air con for italy trip

M

mabo

Club Member
Nov 13, 2011
5,365
5,007
south wales
Hi guys, not checked in for a while because I've been busy getting my v6 ready for a road trip to Italy in a few months time.
She walked through her MOT a little while ago but since then I've replaced all 4 wheel bearings to get rid of the rumble I could hear but I have 2 questions.
Is taking a 13 year old 80K mile car on this trip sheer stupidity?:eek:
I've got to get the air con sorted, what's the cheapest way to get cold air from the car onto overheasted passengers, will it need more than a regas ?:(
 
It doesn't really matter how old or how many miles your car has done as long as it's in as good a condition as you can make it and is prepared likewise. You'll never be able to cover all eventualities as parts can, and do, fail on cars a lot newer than yours is*. Make sure you check it over very thoroughly and if you find something warrents changing do it before you go, don't just chance it. There is enough reading on here to point you at the more common faults but no-one can tell if something is going to fail as you're crossing the Alps or crossing the Severn Bridge.
TAKE OUT breakdown insurance but be prepared to pay more for a car over 10 years old.



*I had an alty fail on a '58 plate 36k miles CMax in Germany last July.:(
 
I second that.

Any car can fail catastrophically and I'd trust a brand-new one far less than one that's done tens of thousands of solid, proven miles. Give it a service, carry some basic tools and obvious spares - plugs, leads and oil for a start - and enjoy your trip once you've got some 'Get-you-going' cover.

And if you're still in doubt, fire up iPlayer and watch the Top Gear guys blasting across Africa. Really focuses the mind.
 
Mako said:
I read pretty much everything on here and I can't believe I missed that.

He's my new hero to be honest. He's doing absolutely the sort of thing I like to do (European road trips) and I properly respect what he did. What an adventure. (y)
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Likewise Chris.(y)
Unfortunately for me work restricts it to a week or ten days somewhere in Europe but it's always driven and always self organised.

Like you, I have a lottery dream for UKC; 20+ UK Cougars attending German Cougarfest.
The plans are at an advanced stage just waiting on the EuroMillions now. :)
 
Just as important, make sure you and the car are legal to drive on the continent: warning triangles, hi-vis vests, spare bulbs (spot fines for not having any of the above in France, Holland and Germany) etc...
Make sure you have both parts of your driving licence and the cover-note from your insurance - not a copy. Many Insurers only provide 3rd-party cover when driving overseas, even on UK full-comp policies, so check you have Euro cover with breakdown assistance and courtesy car.
The last thing you want to be doing is transporting you and your family back to UK by plane/train with all your luggage left in the boot of the car awaiting a later recovery date as you couldn't afford to pay it on the spot.
 
Very good point, Arkady. Don't forget that France makes you carry one of those (pointless*) disposable breathalysers now. Take two in case a gendarme makes you use one in front of him - that way you're still legal to carry on driving.




*I believe that if you've had enough to drink that you think you might need to use one of those hideously inaccurate things, you probably shouldn't be driving anyway.
 
Just realised that no-one answered the aircon question.

If it's functioning but a little weak, then a regas might just help. Maybe ask them to do a leak test just to be sure that the system is holding pressure.

If it's not working at all then either it's a leak, (usually from the condenser apparently) which has got to the point where the pressure is too low for the system to operate, or the clutch might not be working, (which should be obvious if the revs don't dip when the AC is switched on at idle).
 
I had the aircon die on me a couple of years ago - a re-gas would last about two days, so obviously a leak somewhere - a trace of coloured fluid on the bottom of the condenser led me to assume it was that rather than the compressor or the pipes/tubes. I was always pretty careful about running it for at least 30 minutes a month regardless of the time of year - a lot of people 'forget' to run the aircon periodically during the winter to circulate the fluid and this can result in rotted hoses.
New Fords (Kuga and S-Max) state in the manuals to run the aircon for 15 minutes weekly...

It turned out to be much cheaper to simply source a whole new condenser unit from Ebay - about £35 (Ford were quoting me @ £300, the lunatics!) - and fit that rather than faff around any longer.

The positioning of the condenser at the front means it's susceptible to stone-damage...


*edit* just checked the prices and they're around £45 if you search 'Ford Cougar aircon' on ebay...
 
Mako said:
Very good point, Arkady. Don't forget that France makes you carry one of those (pointless*) disposable breathalysers now. Take two in case a gendarme makes you use one in front of him - that way you're still legal to carry on driving.





