How do you change an A/C compressor?

[cam98aro]

Re: How do you change an A/C compressor?

3 oz is about what it takes.

i understand, but the compressor holds 9 oz of oil

[cam98aro]

Re: How do you change an A/C compressor?

The gauge I have has different colored zones, too. It's from Interdynamics. It shows 0 - 25psi as green on the low pressure side. I just do mine until it's on the upper side of the green zone (not way up there, though) and the air feels cold. You're not going to know lbs unless you fill it up from totally empty and evacuated, anyway. Just get it so it's nice and cold.

i noticed that when mine was on the VERY low blue towards the green it took forever to get cold air, and it wasnt very cold

i have no doubt that your car will be able to handle another small can of refrigerant, and possibly make it even colder

[Rob Bell]

Re: How do you change an A/C compressor?

Yeah that very well could be. I can see just filling the thing with R134A until it gets good and cold. As long as you are not in the yellow or red on the gauge, it will be fine. The important thing is to have enough in there to get the air to a nice, cold temp. The air-conditioned air should be about 45-50 degrees, set on a high fan speed, on a 70 degree day in the shade. The system should be getting cold enough to produce some good condensation on the cold portion of the underhood components. If there is no condensation on a humid day, it's not cold enough.

[Rob Bell]

Re: How do you change an A/C compressor?

One last post on this for reference.... I checked the temps on my AC system when it was about 70 degrees the other day. With the AC set at MAX and the fan on HI, the outlet temp was 48 degrees. The medium fan setting (3 on the dial) produced temps of 45 degrees. Medium-low (2 on the dial) and the lowest speed gave a temp reading of 40 degrees.

There was also plenty of condensation on the cold side of the underhood components.

[FrankyZ]

Re: How do you change an A/C compressor?

Ok I was going to pay a shop to do this as well till I read up on this thread, quick question.
Can I install the new compressor then take it to a shop to have them clear out the lines, without them charging an arm and a leg? Also if I replace the dead compressor first do i risk any damage to it by not getting the lines purged out first?
And yes my compressor is abd already had a shop check it out and use the dye to find out the front seal on my unit is bad =)

[cam98aro]

Re: How do you change an A/C compressor?

Ok I was going to pay a shop to do this as well till I read up on this thread, quick question.
Can I install the new compressor then take it to a shop to have them clear out the lines, without them charging an arm and a leg? Also if I replace the dead compressor first do i risk any damage to it by not getting the lines purged out first?
And yes my compressor is abd already had a shop check it out and use the dye to find out the front seal on my unit is bad =)

same thing hapened to me

and i will tell you what i did, if your compressor s leaking on the front seal theres a good chance that you have no charge in your system

take the caps off of the low and high side (one on the metal can by your battery, and the other next to the battery near the rad cap)

use a key or something to press the piece down to see if anything comes out, im betting nothing will, and you can just change your compressor and recharge the system using the before mentioned kits

i did this exact thing and my ac works great now

others will say you need to have your lines vacuumed out and you need to replace your receiver/dryer, condenser and evaporator since air is now in your system and there is moisture in there

if you cannot replace these things yourself, you are looking at around $500- $700 to replace the dryer/condenser/evaporator at a shop, minus the cost and labor for a new compressor

to be honest, i didnt replace any of those and my ac is very cold, my father says he thinks it is cooler than the ac in his impala, which has never had any work done

[Firebirdkid96]

Re: How do you change an A/C compressor?

you have to vacuum the lines even if the system is empty, it removes moisture and contaminants from the system that will cause your new compressor to prematurely fail.....

[FrankyZ]

Re: How do you change an A/C compressor?

When I got my engine rebuilt the shop charged and checked out my ac. So to my knowledge the system should be charged I only tried running the ac once after I got it back. They only found the leak because they charged it. Will the freeon continue to leak out even if the system isnt running?
So does it matter in which order you do things or just that the system is cleaned out for the best insurance prior to it being run?

[Firebirdkid96]

Re: How do you change an A/C compressor?

if the system is leaking it is always leaking, regardless of whether the a/c is on, engine is running, etc. The system should be empty, check it by pressing in the valve on your receiver dryer i doubt anything will come out. If that is the case, you can replace the compressor yourself, just make sure you add oil to it, it takes PAG 150 high viscosity R-134A oil...then take it to a shop and have them vac the system, and you can either a. have them charge it or b. charge it yourself with a kit from advance auto.

[cam98aro]

Re: How do you change an A/C compressor?

if the system is leaking it is always leaking, regardless of whether the a/c is on, engine is running, etc. The system should be empty, check it by pressing in the valve on your receiver dryer i doubt anything will come out. If that is the case, you can replace the compressor yourself, just make sure you add oil to it, it takes PAG 150 high viscosity R-134A oil...then take it to a shop and have them vac the system, and you can either a. have them charge it or b. charge it yourself with a kit from advance auto.

our cars take PAG 46 ISO compressor oil

they are listed as 150, but in reality it is 46