How To: Rebuild your A/C compressor. Just in time for summer too.

[Arashi]

If you look at my second picture, on the right hand side of the compressor, you'll see a sensor. Thats the pressure sensor. It senses if you have pressure inside the compressor and if it senses no or too little pressure it won't engage the clutch. It does that so you don't fry your compressor. Cause w/out freon, there's no way for the oil in the system to coat the moving parts. And I'm sure you know what happens to your engine w/out oil. It's the same w/ compressors. The best way to go about your problem is to just buy a retrofit kit (at your local parts store) for like $30. It comes with the R134A fittings that you just screw onto your existing R-12 fittins, 3 cans of R134a (which you'll probably only use like 2), the pressure gauge, and a step-by-step cd for your computer. When you "charge" your a/c, do it with the car running and the a/c on full blast (recurc too). The sensor should detect pressure and engage the clutch. Just fill to the propper pressure and enjoy cold a/c. If you hane a leak you will find traces of "oil" near the leak. The oil will look clear and it doesn't smell like motor oil. Kinda musty. Thats how I found my leak.

Awesome advice, I didn't think a retrofit kit would be that cheap, I'll have ot check it out at my local part stores and see if I can find one. Wouldn't hurt, and hey I may not even have a leak afterall!

[ADF932]

Just Scored myself an A/C Condensor with the lines for $75. Better price than the Nissan dealer. They wanted 178 just for the condensor its self.

[AE240SX]

Very nice write up. Self help is a good thing. You are forgetting a few steps though. If the system has a leak in it then there could be contaminants(dirt, water, ooky stuff) in the a/c lines etc. The reciever/drier should be replaced to keep the old crap from destroying the new stuff in the compressor. Of course you may never have a problem or your rebuilt compressor coud last a week. Its really luck o' the draw. And if you want your a/c to really work then find somebody to put ICE32 in as well. Google it. You will find some people calling it snake oil but I put it in my car and with 90+ heat outside I get 48-52 degree air out of my vents. The absolute coldest I've seen is 34 degrees with a calibrated BluePoint thermometer.

[Soravia]

Awesome! I was thinking of rebuilding my compressor too. Been un-hooked for a while. I forgot to cover those holes so I think they're a little dirty.

[wa-chiss]

Very nice write up. Self help is a good thing. You are forgetting a few steps though. If the system has a leak in it then there could be contaminants(dirt, water, ooky stuff) in the a/c lines etc. The reciever/drier should be replaced to keep the old crap from destroying the new stuff in the compressor. Of course you may never have a problem or your rebuilt compressor coud last a week. Its really luck o' the draw. And if you want your a/c to really work then find somebody to put ICE32 in as well. Google it. You will find some people calling it snake oil but I put it in my car and with 90+ heat outside I get 48-52 degree air out of my vents. The absolute coldest I've seen is 34 degrees with a calibrated BluePoint thermometer.

True, I did forget that. Also the r-12 is like gold to a/c shops. So if your a/c is still charged or atleast has some in it, take it to the shop. They'll either take it for free or maybe even pay you for it. Then you can retrofit and recharge at home for cheap.

Awesome! I was thinking of rebuilding my compressor too. Been un-hooked for a while. I forgot to cover those holes so I think they're a little dirty.

One of the holes has a valve thing inside it so you might just need to get a little vacuum suction in that mutha.

[NotDave]

just a reminder for those who need to piece their a/c together. they are not as interchangeable as you would think.

when i was piecing my a/c parts together i got parts from different years and they didnt fit together.

95-96s are different than 97-98s. i was buying parts off of the forums and craigslist and now i have a left over condenser and evaporator from a 97-98 cause they didnt fit. my car was a 96.

[slyedog240sx]

i did not see this mentioned.You need to put a pag or ester oil in the lines, (or compressor if off the vehicle).Even if you retrofit the new oil must be put in before the refrigerant charge.If you don't the a/c will soon lock up.Also beware that using cheap a.z. refrigerants with the oil and seal conditioners in it will not cool to near what pure r134a will.At my store we sell dupont that meets certain purity standards.My 93 is a 134a car and i evacuated the system and recharged with the dupont after i put in 4oz pag 100 and i cool at around 40 sitting and 36 on the highway.Also use a gauge manifold for the lo side when retrofitting to ensure you don't overcharge.And r12 cars only use 80% capacity when retrofitting to r134a.

