It's true to say that I've not been using the AC very much over the winter, but then I've not been driving the car very much at all since I changed jobs back in July last year. My morning commute now takes place on two wheels in all weathers.
One of the reasons I'm undertaking this work now is that we're off to Scotland at the end of next month so I want it right for that - both the Aircon and also the performance/intercooler.
I had planned to swap the radiator / condenser etc., assembly but it's been raining all day so in terms of working on the car, I only had time to replace the rear bumper, which has made a huge difference to the visual appearance of the car, and my parking sensors work again.
Simon's advice to briefly depress one of the the Schrader valves on a coolant rail showed me that the system was still under pressure, although I don't have any way to know if it was under enough pressure to allow the compressor to kick in. I suspect not. With this in mind, I mananged to buy a Groupon deal for a cheap AC regas at ATS Euromaster, and they've emptied the system for me this afternoon. As soon as the O-rings that I've ordered from DMGRS arrive I can get on with that bit of work.
Here's a photo of the car with the new rear bumper (and bonnet for that matter) after I washed it just now. It looks a lot better than it ever has i nmy ownership.
IMAG1589 by
John Doe, on Flickr