AC Compressor repair

Last year the Air-con on my Skoda Octavia(2002 1U) started behaving erratically. Did some basic diagnosis(pressure check in both lines, fans and compressor clutch check) revealed something wrong either with :-
1. Thermal expansion valve(TXV)
2. Refrigerant control valve(RCV)

After some further diagnosis, I confirmed it was the RCV. I proceeded to take the car apart. Upon examining the compressor internals, my suspicions were confirmed, it was the RCV. But the compressor had some aluminum shavings in the oil. This was very bad news for my wallet

Nevertheless, I decided to replace the RCV and reface the wobble plate(it had got a deep scratch because of overpressure in the compressor body due to the failed RCV)

Here’s the new RCV:

Time to wash this fairly simple machine and put it all back together:

Tools lying all over the front yard

I decided to replace the condensor and cooling coil too. There were metal particles in the receiver drier and pipes. Cleaned the pipes with an industrial grade cleaner, and replaced the receiver drier. New condensor and rebuilt compressor in:

A few hours later, we finished charging the circuit with R134a(45minutes of vacuum too!) and now the cooling coil temperature reads 3deg C even on a hot day 😉