[moss13]

good write- up Anybody want to buy a compressor?

[ADF932]

Quick Question. I wanted to know through which valve i recharge my A/C? Theres two of them i'm not so sure which one though. I just finished rebuilding my A/C and put in a newish condensor.

[LegacyOfPhoenix]

nice job

[wa-chiss]

Quick Question. I wanted to know through which valve i recharge my A/C? Theres two of them i'm not so sure which one though. I just finished rebuilding my A/C and put in a newish condensor.

If you have an r134A system then the hose in the charge "kit" you would get will only fit 1 of the 2 fittings. If it's an R-12, then you charge on the port on the line that goes from your compressor to the condensor.(the condensor is the radiator looking peice in front of your accual radiator.

[ADF932]

Thanks for the help. I still got a R-12 system going on i'm thinking of getting a Retrofit kit. I just wasnt too sure which valve i was to recharge. This thread has been a help to me since i just rebuit the compressor and just put in a condensor. For some strange reason my car never came with the condensor.

[desiman76]

have you found a reliable source for the seals. And by the way, what is the size...ie the inside diameter, outside diameter and witdh. It my be possibe to get an equivalent.

Thanks...

[battleroyale]

what did you use to pry the clutch off of the pulley

flat head screw driver?

+1 useful write up

[wa-chiss]

32.5mm inside diameter18mm inside diameter8mm thick

said right on the seal. I thought that was kinda cool.

[wa-chiss]

what did you use to pry the clutch off of the pulley

flat head screw driver?

+1 useful write up

Yup. It wasn't all that hard. You'll see it start to pull away from the comressor. When you see that, put the screwdriver down and just pull as you wiggle the clutch. It should slip right off.

[comablack783]

Nice Write up +1

So the main seal is hard to find? hmmm. Also, I just recently had new lines installed and the system charged, but its making a TAPPING noise. kinda like the clutch was engaging and disengaging very fast, TAP TAP TAP TAP, sometimes it goes away, sometimes it doesnt . sometimes the pulley/clutch wont spin and I can hear the belt slipping around it. Is that the clutch dieing? or the compressor dieing?

[wa-chiss]

yeah, the seals are being a pita to locate. By the discription, it does sound like the clutch is clicking on/off. You could either have low freon, a bad sensor, or something wrong w/ your compressor (which could be many a things)

[lenso]

can the pictures be reposted?

[Andrew28]

I second that i think there should be a repost of those picture. Plz.

[ArcherV20]

I have a bit of down time before my car comes out of the shop...I'd like to give this a shot. Would love to see those pics reposted -- need a host? I have a few servers I run .

[98s14inaz]

so 'rebuilding' a compressor is just replacing the seals?

mine barely works and makes lots of noises (not from the belt)

how can you tell if its a mechanical failure?

If it is making noise it might be your clutch pulley on the compressor. This write up appears to be for people who have clutch pulleys that still work right.

+1 for a good write up

[TRBOMOFO]

where did the pics go??

[wa-chiss]

wow. Back from the dead thread. I took the pics off my photobucket acount. Give me a few minutes and I'll have them back.

[dickie]

actually, i will rehost them on iServe with the rest of the new pics.

wait, i think that has already been done. Check out 240sxtech.com and the article should be there, too.

http://www.nicoclub.com/articles.php?id=267231

[wa-chiss]

I was going to say go to the tech section. But I decided to go ahead and re-upload the pics for the search impaired. Thats the 2nd tech article I have in the tech section. I need a new one. d!ck, have you seen my MSD install yet?

[dickie]

is it not there already?

[wa-chiss]

negatory

[busup240]

Did you ever find the seal?

[wa-chiss]

Did you ever find the seal?

Yeah, it came in the new compressor. I asked if they had one they would sell to me and they said "No!". I asked "then how can you change them when you remanufacture the compressors if you don't have any?". "Well, we have them. We just can't sell them seperate." So, I just bought a reman'd compressor. I'm not too pissed cause now I have a "new" one vs having my old one still. I'm sure if I had searched hard enough I would have found one.