses, one of those being a new manifold connection at the compressor requiring a new hose to the accumulator which is a real pain making that assembly, then the other one generally isnt a real joy either to piece together the mismatched hose parts with crimp on adapters that are getting very hard to find these days, but it can be done, but by no means a bolt up job

 

[itsacrazyasian]

I really don't see a need to retrofit a E series condenser into these trucks when the 94+ trucks had R134a condensers... They can and will blow icy icy cold.

Cal, why don't you do a/c work yourself?

 

[towcat]

I really don't see a need to retrofit a E series condenser into these trucks when the 94+ trucks had R134a condensers... They can and will blow icy icy cold.

Cal, why don't you do a/c work yourself?

i do AC work. my own stuff gets worked on last since it doesn't make me money. the trucks are fixed to the point they all are DOT legal and then some, but I won't spend money on creature comforts. heck, I even have OEM am/fm radios in the trucks only too. you can listen to the news and traffic but you'd better be paying attention to how the truck sounds and the two-way radios.