replacing AC compressor

[sapien]

a couple hot/humid days lately and my AC compressor clutch seems to be falling apart, it's making a terrible metallic grinding/dragging noise and no longer engaging, it even gave off a puff of smoke and got REAL hot...

seeing as it has 120K miles on it I'm going to replace the whole compressor. got a great deal on a reman on EBay

swapping out the compressor seems easy enough, but what about evacuating & recharging the refrigerant? is that something I can do myself, or does it need to be done professionally? reading the service manual now... any DIY tips appreciated!

[Gman]

Gus, here goes, Jeff's Factory A/C 101

This is on your '94 right ?? then it uses R134 (cause the '93 uses R12). Different compressors... and then a full design change came in '95... But I digress...

Rule of thumb is... just let the freon out slowly so it won't freeze anything... like your fingers...go ahead and loosen the connections then remove the mounting bolts... do this also with the dryer (on the other end of the condenser... passenger side) because it is a must to always replace them together...

Another reason for going slow with the discharge is to keep from blowing debris collected in the dryer into the lines...if you loose no oil... then you add a bit anyway... but if you loose an ounce or two then you'll have to guess so as to have a little more than you started out with...

Duct tape over all openings until connected...

A vacuum must be pulled (and held) until your sure there are no leaks...and then you release the freon and hope pressure builds enough to kick the compressor on... Whew !! No wonder I have an A/C man to do mine... He lets me do everything up until... guessing the oil... and then we use his equip. I'd better not brag , He's on Cancer Medication...

Jeff

[sapien]

yes, its the 94 with R134a (the 93 was sold to a friend, the R12 system on that one is still working like a champ, you can see your breath after a while)

I verified the compressor is the same type 10P08E, the only difference is in the o-rings used

as far as oil, the system takes a total of 3.4 oz but the manual says about 1.4 of that will be in circulation, so add 2.0 oz to a new compressor. also add another 0.3 oz if replacing the drier. since one has to guess, it's ok to end up with a little extra in there?

can you explain why it's important to replace the drier at the same time? it's only about $31, so I guess I can replace it if it makes sense to do so... sounds like I should be able to swap the parts myself (can't really drive it in its current state anyway), then have a shop with the right equipment properly evacuate & recharge it.

any other AC parts/fittings etc. I should think about replacing while I'm at it? thanks!

[Gman]

Gsapien,

I saw a compressor on Ebay last week (it went for 10.00) that was missing a clutch because the guy couldn't find just the clutch, so he replaced the whole... his description gave a part# then R134... I guess the older compressors could be the same # but not list the R134... So that's good to know...

Thanks also for the oil replacement specs. my A/C guy has his secrets too, you know, to make things seem more complicated...

The drier helps collect scale that builds up in the system...but apparently, it has only enough capacity of collecting moisture... for the original exposure to air... once its apart again you'd need another drier... however if you were to find a leak after replacing a drier; it maybe can be reused... under that circumstance...

Gus, is the $31 an aftermarket item like NAPA or Autozone ? cause I need 3 or 4 of them...

Jeff

[sapien]

ya my compressor says Denso 10P08E on the back, and below that another label says R134a... I would guess that type was used on most if not all the '94s

ah I see now the drier acts as a filter of sorts. $31 at Autozone, best price I've found so far.

also the clutch/coil by itself is $48, so I think the price on the unit I bought was very decent

do you think my old compressor might still be reusable if it just needs a clutch? I'll let you have it if you want it.

btw the oil is the PAG type and 3.4 oz = 100 ml
the R134a charge is 1.32 lb = 600 g

I could check the 93 specs if you needed them, I gave my friend the GM service manual to go along with it since I have another one for the 94.

[Gman]

Gus , thanks, I do have a clutch with about 68,000 miles on it... off a '93...

At some point I hope we can locate or rigg a low cost fan arrangement to replace factory ones that are starting to fail... the electric one in front of the condenser, that is...

I just bought an evaporator from a '96.. it looks like it will fit in the air box of my '90...

Another condenser and an electric fan and still a lot of $$$ and I'll have two more systems, for my '91 and '93 that didn't come w/air...

Jeff

[sapien]

I still have your email address so once I determine if it's really just the clutch, I'll send you a pic of the old compressor to see if it's worth salvaging

do you know the dimensions of the condenser fan? saw some universal ones in the JC Whitney and Summit Racing catalogs that push 400-500 cfm, but they run around $70-75 for a 8" or 9" one. there's 9"-10" ones on Ebay for $25 or less. and I'm sure one could be adapted/adopted from another vehicle if need be. you got me thinking, put a better fan on there, and it should improve the performance of the A/C!

from the looks of the circuit description in the service manual, the fan does not have its own temperature sensor, it's controlled by the A/C brain thru a relay.

