bratman2 Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 (edited) Daughter's 2010 Impreza compressor locked up and took the belt out about the time she got home yesterday. Car does have 149k miles but curious what generally causes them to lock up? Also what brand is a good rebuilt or new compressor? Edited January 17, 2019 by bratman2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 wow, seems like an extremely rare failure so, I'd get a used comp. from car-part.com or similar. I might consider having a pro a/c guy do the repair - maybe they have a way to check for/flush metal debris from the system? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bratman2 Posted January 17, 2019 Author Share Posted January 17, 2019 I know, my 97 SVX is still running the original compressor. I have a friend that has all the AC stuff to purge and pull vacuum. I will have to check on if he can do a flush. Doesn't the AC compressor run on defrost? I think she will be okay for a few months until it gets warmer, so I have a little time. She claimed to hear a screeching sound when she started her car on very cold mornings. She told me that she cuts everything off before she turns the car off. Starts heat and such after the car gets running. Kind of surprises me she does this, I do too, but never told her to do that. I am thinking it was the compressor then even though she claims not to run the AC any until yesterday for a few minutes leaving work 45 miles away. I checked the car out a couple of times but of course it would not do it when I was around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 well, could be something else - even crank pulley de-laminated , though - also rare. yeah, a/c compressor helps a lot with defrosting - acts like a dehumidifier. maybe something easy threw the belt off. fingers crossed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
golucky66 Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 I've seen a few Ac compressors around the 2010 age that fail. Either making noise and eventually blow up, or the clutch let's go. I wouldn't be too surprised it it just locked up. Imo, get it fixed by a professional. Doing A.C work the right way isn't for non professionals. Too much or too little oil will cause the new compressor to blow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bratman2 Posted January 17, 2019 Author Share Posted January 17, 2019 I think it's locked up. Turn the key to on position and the AC on and you can't budge it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted January 18, 2019 Share Posted January 18, 2019 Can't flush the system. The passages in the condenser are too small. Most likely will have to replace the entire system - failed compressor will send shrapnel through it and it's impossible to clean the condenser cores on modern AC systems. You'll be lucky if the evap core isn't also plugged and full of debris. I have seen one or two failures. Not common. Just get a used compressor. As to the cause - lubrication failure. "Why" is anyone's guess. You'll never know. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bratman2 Posted January 19, 2019 Author Share Posted January 19, 2019 Thanks, I let her know it's going to be a little more than I originally thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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