My 1987 300e with 60,000 miles has developed a leak in the AC copmressor. My independent tech says I should have the compressor replaced with a rebuilt one and change over to the new refrigerant. My questions are: is this a good time to do this? Can I just add freon to the system? Is 12 years a good lifespan for a compressor? Is the new refrigerant as good as freon? And finally, what would be a ballpark cost for this job?

Thanks in advance.
Don



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Donwo
1987 300E (60,000 mi)

I'd caution you on the upgrade; my bro-in-law has a '88 300TE (as do I), and when his compressor ent he switched to R134a. Never did get nearly as cold, so when the secong compressor went after only a year, he switched back. Get a few opinions, but I know I'm gonna keep mine on the old stuff.

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If you're replacing a compressor I would advise using a reman unit from Mercedes to safeguard against problems later. That would also be the perfect time to switch to HFC-134A. If the conversion is done correctly you should have no problems with reliability. And yes, you may feel a temperature difference when the system is functioning in high temp and high humidity conditions the vent temp may be as much as 10 degrees higher.

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ASE Master Technician, Lead Technician for Deutsch American Inc. Over 6 years of Import Service-specializing in German Automobiles.