01/July/2017
"If you want to DIY your climatronic, you have to accept such a mess", they said:
And I accepted:
The foam of the air ports was defected-non existed:
First thought to cover them with "armaflex" since it forbids the dew formation.
(The brown tiles floor made by the blog's author).
But it's surface is porous and prone for bacteria housing and, more or less, aging.
So I cover "armaflex" with aluminum tape, minimizing the previous problems but forming a surface not absolutely elastic which is needed in order to seal the air clapets.
02/July/2017
With a little pressure, the edges of the ports bedded nicely on the frames and, after four years of use, it seems that there are no problems of tightness.
The two exchangers, cooling liquid to air and freon to air, washed with a special solvent used by refrigeration technicians for air conditioners and looked, after 21 years of use, in good condition.
07 May 2025
The scenario goes like this:
someone has a rare car, (one of~500 produced), of a big manufacturer, which is based on popular models, million units sold, which is an historical car, and, as such, expensive and rare parts needed to service and retain the perfect condition it has to be.
Yes, but, according to my experience, the things work the opposite way! Since the Passat g60 Syncro, (my Passatitsa), is rare but covered under the millions of Passat b3/b4 and Syncro various models and editions sold, which now are abandoned, any spare part, even the rarest, are easily and economically available!
F.ex., because of my fault, the a/c condenser is broken. This condenser, (vw 357820413A), is made for freon 12 refrigerant, the total system, having a capacity of 1200 gr., (or 1050 gr. for 134a refrigerant), and worked perfectly for 20 years after the mandatory retrofit to 134a.
It has 15 serpentine rows and, working with 134a refrigerant and a Sanden sd-709 compressor, gives ~ 1°C - 2°C output the way it has to be measured, (climatronic).
The initial price of it, the original, as new , was ~ 600€. Now sells ~ 50€ - 100€ !
The tricky point is, that when the norm about the a/c refrigerant changed, (at the distant 1993), the b3 series substituted by the b4 series. So the b3 Syncro Passat never received the condenser for the 134a refrigerant! But the chassis, strangely enough, is ready for the 3A0820413A, (134a refrigerant), condenser with the higher capacity of 17 serpentine rows, (1150 gr. vs 1050 gr. of the 357820413A).
(To add to the confusion, the above condenser has the code number of 357820413c for some models).
In this manner, a very rare car, has a vast availability, not only for the, standard, freon 12, condensers but even for the updated refrigerant 134a style, at prices between 50€ and 130€, at most!
To support the first -ever on car model climatonic, which works perfectly, 35 years after!
(An ultra rapid output is expected from the new, updated, condenser, which was the O.E.M. unit for the next models with the same, (9.5''³/rev) or with the weaker, (7,5''³/rev), variable, compressor).