I also see a new 89-93 Tracker condenser listed on EBay for $39
cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33602&item=7951789140&rd=1&ssPageName=WD1V

here's another one, doesn't say what years it fits
cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=46094&item=7979033562&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

[sapien]

apparently there are 3 viscosities of PAG oil. any idea which would be the right one? also the compressor comes with a bottle of ester oil but I don't know the difference; the manual says PAG oil so I'll get some at the autoparts store

[Gman]

The ideal fan would be smaller (in order to fit several Cars) while performing better than the original...

I am under the impression that the Sidekick 1.6 has few overheating problems, enginewise, though I've had 3 or 4 clutch fans (the mechanical one) to almost stop and affect cooling and the A/C's ability to produce the lower cooling temps... now (conversation directed) back to electric fans...

I'd say dealer price would be in the 300 to 600 dollar range cause they are high for other brands as well...

I have one that turns a little faster than the second hand on a clock... In a way, I hope it's not the fan at fault... I have extras of all other electrical...

That latter listing does not look right for Tracker/Sidekick... the brackets are all wrong...

I do know there was a major change in '95 to the compressor, lines and condenser .. though I' don't know what changed, if any, in '94 besides the R134 label

The type of oil used is another "mystery" my A/C man chose to keep as his secret...

Jeff

[sapien]

the o-rings for the fittings that go into the compressor, do you know if they're generic? I can't find a part# listing for them

[Gman]

I can't help you, I've used the old stuff over and got a good seal anyway... But on a Mazda... haven't removed lines from a Tracker/Sidekick compressor yet... but I'm getting closer...

Jeff

[sapien]

received the new (reman) compressor, looks good

found out the PAG oil needed is the low viscosity one (PAG 46), but ester oil will work too.

found a mechanic who will evacuate & recharge it for $60. going to the auto parts store tomorrow to pick up the dryer/accumulator and see if they have the right o-rings.

[sapien]

making progress... I got the old compressor out and the new one in. the manifold on top was a little different so I swapped 'em; otherwise the fittings don't match up. also the electrical connector is different. maybe because the same compressor is used on other vehicles... ah well, it was $200 cheaper than the autoparts store, and with a couple tweaks it'll still work.

tomorrow I'll finish it up with the new drier unit & belt and get it charged then the A/C should be back in business

[Gman]

We are here... I'm glad to know about the oil... and that the manifolds differ...

My question is... Why did my Autozone (the Manager) price the accumulator (receiver/drier) for $57.00 (for both my '96 and my '93, though the part#'s were different) which... with tax would be double your $31.00 price... He suggested that I ask you for a part # so he could compare... and try to figure it out...

I need 4 or more of them... one at a time as I can afford the labor & R134...

Jeff

[sapien]

been on vacation this past week, but I did get the parts installed, including splicing the electrical connector on the compressor.

bad news on the drier/accumulator price -- the part # listed for the '94 was wrong! there are two versions of the drier -- #33237 ($31) which should fit the R12 models thru '93; and #33592 ($54) which is listed for the '95, but apparently is the same one needed for a '94 with R134a. I initially bought the 1st one, which was erroneously listed by both autoparts stores in my neighborhood. but the ports on it are too small for the two fittings that go into it, so I had to return it. here are the visual differences between the two; note that the 2nd one (33592) has a raised triangular area on top, just like the stock one did on mine:



another problem I had was that the service manual spec of 26 lb-ft for the two fitting bolts on the top of the drier is WAY TOO MUCH. I'm guessing the replacement part is made of a softer aluminum, and with that much torque, the threads in the bolt holes stripped out! I replaced the original metric bolts with 1/4" x 1" coarse-threaded bolts, which were just slightly wider and grabbed a lot better. used a lock washer and flat washer on each and torqued them to 12 lb-ft, which seems to be plenty to hold the fittings in place.

also I ended up using a 37" belt which is 1/2" longer than stock and a lot easier to install -- for some reason I had a hard time getting the new 36.5" belt on.

the hoopty is now driveable again (idles smoother too, since the parasitic drag of the bad clutch/pulley is gone) and I'm getting the system evacuated & recharged on Thursday.