Anyone bypass the rear AC ? I have a leak back there and my shop said there's 2 options. Either shut down the rear part of the system and have AC in the front only, or there's a place that can somehow bypass the current rear lines with new rubber ones and still have the AC operate in the rear vents. Apparently the front vents include the vents in the console that send air to that middle row so there'd still be AC there but the roof vents would no longer operate. Anyone ever shut off the rear ? If so - is the front enough to cool most of the vehicle? The 3rd row never gets used anymore so I'm not concerned too much about that. ( so far I've been recharging the system and it works for a summer or 2 and isn't a terrible solution)
Thoughts? Thanks!

 

There is a factory rear AC delete kit available so i'd go down that route, cant see how it would be possible re route air to the rear most vents without a lot of work.
I never use my rear AC so i'd remove it if it came to it.

 

The rear AC system already has an isolator inline. So are you keeping the rear system off and still have a leak? Or have you been using it anyway? The isolate is WAY in the back, so if you have not being using the rear AC and still have a leak it is between there and the front. Really the easiest thing - well sorta easy... - would be to locate the leak and fix it. Usually its just an o-ring on one of the high pressure lines. They are made in sections and connect at this larger aluminum block couplings. Open em up, put new o-rings in. The issue is if you open it you need to remove the refrigerant beforehand. But really it is pretty easy just to remove the stuff and then go around and replace as many o-rings as you can. And the kits are cheap.

 

DAKOTA - Yes, I have been using the rear and was just told by the shop that I get it worked on that the leak is in the rear - ( I like and trust these guys ). So up until now I knew there was a leak somewhere , they just hadn't isolated the location until now. I'll have to ask them if they found a specific issue with one of the lines, and talk to them about the o rings.
Are you saying that as is, if the leak is in the rear - I can simply not use the rear and wouldn't need to do anything if I was okay just using the front because it wouldn't lose refrigerant that way? Appreciate the info - thank you. ( I'm in Minnesota so its only an issue for part of the year)

 

It depends where they leak is. The solenoid that isolate the rear AC looks like it is on the high pressure side. Its mounted to the aux climate control box that sits in back. If the leak is after that valve I think you would have a much less leakage during operation IF you dont use the rear AC. If its before, I think it will still reach full pressure and even is the solenoid is closed, it will leak out because of that difference. The last image shows the typical connections for the AC lines, inside are o-rings. These connections are located front to back and at the compressor, condenser in front of the engine, etc. My opinion again is if there is a leak would be to have the system evacuated and just replace them all. If you fix one, another may leak months later. I did this with my 91 Mercedes and the troublesome system was no longer that and worked great until sold.

 

Thanks Dakota - that makes sense. I picked it up today and they said from the " left front wheel well back AC system is corroded and leaking" They also saw leak dye in rear drain tube. As far as the O rings go - where the line gets corroded or rusted , it sounds like it's easy to damage the line trying to fuss around with it?. They said there's a place here in the Twin Cities that has a fix that essentially finds 2 places to attach AC hose and rig it along the existing one , bypassing the bad part of the line.( I think the rear evaporator might get replaced as well.)
The cars got 193K so I'm sure the winters have taken their toll on those lines etc. For now the system is filled again and I'm going to see how it goes for the next few months as we get in to warmer weather and figure out which solution is best.

 

Does anyone know what o-ring sizes and material are used? Are these standardized across most modern cars or is every manufacturer using different sizes/materials?

I found the Land Rover part numbers but purchasing individual o-rings from the dealer doesn't seem like the most economical solution.




Thanks!

 

Generally any universal o-ring kit will fit your needs. I think I paid $6 for mine.

 

Had to research this one once. O-rings are composed of different materials based on their color (black, orange, green, etc). A quick search on RockAuto for LR3 AC kits shows green o-rings so I would stick with that for AC application. I'm not certain about the size, but they are measured by inside diameter and cross-section (thickness).