*I believe that if you've had enough to drink that you think you might need to use one of those hideously inaccurate things, you probably shouldn't be driving anyway.
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This was included in an email I received from Eurotunnel today:
[h=5]In-car breathalysers[/h]On 1 July 2012, a new legislation came into force in France. All drivers of a motorised land vehicle, excluding mopeds, must possess a digital breathalyser or an unused (and immediately available) breathalyser kit which conforms to NF standards. This rule equally applies to vehicles registered outside France. Only vehicles fitted with Breathalyser Interlocks are excluded.
The enforcement of the law and the implementation of a fine for non-compliance have been postponed until further notice. However, as a precautionary measure, we recommend that drivers still carry in-car breathalysers.
 
Friday at ATS "How much to regas my aircon?"
Reply "£45"
"How much to change my brake fluid?"
Reply " about £30"
I didn't really like the guys tone.....
They've just opened a Halfords auto centre near me, few days ago, business is quiet at the moment.
So 10 mins later at Halfords
"How much to regas my Aircon?"
Reply " 65.00 but we're doing a special offer at the moment so £45 and we'll do a free safety check"
"whats a free safety check?"
reply "tyres, pressures, fluid levels, lights etc"
I said "So all the things I check myelf"
I could see on the menu behind him that a brake fluid change was listed at £35.
"How much for both if you change my brake fluid at the same time as the regas"
Reply "We can do them both for £65."
"Do you do a leak check on the air con?"
Reply "Yes, we have to"
So Saturday they regassed her and changed the brake fluid ( I hate bleeding the brakes and the pedal had been feeling spongy since I'd done the front discs )
They also picked up that I had a couple of lamps gone, one on the number plate and one tail lamp. Also that there was a fair bit of play in one of the rear wheel bearing I fitted a few months ago, so it looks like I'm going to be changing it again, I did have a problem fitting it.
Air con now nice n cold, pedal is better and this afternoon I replaced the lamps.
I also transferred the warning triangle spare lamp kit and Hi Viz vests into the car, I'll have to add the breathalyzers I bought last year too now that you guys have reminded me.
Thanks for the tips guys. This'll be my fourth or fifth road trip across France on 4 wheels ( I've done it on the bike a few times too) but never before in the Cougar. Half the fun is planning the trip.
 
Procomm said:
They test your aircon for leaks before they regass it mate so you don't waste their prescious gass (y)
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They do but it's not foolproof: mine had a slow leak which didn't show up during the pressure test - two days after the re-gas it was non-functional again as all the fluid was gone.
Needed a new condenser unit (about £30 on ebay and £20 to fit by my tame mechanic, who's now as conversant with the Cougar's foibles as I am...lol).
 
Arkady001 said:
They do but it's not foolproof: mine had a slow leak which didn't show up during the pressure test - two days after the re-gas it was non-functional again as all the fluid was gone.
Needed a new condenser unit (about £30 on ebay and £20 to fit by my tame mechanic, who's now as conversant with the Cougar's foibles as I am...lol).
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Yeah thanks Arkady, I noticed a similar comment earlier, I'll check it again in a week o 2 to see if it's still cold. Cheers Mabo
 
Enjoy your road trip through France, it's a lovely country for driving in. The Autoroutes can get a bit expensive so I tended to stay clear of them. I am planning a trip to Bulgaria this year after Cougarfest and will be visiting all the surrounding countries. Probably be away for 6 or 8 weeks depending on funds.
 
Thanks D1CKL, you're the roads thruFrance are very good, Peage better than our motorways but as you say the costs build up. We'll probably stick to their A roads letting the sat nav do the work opting to avoid tolls. Thru switzerland is fantastic, views to die for. Northern Italy Motorways are busy but no worse than ours, all the other roads I've driven seem to use potholes as the speed limiter, they are in severe need of resurfacing. As are some of the ones round here but at least ours are being resurfaced at the moment rather than having the repairs repaired for the Nth time as in Italy.
I'd love to head west like you plan to, I've a long term plan of wheels to Ukraine, not sure if I'll be on 2 or 4 wheels tho.
Enjoy your trip bud.
 
mabo said:
Peage better than our motorways but as you say the costs build up.
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Just as an aside, my friend who lives in Geneva tells me that the Peage tolls are variable based on how quickly you travel between them. It's almost like a subtle way of making you pay for your share of wear to the carriageway.

We verified this experimentally, though we weren't particularly scientific about it. :geek:
 
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