Replace AC Compressor (95 Legacy)

So when I bought my 1995 Legacy earlier this month, the seller mentioned that the AC didn't blow cold, he removed the belt and that "somewhere down the road" the compressor might need to be replaced.

 

Took my car to the mechanic today to check out if it just needed to be recharged or if it did indeed need a new compressor. I got a call 2 hours later stating that the compressor locked up and would need to be replaced to get the AC working. The orifice tube would need to be replaced too if I wanted the warranty on the compressor. He didn't check any further in the AC system to see if anything else needed to be fixed because at that point his quote was $1400. As he was explaining the situation he mentioned that even after replacing it there could be contaminates throughout the whole system (because the compressor locked up) that could cause,or already have caused, additional problems. He gave me his diagnosis on the house since he didn't even have the belt put back on.

 

My question is, would it be worth it to buy a cheap, used compressor and try to put it in myself (I think I could find one around $200)? How hard is a swap? My girlfriend's father used to be a car mechanic before working as a plane tech in the Air Force and he could probably help. If I go ahead and fix it, are these "contaminates" really something to be worried about?

Swapping on a new AC compressor is really easy. You just have to remove the belts and unbolt it.

 

However, if you are replacing the compressor also replace the drier receiver. It is a cheap part, about $30.

 

On top of that, it is a good idea once the components are removed, to flush out the lines with compressed air. When a compressor goes out it can contaminate the lines with metal shavings which will destroy a new compressor really quick which is why you also want to replace the drier receiver.

 

You can take a chance on a junkyard compressor, they are only about $40 out here, or a reman. When I swapped in a new compressor I was fortunate to find a new one in the box on ebay for about $160 instead of the $700-800 price other sources charge.

 

What you do is remove your broken compressor, and spin the clutch holding it in such a way that you are able to drain the oil out of it into a measuring cup. You want to put the same amount of PAG oil back in the new compressor. You can put about 1 oz of PAG oil in the drier receiver.

 

 

Then take it to a mechanic and have him/her pull a vacuum on the system unless you own a vacuum pump. If you want to charge it your self you can buy three cans or so of refridgerant but keep in mind the gauges on the cans are completely worthless so to get an accurate reading you would need to purchase some better gauges. I don't like messing with charging a system myself so I just leave that to a mechanic.

 

Edit: I forgot to mention that when you disconnect the lines to the compressor if there is any gas in the system it will vent into the atmosphere and spray oil on top of your engine. No one can prevent you from doing this but you may want to consider having the system discharged before you remove the compressor. If the system is fully charged you can loosen the bolts that hold the lines and let it slowly vent which may take 15 minutes or more.

Thanks for the quick response. Now that I know how easy it is I'm going to browse for a cheap compressor. As this is my first car, pretty much the extent of my car knowledge is flushing coolant, changing oil and ATF and cosmetic things so I have some questions:

 

I would need some sort of compressed air tool to flush the contaminates out of the system, correct? Where do I insert the compressed air tool and where do the metal shavings blow out? My Haynes manual doesn't touch upon this and I can't really find a satisfactory answer online.

 

Flushing the contaminates is different than evacuating the system, correct? Is the discharge/vacuum usually included in the AC charge fee

The vacuum/dishcharge is included in the AC charge fee. At least it is where I have gone.

 

It's not dangerous to discharge the system yourself as long as you just barely loosen the bolts that connect the lines to the compressor. It will be pretty loud if the system is charged and it might scare you as the initial pressure is released. But if you are going to go to a mechanic anyway to charge it you can ask them to discharge it for you.

 

And if they are going to discharge it for you anyway that should remove the contaminants from the system. The compressed air method is only needed if you discharge it your self. Personally when I replaced my compressor I didn't blow air through the system but others recommend it. It requires an air compressor of course, and just the simple air nozzle attachment readily available at Lowes or Home Depot.

 

If you discharge the system your self place a rag underneath where you loosen up the lines to the compressor.

 

When I replaced my compressor I had the local Subaru dealership charge it for me. I dropped the car off and they called me back asking if I still had the old compressor so they could measure how much oil was in the old one so I had to dig it out of the trash and take it down there. Then they had to remove the compressor that I had just installed to fill it with the oil, lol. But they didn't charge me for that labor.

 

I was quoted $1400 or so as well for a complete replacement. I ended up finding the compressor for $160, the drier was $30, and the discharge/evac + recharge was about $180. So I saved quite a bit of money.

 

The reason I didn't use a used or reman compressor is the remans can fail earlier than a new one, and you never know how long a junkyard one will last. I had already paid to have the system charged and converted from the old freon type (you won't have to do this as you have a newer system) the previous fall and the compressor failed two weeks later. So I figured it was worth it to spend a little extra money to make sure I didn't have to do it again anytime soon.

 

USliberty on this forum just buys a junkyard compressor and uses that till it fails after a year or two but he also has a vacuum pump and proper gauges. Then he just charges it up with cans.

I'll probably see if I can take it to the mechanic, get it discharged and pay ahead for the return trip to get it charged. I'm hoping that would be acceptable because that gets rid of some of the tedious work. I found some remans on ebay that are going for about $150-$200 from guys with close to perfect feedback out of thousands of reviews. I think I'll try that approach. Haven't seen any really low priced new ones, you must've gotten lucky haha. Thanks for your help. I'll keep you updated on any progress.

The compressed air method is only needed if you discharge it your self. Personally when I replaced my compressor I didn't blow air through the system but others recommend it. It requires an air compressor of course, and just the simple air nozzle attachment readily available at Lowes or Home Depot.

 

you really should get the system expressed when you change the compressor, before you put the new compressor in. if it is an older system that has been leaking for a while, its not a bad idea to put some denatured alcohol in the system and flush it out as well, black death will ruin the new compressor, as well as make the cooling less effective. and make sure you dry out the system completely before putting the new compressor and dryer in.