I've done my share of wrenching on my cars, but I've never worked on A/C stuff before. So when the car I just got came with some kind of problem with the AC, I sent it to the shop to be diagnosed.

 

Bad compressor. "No problem, they're a little tough to find, but we'll track one down. Its only $1100 to fix it."

 

Ha!

 

"Well, what if I bring you a compressor, mr shop guy, how much then?"

 

"Around $350-400 for the labor and seals and stuff."

 

Obviously I still don't want to spend that much, so how do I get out of this cheaper? I think I found a reman compressor online, so that's taken care of. How much of the labor can I do myself? They had to charge the system to find the leaking compressor shaft, so I'm assuming it won't have to be evacuated to get any moisture out, right?

 

Could I just crack it open and slap on the new compressor and have someone fill it for me? It's already been converted to 134 freon or whatever. Do I really need the "recommended" new drier? What seals do I absolutely have to have?

 

What else should I take into account here?

Sadly yes on the drier. The desicant in them tends to fall apart if the system has been exposed to air (ie no pressure in the system). You can chance it, but then if it does fail you can get junk all through the AC system and do double work. Depending on how long ago it was converted and how long its been dead, you could replace the O rings as a just in case thing yourself.

 

How long has it been dead?

 

 

nipper

Been dead since before summer. Long enough. Not sure when it was converted.

You can replace it yourself, replace the seals yourself, and install a replacement compressor yourself. A new drier will be more hardy then an older one. This way all the other shop has to do is evacuate and recharge the system.

 

nipper

or grab some RJ-134a and do it yourself

or grab some RJ-134a and do it yourself

 

Sadly at this pijnt it will need to be evacuated. Now if he could get his hands on a vacume pump and some gauges

 

 

nipper

I thought about that... Don't I need special equipment to put the gas in though? Like pressure regulators, oil meters, all that jazz? Or can I just grab some of those "refill" cans with the little gauge on them from the parts store?

Sadly at this pijnt it will need to be evacuated. Now if he could get his hands on a vacume pump and some gauges

 

 

nipper

 

Wouldn't they have done that when they filled and checked the system at the shop today?

TBH, all you need is a small leak adapter... while it is illegal and bad for the enviroment, im sure every factory in your city does alot worse.

 

it works, the new chemicals, alot nicer for 20$ then 400$ for the radiator company... or fixit shop

as nipper says, the system has to be evacuated, and a vacuum has to be pulled on the system. this does a few things, one it removes all the moisture, it removes all the incompatable r12 oil, and it also checks for any remaining leaks, once the system its on a state of vacuum, (i give it at least 45 minuts), you can fill the system, first the oil charge , then the remaining

r134a. look for the ac specs on the hood to see how much in ounces to fill the system, or a F S manual, i have seen some air compressor powerd vacuum pumps online for 25 or 30 bucks. chiltons has a manual that covers automotive ac systems, its a good read, and comes with flowcharts, and explains the tools of the trade ie vacuum pumps manifold guages etc.

Wouldn't they have done that when they filled and checked the system at the shop today?

 

Not for diagnostics. There are a few ways of doing it without fully charging the system with refrigerant, especially if the system came in dead, and they already had some suspicons. Refrigerant is not cheap anymore,so they dont use it as freely as they used to.

 

ivantruckman said it well, so i wont repeat him

 

 

nipper

Ahh, ok, I got it... So a good compromise that wouldn't involve buying a bunch of "never use again" tools would probably be to just put the system together myself, then just have the shop vacuum it and charge it with the freon for me?

 

And its already been converted to the r134, so that shouldn't be a concern, right?

Ahh, ok, I got it... So a good compromise that wouldn't involve buying a bunch of "never use again" tools would probably be to just put the system together myself, then just have the shop vacuum it and charge it with the freon for me?

 

That should work. I have a vacuume pump, so I do that too. That way I know there are no leaks. You need to pull a hard vacuume. A simple way to test this is to see if your pump can cause water to boil at room temperature.

 

A rotary compressor from an old window air conditioner can be set up to use as a vacuume pump.

for diagnostics most shops around hereuse co2 to pressure test a system, liquid co2 to blow any debris out, like burnt compressor parts. yikes

Well, they said they were loading it up with oil, dye and coolant for the test...