Sanden Rotary compressors, York or R4? 

This is one of the true upsides to the York. Thanks again for the help with resealing my compressor last summer!

You may remember our epic journey from Idaho to San Antonio in the W116 350SE. I did not mention fact the old York compressor went kaput the day before we were to pick up the car. A replacement was days away and we correctly figured the route cool enough in April to do without it. With my certified MB tech father-in-law taking the lead, we began a process of converting to R134 and finding a rotary compressor that fit exactly where and how the deceased York fit. Having done a similar conversion on an R107 (tight quarters!), he knew where to get it. The other part was removing the AC lines and sending them to a forklift hydraulic hose repair shop that inserted steel sleeves in the 350SE AC hoses. As you know R134 will leach out of rubber hoses. The parasitic drag is much less and the AC is freezing cold even in very hot Texas summers. Five years on and all is well.

My 1971 280 SE- been in our family since 1976 (145K miles, 903H medium blue, always garaged very nice in & out)- amazingly enough, the original York Compressor still cools the interior. My 1989 300CE (137K miles, 355 Diamond Blue, always garaged, gorgeous) has an AC leak, needs to be charged. Your videos are getting better in regards to the audio & video- that M-B collection makes a nice backdrop. Thank you for your dedication to your work, please continue. Some of the early videos were pretty rough, this indoor style works better. Smile into the camera! :)

A video talking about why intake manifolds on the early diesels become loose would be great. Should retorquing intake be a maintenance item?

I used to work as an auto ac tech and I have to bang on with how it is important to note the Sanden is not a rotary compressor, I don't know where this rumor started. Like the York it is a piston based design, but instead it uses 5 or 7 pistons instead to what I believe are 2 in the york. It doesn't have a similar crankshaft setup because it has so many pistons, instead they rotate around on an axis setup. The Sanden design with so many pistons with little displacement in each means it is not as efficient at low rpm. This is just like you would expect from a short stoke low cylinder displacement engine.. it much prefers higher rpm... in the Sandens case 2000-6000rpm, where it will outperform the York. You can get a genuine 7 piston Sanden made in the USA for $300 which is why I believe they are so popular. It important to upgrade the condenser for one designed for r134a or you cannot expect good cooling at standstill, replacement of the condenser and expansion valve should be done with every compressor replacement anyway not just the dryer.

Great vid good information. Thanks for responding to power steering fluid question. What do you think about the Fibi red label power steering fluid? Do you think theirs any difference between mercon lll and the Fibi? Keep the post coming, I have owned an 85 W126 diesel for 10 years and in a couple of months my 16 year old daughter will start driving and it will her first car. Good, reliable, safe car in which she will really learn and appreciate driving it. She already gave the car the nickname of cooper. My kods call it "el pollito" which is "little chick" ince again cool post, and greetings from California.

gutsy!

Hi, umm i have a york that i want to fit to a w123 300D, but the turbocharger is in the way :'(

Hi Pierre, what about a good Behr replacement for the Diesels, I bought two AC Delco refurb and one came with a broken ring.

Hi Pierre, What do you think of using Liqui Moly 2043 MoS2 Anti-Friction 10W-40 Motor Oil in my 1993 400E ( M119 with 221500 miles) ??? Thanks in advance!!!

Here in Australia we have major issues with Yorks. R12, a thing of the past here, is actually illegal and if I were to get caught using it I would hung out to dry by the authorities. We have a locally made drop in gas which works with Yporks and is basically propane and butane (prevents fires) .We are forced to use R134a ,probably because a politico somewhere got a back hander . As you know R134a head pressures are way above the Yorks capacity to withstand pressures and eventually they will breakdown,usually by breaking a conrod. So,we install Japanese Sandens and not all Sandens are the same.In fact the wholesaler i deal with had dozens of different models and configurations to suit all types of cars,trucks and so on. To fit one to the original merc bracket just involves welding on two ears which can be bought from the same wholesaler . The other problem with using R134a is that a lot of older Mercs here ,which actually came with air (a very expensive option in the 50's through to the late 70's) have had the condenser replaced with a generic unit which is often too small. Running r134a makes the situation worse ,making the use of low pressure and head pressure/temp switches on the drier very necessary. My own 6.3 for example only had a low pressure cut out to protect the york if the gas level dropped. To get a decent cooling capacity I fit a bigger condensor,as big as can be physically put into front of the radiator with a relay to work both high head pressure and engine temp switches for the Auxiliary fan. Another point too, the old mercedes insulation is often shot by now and in case of 6.3's , barely sufficient to begin with .I am rebuilding one right now which will get 2019 insulation ideas to keep the engine heat out of the cabin and help the york cope . (yes it has a new york fitted) .Once internal temps are kept down,the aircon copes better. Cheers! .

Hi, I have 1974 w115 230.4 and the car didn't come with a/c from the factory. But I did install all the necessary parts for the a/c to work without stalling the engine (wiring and fuses, idle speed governer, vacuum solenoid valve, and front electric fan from w124). So, for the size of my engine is it possible to fit york compressor? Many people warned me of installing this compressor. Can my motor with this size handle york compressor? Thanks in advance.

