AC Nightmare

[240sleeper]

Hey I had my a/c redone on my 93' 10 months ago. It consisted of replacing the receiver/drier, expansion valve, and remanufactured compressor from autozone which was filled with R-134a. Well just yesterday the compressor started screeching when turned on warranting a bad clutch or bearing in my eyes. Anyway the a/c never really was as cold as i wanted, so is there any additional parts that should be replaced when i get my new compressor(under warranty) put in? Second question is how come the compressor had such a short lifespan? It only lasted 10 months, although it's under warranty it's going to cost me $120 to get it replaced and charged. Last question, how hard is it to charge the freon yourself, the lady at the store said that I do not need to evacuate the system if im just using R-134. Any help needed as i'm doing this tomorrow. Thanks

[DAEDALUS]

That's why she's a cashier and not a tech. That $10,000 fine would take her a while to pay off. From another site, verifiable at http://www.epa.gov/ozone/title....html

"In fact, it is illegal to vent any type of refrigerant from a vehicle, including R-12, R-134a or any other alternative or unknown refrigerant. The prohibition against venting includes even a small charge of refrigerant that may have been added to a vehicle for purposes of detecting a leak. If there’s any refrigerant in the system at all, it must be recovered and not allowed to escape. Period."

Short lifespan can be from a couple of things. If they didn't flush the system when they rebuilt it, shards of metal from a previous failure could have damaged the new compressor, plus the oils for R-12 and R-134a are not compatible. Fails faster without lubrication. Likely IMO is that it was a typical crappy autozone rebuild. Factory ones do cost more, but on average, they're worth the extra cost. True for alternators too. I would personally replace the drier again. Once the system is opened up, it'll begin sucking moisture out of the air. Once full, it won't be able to do it's job, and can actually cause ice to form in the system, effectively shutting down your AC.

[240sleeper]

Thanks for the reply, when they do the work should I ask him to replace the rings? Also is there a special oil used for the R134?

[DAEDALUS]

O-rings? Definitely the ones that get unsealed, like on the compressor and drier. The others I would do if they're easy to get to. Don't bother if they're out of the way, unless you know they're leaking, then it makes sense. Anyone doing AC work should know which oil to use. R-134a systems use polyalkylene glycol or ester oil--best to find out what they used and stick to it. R-12 uses mineral oil. It's important to flush out the old stuff and also to remove all the flush solvent.

[89240sx]

I was under the impression that the new refridgerant you can charge yourself and even buy it yourself?

maybe i'm wrong and if so .. I apologize but I had thought you could

Mark

[DAEDALUS]

No you're right. You can buy it (R-134a) and you can charge your own system. But you can't legally vent it intentionally. I *think* a shop that does AC work is required to provide free recovery service, but I'm not certain of that. So you could have a shop do the recovery and then do all the other stuff on your own, except that it's best to pull a vacuum on the system before recharging it to get all the air out (and the moisture in the air).