Can You Replace A/C Compressor Yourself???

[CHRISB]

Mine has been out for over a year. The pulley on the compressor froze and the unit is shot. I have a shorter drive belt to bypass the a/c compressor and the car still runs. By the way its a 95 3.4L. I found a compressor on EBay for $118. An old friend said I can replace parts myself, but the system would have to be re vacuumed and charged at a shop. I have been quoted at various shops for $500-$1000+ for the job to do everthing. Im looking to save some $$$ and do it myself. I live in Florida so the summer heat is starting again :cool: . I don't think any of the other parts are bad like the evaporator or anything else. Would it be possible to replace my own compressor and just get the system recharged?

[chas]

yes you can replace your own compressor. there was a thread on this not too long ago. do a search. i you arent running r134a now would be a good time to switchover.

you should also get the system professionally discharged (i.e. refrigerant recovered) before starting.

[AltrdPrcptn]

The compressor itself can be changed by you, but on every car i have ever seen when unbolting the compressor the refrigerant will all come blowing out into the atmosphere. (pretty cool but very illegal) it is best to at least have the system recovered like Chas said.

[Pastor Larry Roques]

Y'know, I had the A/C go out on my merc. Villager and Autozone let me use the vaccum pump and everything. They are great at loaning out the tools to do a repair. They do require a deposit which is refunded upon return of the tool. Other than that...the service is free. If you can find a friend there locally who knows how to pump down a system, you're in business.
Blessings in your project. I know here in the New Orleans area, A/C is just not an option in the summer.

[cboney2003]

I've removed my A/C compressor and I know first hand that it is a major PITA to get to the rear bolt holding the tubes in the back on. Since I wasn't putting it back on I chopped the tubes up to take it off, but yeah you can do it if you're patient enough and ya gotta get the A/C system discharged beforehand. You don't want 55 psi of refrigerant shooting everywhere including on you! I think you're supposed to replace the drier assembly too when you put in a new compressor..

[CHRISB]

Thanks. I know that the system is charged but I didn't think of depressurizing it before removing the compressor. Isn't the recharge valve on the low pressure hose near the drier assembly able to vent also? I'm talking about the one on the passenger side that you connect those R-134 recharge cans to. I've recharged my system before using that valve. Can it also be vented like a car tire there?

[CHRISB]

WHHHEEEWWWWWW [img]graemlins/banana.gif[/img] . We'll today I finally got bored enough to try and remove my AC Compressor. I started by removing the front bolts and the alternator. But the back 2 bolts were so freakin hard :mad: :mad: [img]graemlins/rant.gif[/img] . It took me four hours and one cut finger plus alot of cursing [img]graemlins/rant.gif[/img] to completely remove the compressor. You have to disconnect alot of the coolant tubes also. Something strange though. There was no pressure in the system . No dishcharge of coolant under pressure. I guess there was a leak or maybe the reason the a/c stopped working was the same reason there was no pressure. The clutch is frozen as I already knew. I heard it can be replaced, but I'm just going to get a whole new compressor. I found one on Ebay for $118 :eek: :D . But a local place called ICE COLD AIR is the one selling them on EBAY. So instead of buying on Ebay I'm going to try directly at the store in the morning. I hope they are open on Memorial Day. Also I pray that the new compressor will make the a/c run cold again. I hope I don't have to replace the evaporator core or the condensor. For anyone else who wants to save some serious $$$ and do it themselves, go for it, its not that difficult. A major pain in the arss, but very doable.

[ May 31, 2004, 12:56 AM: Message edited by: CHRISB ]

[nda0602v6]

Congrats on getting it out, it does look like a pain. Make sure to replace the rubber seals which go inbetween where AC lines bolt to the Compressor.

[chas]

if you had no coolant in the lines then your compressor is bad. there is also some oil in the lines to lubricate the compressor. without coolant the lubricate wont flow (since the compressor cant easily compress air) and it will soon seize.

[CHRISB]

I figured the coolant leaked and the oil along with it which led to the sieze. Remember this happened over a year and a half ago. But some :( news. I called Ice Cold Air Parts this morning and they said that they will not ship the $118 compressor to the county I live in :mad: . On their Ebay sale, it says please dont order if you live in the following counties: X Y Z . The person I spoke with said they have a non-competion contract with the local Ice Cold Air shops franchise not to sell to locals. He said I could drive over ande pay $159 :mad: [img]graemlins/bs.gif[/img] . He also said if someone tries to order and ship into one of the no no counties that he would not permit the sale. And if I want one for $159 he would need time to "make one" because he doesn't have any in stock. They are remanufactured, so they would go get a busted one and fix it and give it to me :rolleyes: .
Auto zone has em for $219(Remanufactured), $349(new),$245 (AC Delco new

[CHRISB]

I figured the coolant leaked and the oil along with it which led to the sieze. Remember this happened over a year and a half ago. But some :( news. I called Ice Cold Air Parts this morning and they said that they will not ship the $118 compressor to the county I live in :mad: . On their Ebay sale, it says please dont order if you live in the following counties: X Y Z . The person I spoke with said they have a non-competion contract with the local Ice Cold Air shops franchise not to sell to locals. He said I could drive over ande pay $159 :mad: [img]graemlins/bs.gif[/img] . He also said if someone tries to order and ship into one of the no no counties that he would not permit the sale. And if I want one for $159 he would need time to "make one" because he doesn't have any in stock. They are remanufactured, so they would go get a busted one and fix it and give it to me :rolleyes: .
Auto zone has em for $219(Remanufactured), $349(new),$245 (AC Delco reman), $380 (AC Delco New). Also I read that whenever you work on the A/C that you should replace the Drier unit. It is like a filter for your A/C system that takes out moisture and contaminants. So thats another $70 [img]graemlins/rant.gif[/img] . This is turning out to be much more than I planned [img]graemlins/stickpoke.gif[/img] .

[chas]

the labor involved makes this repair very expensive. dont know if you need to replace the drier. typically you would only need to do that if you are converting from r-whatever to r-134a (since they use different lubricants and its hard to empty the drier and just easier to replace it).

it doesnt seem like ice cold air can possibly know if someone is ordering the compressor and shipping it to you after the fact although shipping on the $118 compressor, $25, makes it $143, add 7% sales tax, that $153 so its pretty close to $159! still quite a bit less than $219. dont know what the warranty is like though.

you can probably find a cheaper drier on ebay as well.