How do i mount a york compressor on W123 300D turbo engine. There doesn't seem to be enough space behind compressor and the intake of the turbo

When do you have the time? Very impressed ! I always try to keep original, with the trouble free years and miles on my 2002 G500 I feel it was built right and deserves respect.

Pierre, I want to correct you on a few things: First, TRUE Sanden compressors are made in either the USA (SD7H15 models) or Singapore (SD5H14 models). The "Sanden" compressors made in China are NOT TRUE SANDENS! They are clones! Another alternative to the Sanden is the Seltec (now owned by Valeo) compressors. The TM models are available in either ear mount or direct mount, and true Seltec compressors are made in Japan. Both are directly interchangeable with the comparable ear or direct mount Sanden models. The Seltec TM-16HS (or TM-16HD) is comparable to the Sanden SD7H15. Both have a bit less displacement than the York 210. If you want a compressor with comparable displacement and low speed performance to the York, you can use the Seltec TM-21HX. The TM-21HX has more displacement than the York, but it's volumetric efficiency is lower, so it ends up being comparable to the York at idle/low speed. At road speed it will easily match, or even exceed, a York, and is more comparable to the 12.3 cu-in GM A6 compressor. Be advised that, like the Sanden, Seltec compressors are widely copied by Chinese companies. So are Denso, Zexel, Delphi, Ford FS-series compressors, and even York compressors! Every popular compressor in use, with the exception of some of the old GM models (i.e. A6) have clones made by Chinese manufacturers. Caveat emptor! One last word on the Chinese compressors; some of them are actually pretty good, and will give decent life. The problem is, you don't know which ones until you bolt it on and run it. Even compressors by the same Chinese manufacturer are quite variable due to wider production tolerances vs the genuine name brand compressors, so one may be great and the next just so-so. The price difference between a Genuine Sanden/Seltec/Denso/T/CCI(York-type compressors only - T/CCI's other products are Chinese clones!)/etc compressor and a Chinese clone are around $50-$100, depending on where you shop and whether you are an automotive shop or not. For me, I will gladly spend the extra money to have a known good product that isn't made in a country whose government imprisons or executes religious and political prisoners and other assorted human rights abuses, not to mention their predatory trade practices. The reason Chinese clone compressors are so prolific on the market is due to dumping, along with greedy dealers who don't care about anything other than making a quick buck (/RANT). One last LAST word: R-134a is fine AS LONG AS A PROPER PARALLEL FLOW CONDENSER IS USED! If you insist on sticking with the stock-type tube and fin condenser, then you need to stick with a gas that has a lower, R-12-like discharge pressure. If you DO run R-134a, be advised that R-12 TXV's typically work fine with 134a. Some have a superheat adjustment inside the discharge port of the TXV, but this is a PITA because the charge must be recovered, the discharge pipe removed (usually the whole TXV has to come out due to space limitations), adjustment made, TXV reconnected, system evacuated, recharged, and then check your new superheat setting. Not exactly a simple process, and that assumes your TXV is even adjustable. When I do custom systems I use Sporlan TXV's, which can be adjusted without opening the system.

Great channel Pierre but York Compressors are a thing of the past rob power and vibrate like crazy . R 134 is readily available and R 12 is not a Sanden Rotrary Compressor works great I have been Installing them since 1985 on all types Of Mercedes Benz Back in the day( 1983- 1985 ) every grey market car we did ( like 50 per month ) that did not have AC from factory got a kit with a Sanden Compressor installed and they all worked great in MIAMI FLA never a complain installed dozens of kits all over the Caribbean Islands and it gets hot there . Throw the old Ford , Chrysler York Compressor in the trash and adapt a Sanden. Mercedes Benz used it because that was all that was available to them at the time and they needed something to please the American Customer . Like your Channel great stuff but I disagree here keep up the good work .Pieter

Love the York on my 1965 220SEb. Coupled to the FrigiKing AC unit it makes ice cubes using an R12 drop in refrigerant (sorry, but R12 is bad stuff and stupid expensive.) Yes, it’s a drag on the engine, but I’ll trade that for a cold cabin in Florida summers. I know the disappointment of R134a conversions that barely blow lukewarm air at idle. Not acceptable in this part of the world.

I would not agree Pierre having gone through some York, Sanden, Nippon Denso, Behr compressor units in the Persian Gulf. Yes the American compressors are good and durable but the Japanese units are much more better. Over the years, and with the call for environment safe refrigerants, the Japanese have been making energy efficient, durable and safer compressors which are used in the majority of vehicles today. To me the aircon system of any classic needs upgrading, but done to factory standard. I have seen a lot of retrofits where the HP hose is run full length to the condensor instead of using tubing and a short hose to take up the engine vibration. The best conduit for refrigerants is tubing, its just that in a vehicle we are forced to have hose to take up the engine vibration. It is also important to prevent galvanic reaction between dissimilar metals, the aluminum tubing and body panels will start galvanising if let to touch and over time corrosive particles will form in the refrigerant and leaching.