New or Reconditioned?

[mccoady]

My ac compressor went out on my 1990 Buick Lesabre so now I need to replace it. I plan on keeping this car several more years as it was my mother-in-law's and it has less than 60,000 miles. I have two local auto parts stores and one says to buy a new one and not a reconditioned one as they have had some trouble with the latter. The other auto parts store say a reconditioned one is fine and that they've had good luck with them. I believe both stores are selling Four Seasons ac compressors, both new and reconditioned come with 2 year warranties. So should I buy a new or reconditioned compressor?

[MT-2500]

Originally Posted by mccoady

My ac compressor went out on my 1990 Buick Lesabre so now I need to replace it. I plan on keeping this car several more years as it was my mother-in-law's and it has less than 60,000 miles. I have two local auto parts stores and one says to buy a new one and not a reconditioned one as they have had some trouble with the latter. The other auto parts store say a reconditioned one is fine and that they've had good luck with them. I believe both stores are selling Four Seasons ac compressors, both new and reconditioned come with 2 year warranties. So should I buy a new or reconditioned compressor?

Most of the 4 season stuff is junk.
Even my parts place is complaining about them and they sell them.
New or a known good used one.

Here is a link that has some good brand rebuilts.
http://www.autoacforum.com/
Make sure you flush the system and replace dryer and check expansion tube.
When a compresser blows it usually leaves a lot of crap in system.
Is it a R-12 or has it already been changed over?
Here is some stuff you will need to do it right.
http://www.ackits.com/merchant2/merc...uct_Code=66773

http://www.ackits.com/merchant2/merc...e=DIY-STARTER1

http://www.ackits.com/merchant2/merc...ode=DIYADVANCE
And do not use any of that stop leak sealer crap in them recharge death kits from wal mart and other places.
MT

[mccoady]

Okay I know very little about cars but the guy who will be replacing the compressor was a former mechanic and has all the tools to do the job. Since he doesn't have a regular business I'm responsible for getting the parts. He gave me this parts list:

1. A/C Accumulator
2. A/C Orifice Tube
3. A/C Oil
4. A/C Flush Solvent
5. A/C Compressor

I went to the autoacforum link but where do I find the good brand rebuilts? Would one of them be the ACKits that sell Seltec compressors?

When you buy a reconditioned compressor do you need a Accumulator and Orifice tube that fits that particular brand or are they standard?

My biggest obstacle is I need to be able to buy a compressor (and all the other parts I need) and have it sometime next week to be put in.

I guess you must think that whatever I buy is going to be better than the Four Seasons new or reconditioned?

[mcqueary]

I have never used the Seltec compressor but the fact that it's on that very reputable AC forum speaks highly of it. The O-tube and accumulator do not mount directly in the compressor so any brand compressor will work with any 0-tube and accumulator. Just make sure everything matches your year and model. Make sure the oil you buy is correct for the refrigerant you have - probably either the original R12 refrigerant or if your system has been converted probably R134 refrigerant. Your shopping list does not include refrigerant so I assume you will be reusing your old refrigerant or your mechanic is supplying it.

Buying on line may not be an option if you need parts quickly. I have also learned to avoid the chain stores when buying compressors, especially used ones. The last compressor I bought was from a local wholesale AC parts supplier in Fort Worth. You might want to check your local yellow pages for a similar type business. I got a new HR6 compressor (Vallco brand I believe) for a 95 Lesabre for $245 + tax. The accumulator was $28, o-tube was $1.00, flush was $9.00, PAG oil was $6.00 (for R134), and R134 was selling for $10.00 a can (June, 2005) and I needed 3+ cans. R12 is much more expensive than R134.

Tom

[spinne1]

I have done TONS of research into air conditioning, and in particular for my cars (two 92 Lesabres and a 87 Olds Delta 88). I recently rebuilt the engine in one of my Lesabres and also completely redid the AC system at the same time using 134a. I found a few things that were helpful (these directions are for my 92--some steps won't apply directly, such as the relay stuff--adjust to the wiring on your car to accomplish the same thing):

1. There is a good chance that your evaporator either leaks or is clogged or dirty at the fins and therefore really needs to be taken out and inspected, cleaned, and flushed if you REALLY want to do the job right. (but yes it is a pain in the butt--but in my case I did not have to remove anything under the dash--just the black metal piece covering the evaporator, and it came right out)(I found a dead mouse and a mouse nest covering 1/4 of the fin area where the blower motor air flows in mine).

