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MaseratiForumMaserati Cars3200GT, 4200 Coupe/Spyder, GranSport 3200GT Aircon Compressor Leak

3200GT Aircon Compressor Leak

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1/1/2009 19:19:13  

Posts: 119
Since: 15/4/2007
Status: offline 		My car has a leaking aircon compressor as can be seen (hopefully) by the yellow dye in the picture below.  Unfortunately, it looks like this part costs about £1100 from Eurospares (here) and I'm aware that Emblem know of someone who can refurbish them but I don't recall the price.

This did get me thinking though... could this part be a generic part with a massive "profit" added to it by Maserati?  I've found out that the part is made by Sanden and is SD7V16 (as noted on Enrico's site here) and subsequently found out that my VW Golf appears to have the same part and it's available on www.eurocarparts.com for about £300!!

What I don't know though is whether this part can actually be fitted to the 3200GT... does anyone know?










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2/1/2009 5:33:30  

Posts: 1677
Since: 22/12/2006
Region: Chichester, West Sussex
Status: offline 		indeed I expect that to be true.

The Sanden unit is also found on most modern alfas, gtv, 147, 156.

Check ebay, and maybe contact one of the reburb companies to see if they can do it for you.
2/1/2009 10:38:55  
 

Posts: 153
Status: offline 		When I fist got my car my aircon compressor was reconditioned at Tameside radiators at a cost of £315 plus vat, Sveral months after fitting I thought it had a fault and sent it off to them, they checked it out and sent it back , no fault existed, but the courrier lost it when sending it back so I had it replaced with a brand new unit at no cost to me.

Just be careful with units like the vw part.  compressors sometimes have different flow rates and can work differently under load.
2/1/2009 10:59:27  

Posts: 679
Since: 13/1/2007
Region: NORTHAMPTON
Status: offline 		hi there,

i did a little research into the compressors earlier in the year and the following are notes i made at the time.

i had no cause to proceed any furthur with the notes i made but they may help you;

sanden sd7v16.

used on alfa 155

compressortech  (birmingham)  part no.ca13974.  0121 7665006.


good luck

rob

_____________________________

i only please one person per day. today is not your day. tomorrow is not looking good either.
2/1/2009 17:49:42  

Posts: 119
Since: 15/4/2007
Status: offline 		In doing my research I came across CompressorTech as well and I think I'll call them to have a chat.

Refurbing at a cost of £300 vs buying a new one at £300 seems like a no brainer but I'm still wondering whether all Sanden SD7V16 models are the same or whether they are modified for specific cars (which kind of defeats the object of a "model number" I think).
5/1/2009 15:24:28  

Posts: 119
Since: 15/4/2007
Status: offline 		I phoned CompressorTech in Birmingham today and chatted to Rob (in parts) about remanufacturing my compressor.  He said that they strip it all down and basically return it to you as if it had just left the factory and worst case scenario pricing for the Maserati model is £275+VAT including the shipping back to you/garage.  He was a very informative and helpful chap.

I mentioned that I'd noticed my other car (a VW Golf GTI, hence my username, shock!) has a Sanden SD7V16 compressor and enquired whether I could simply buy one of them new for the same price as the refurb and fit it to the Maserati 3200?  Rob said that there is a 4 digit ID after the model number which identifies which car it can fit and he was pretty sure that the one for the Maserati is not available as an OEM product (but he didn't disclose the 4 digit ID so I can't check whether it's the same as the Alfa 155, which I've spotted can be purcashed on the web for ~£400 new).  Additionally, the different IDs are designed to mount to different cars and therefore the outer casings are different shapes and sizes.

He did also inform me that a compressor failing is normally due to some other issue in the system/car.  The gaskets are designed to withstand 300 psi pressure and they test them to 400 psi as part of their remanufacture process.  Typically the issue is that the fan(s) aren't working properly (e.g. 1 fan kicks in to cool the radiator so you hear the fan and therefore think everything is working but it's the second fan that doesn't kick in and/or the higher speed mode of the fan(s) aren't working so they don't sufficiently cool so the compressor overheats.  I've also read that you could have blockages somewhere in the A/C system and that can increase the operating pressure which causes the gasket to fail.  Sitting in traffic on a hot summer's day for as short as 15 mins could end up causing the compressor to fail again if the fans aren't working properly.

So, realising that the issue could be related to something else in the A/C system, I enquired whether they can actually check the system, remove the compressor, remanufacture it and then re-install it.  They can!  About 4 hours labour in total at £45 per hour + VAT.  One would need to leave the car with them for 2-3 days though while they remanufacture the compressor though.

Hope that helps someone in the future who might suffer the same problem.  I'll likely enjoy the drive up to Birmingham on a Saturday and drop off the car (they're not open on Saturdays but can arrange for someone to open up so you can leave the car locked inside their garage), for collection the following weekend... as the labour rates are good and it's one company that's doing the full system check so one company to deal with for any potential future issues.
6/1/2009 14:21:07  

Posts: 679
Since: 13/1/2007
Region: NORTHAMPTON
Status: offline 		useful info there and potential cost savings.

are you going ahead with this and if so when?

_____________________________

i only please one person per day. today is not your day. tomorrow is not looking good either.
6/1/2009 16:56:01  

Posts: 119
Since: 15/4/2007
Status: offline 		heh rob, i will likely drive up in the next few weeks as it gives me a good reason for a drive

only hesitation I now have is that I've got an E code on the internal temp display but I've just replaced my external temp sensor but the internal checks come back with no error codes... puzzled (and CompressorTech won't be able to check that out).
22/1/2012 1:16:33  
 

Posts: 2
Since: 22/1/2012
Status: offline 		quite an old topic but i have one question though, Is it dangerous to drive with this type of leak? can it damage the car? A friend of mine also has this problem! he is afraid that driving with this leak can cause further damage... Thanks guys!

< Message edited by maserati12 -- 22/1/2012 1:33:43 >
22/1/2012 13:52:22  
 

Posts: 183
Since: 22/1/2009
Status: offline 		No damage will be done as the compressor clutch will not engage if there is little or no pressure,so the pully will just free wheel on its clutch,Theonly downside will be potential failure of the seals when re gassed if left like this for any prolongued period,as these are lubricated by oil that is suspended as a mist withing the gas.Hope this helps.
22/1/2012 13:59:36  
 

Posts: 2
Since: 22/1/2012
Status: offline 		Thank you for your reply! Glad to hear the it cannot damage the car and that i can drive it! I hope that they can fix the aircon compressor! Will make an appointment on short term!
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