[R129 SL] MB Air Conditioners Problems

[Peter Shelton]

Hi Rudy,
I am in total agreement with your comments.  There are also problems with R 134A and other 'so called friendly' refrigeration gasses.  I still top up R12 and R22 in many of the existing systems I am involved with as at the moment, you can continue using them in existing systems - remember LOTS of the recovered R12 and R22 is sitting around in containers and there is minimal chance of easily and cheaply getting rid of this gas!. 

 [On another note, Halon 1200 and 1301 is still used in aircraft as the best and most favoured fire suppressant, ( is not a de-oxygenator) and so this is still being manufactured by some countries.] 

The car air con system should be totally cleaned, checked with nitrogen, new evaporator fitted, when changing from R12 to R134A.  This is not often done (cost? or lack of knowledge), but the cost catches up eventually!.

I still believe that in about 1920, a few 'Heating Engineers' had a spare heater lying around, and were deciding what to do with it!   The outcome was they totally enclosed a Mercedes Benz Car around it!  There is still difficulty in servicing heaters (in many cars) but the MB is one of the most challenging to repair in this area.!  You are right that the R129 and W 140 is a challenge but there are many other models that are still time consuming to remedy. 

Have a great day - sunny here in the Manawatu in New Zealand! (But about 42 degrees F).

Regards, Peter S. 


  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Flodur2 at aol.com 
  To: r129list at mbcoupes.com 
  Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2007 11:23 AM
  Subject: [R129 SL] MB Air Conditioners Problems


  It is a well known that MB air conditioners are poor from a design or manufacture standpoint in that they prematurely fail prematurely due to leakage at joints, especially in the evaporator, the heat exchanger inside the cockpit. Although the part is only a couple of hundred dollars, installation is a pain (a lot of work in an awkward position) in the W140 and R129 series models because so much work is required to get at them. Failure often occurs between 5 and 10 years. There are no moving parts in the evaporator and it is protected from the outside environment but fails frequently nevertheless. MB acknowledges no responsibility for this part. Repairs have cost many owners dearly. I speak from experience. Maybe MB hasn't adequately factored in the materials corrosion requirement of the R134a refrigerant, versus the now banned R12 (Freon).

  Rudy    





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