6.7. Conditioner: not only "pluses", but also "minuses"
Dynamics of demand for second-hand foreign cars speaks about the aspiration of future car owners to have the car with the greatest possible quantity of options. One of them is existence of the conditioner. Even in case the picked-up car according to the main requirements satisfies the motorist, but has no conditioner, the application for its additional installation often follows though it costs $1,5 thousand.At the same time, during pre-sale preparation at the majority of the second-hand foreign cars ("Audi 100", "VW Passat GT", "Opel Omega 2,6") equipped with the conditioner at control of the engine inadmissible decrease in a compression in separate cylinders comes to light (about 5,5-7,5 atm.). At the same time the run of some cars of 1994 of release on which at least in one of cylinders there was an inadmissible decrease in a compression made 50–70 thousand km. As a rule, it occurred in the last cylinder of the engine, its overheat was the indirect reason of what. It can be explained only with the fact that engines in the cars equipped with the conditioner wear out quicker because of rather high loading created by it during the work. The systematic overheat results in premature wear of piston rings.
Fans of "an automobile cool" should remember that the most dangerous to the engine in hot weather is the mode of "idling". In this mode cooling liquid circulates slowly, besides, the heat exchanger radiator established under a cowl intensively "warms up" the engine, taking away from him power.
Owners of "Audi" equipped with the conditioner can have an additional problem connected with need of replacement of a belt of the drive of the heat exchanger through each 60 thousand km of a run. This in general simple operation can be made only at the removed conditioner radiator, according to the subsequent filling with freon that several times will increase working costs. And will undertake it not in each service.
Undoubtedly, it is good to have the conditioner, but before to order it, properly weigh all pros and cons.