I took my 505 (87) wagon for AC repair to a local dealer. he tells me
it needs an expansion valve and quoted 175.00 for a new one. I pulled
one off a '91 505 wagon from a yard and paid 15.00. The salvaged car
had 65K and by the looks of it, the expansion valve appears to have had
no leaks. The hoses were still atached to it on both sides and it was
attached to the firewall and covered by the heavy plastic firewall
padding.
The dealer, however, offered me this stern warning:
"...if you want us to put an used expansion valve pulled from a junked
car we will , but you will have to pay the extra labor to evacuate and
refill freon if it does not work, and most likely it is a bad valve
given that its been sitting in the yard for......" .
here is my dilemma:
Should I try to save 155.00 and go ahead with the used unit or should I
go for a brand new one? Is there a way to tell if the valve is bad
without testing it under pressure?
Are these units necessarily going to be bad just from sitting in a yard
for a year?
Some experienced advice needed please, and soon -- my car is at the
dealer's lot and he needs an answer from me by tomorrow. Thanks in
advance.
Anup Pahari
Manassas, VA
PS: i am already using the compressor from the same junked wagon in my
V6 (yes,the AC is now fixed). Its been there for more than a year and
still going strong.