air con pump

[wizard-58]

Hi all ..has any body on here changed worked on aircon pump on E83 ..mine keeps throwing the belt and ive noticed iron filings on engine pan ..so thinking new/2nd hand pump but looking at garage costs ..silly money ...maybe i can change pump ??? get gas taken out 1st then replaced ?? how involved is removing/replacing pump ??cant find any thing on line ?? thanks in advance any ideas ??

[X5Sport]

You will need to do the following (this is the list for a 2.0D):

Caution!
In the event of a mechanical air conditioning compressor failure and the resulting ingress of chips into the refrigerant circuit, replace the following parts:
Air conditioning compressor
Air conditioning condenser
Replace desiccant insert
Line to the air conditioning condenser
Refrigerant oil

and……

Necessary preliminary tasks:
Drawing off, evacuating and refill the A/C system
Remove fluid reservoir for windscreen washer system
Remove fan cowl with electric fan
Remove pressure pipe
Remove A/C compressor drive belt
Remove front underbody protection

All openings must be sealed against dirt & dust.

Replacement pumps won’t be cheap, even for a reconditioned unit. BMW will of course want ridiculous sums for it. Depends upon how brave or competent with spanner’s etc you are. Have any of the local a/c shops got the ability to replace it?

It’s possible the a/c compressor is used on other vehicles as well - might be a cheaper option.

[wizard-58]

Hi and thanks for that Ive more or less worked out the process Im going to try and get a local aircon company to drain the gas .and ill do the mechanical side of it 2nd hand pumps and even new are quite available ..once ive swapped it out Ill get the same aircon agent to replenish the gas ..i just wondered if any body else had done the job on here ? any tips or advise before i start the job ..ive noted all that youve said and will go through it all as you say BMW will charge a small fortune .the car is a 2007 and done just short of 180,000 I want to get it to the 200,000 mark im 66 and it might be my last car so be good to try and keep it going ..

[wizard-58]

just been having a search on line getting things in sequence as it where and ive come across air compressor clutch ?? as my air con works perfectly up till the belt comes of i was wondering if this could be a better route .change the clutch ?? it appears to be where my problem is and it could be a cost saving ??? when the system was re-filled last year there was no reports of any faults so I think this could be worth doing has i havnt got to drain or strip evrything else ??

[X5Sport]

That would likely do it, but there’s no information in the Technical Instruction System for doing such. That usually means BMW will only replace, not repair (very common!). An AC shop might have the guidance. I think people have done it on the E53 so that might give you pointers.