2. But lets assume that your evaporator is okay. You need to find your leaks while the system is charged with freon. Using an electronic leak tester is the easiest way. (I got mine on ebay for about $100). If you have leaks (and on a 92 you almost certainly will), then you must find them and fix them.

3. All o-rings must be replaced with the green ones, and all fittings must be coated with Nylog when putting it back together.

4. For best results, flush the condensor, evaporator, and the tubing (all which disconnected from each other and with the orifice tube out of the system).

5. Use the thickest o-ring that will comfortably fit (I made the mistake the first time of using too thin of o-rings for the fittings by the flying-saucer looking filter, which has a fitting on both the top and bottom of it--after I was done I developed a massive leak at those fittings and had to redo them both with new o-rings, a new vacuum pump job, and new freon.)

6. The only parts you HAVE to replace are the accumulator and the orifice tube. All other parts should be inspected, flushed, etc. but not necessarily replaced.

7. They say not to flush the lines that have a muffler (the silver thing attached to the tubing near the compressor). However, I have found that flushing the tubing that has a muffler with dry compressed air is okay and you simply need to give the whole system a good long vacuuming later to get rid of any air and moisture you introduced by using the compressed air.

8. I bought and highly recommend the Seltec compressors sold at ackits.com. I am very happy with the performance of the compressor. My system is not as good as a factory 134a system, but that is because of the old condensor I am using. If I were to have replaced the condensor with a parallel flow condensor, then I would have had better performance. My car will blow vent air at about 60 degrees at idle on a 90+ degree day, then get down to around 42-44 degrees when cruising down the road at 40-70 mph. It is cool enough for me.

9. If you do buy a Seltec, you also need to buy two different size sealing washers to go between the manifold (tubing) and the compressor (ackits.com sells a sealing washer kit--simply buy that). The seal will not look snug but will be when it is screwed all the way down (the metal on the outside of the tubing will not fully meet the metal of the compressor where they screw together but it is okay because there is metal further in that does meet--but it can be disconcerting at first)

10. Once the system is fully reassembled, you MUST use a vacuum pump to suck out the air and moisture for several hours (I recommend four hours at least if you use compressed air to flush. Keep in mind that a professional will have better equipment and will be able to read the microns such that they will know when the vacuuming is done. Without such a tool, you will not know so the longer you suck, the better). You cannot use a Harbor Freight $10 one, but need an electric one. You can "borrow" them from many Auto Zones (buy it and get all your money back when you return it--it is the way their tool program works).

11. It will take about 4 cans of 134a to fully charge the system. Keep charging until the intake and outtake pipes of the evaporator are close to the same temperature.

12. To speed up the initial charging, jump the compressor. How? The leftmost relay in the relay row near the fuses under the hood controls the compressor. Stick a small screwdriver under the relay and push down to move the metal blocking the relay from coming forward, then pull the relay forward. When the relay is out, pull the relay from the wire harness and grab a paper clip or jumper wire and jump the bottom wire with the top wire of the wire harness to activate the compressor clutch. Watch your gauges and don't let the high side pressure get above 400. When it does, pull the jumper off and let it go back down. Keep repeating this process and eventually the pressure will stabilize closer to 200-250.

13. Also when charging, get a hot pan or container of water to put the 134a can into while charging to speed up the charging process.

It is not easy to do the job right, but you will save a ton of money versus going to a garage and saying, "fix my ac system."

[MT-2500]

Originally Posted by mccoady

Okay I know very little about cars but the guy who will be replacing the compressor was a former mechanic and has all the tools to do the job. Since he doesn't have a regular business I'm responsible for getting the parts. He gave me this parts list:

1. A/C Accumulator
2. A/C Orifice Tube
3. A/C Oil
4. A/C Flush Solvent
5. A/C Compressor

I went to the autoacforum link but where do I find the good brand rebuilts? Would one of them be the ACKits that sell Seltec compressors?

When you buy a reconditioned compressor do you need a Accumulator and Orifice tube that fits that particular brand or are they standard?

My biggest obstacle is I need to be able to buy a compressor (and all the other parts I need) and have it sometime next week to be put in.

I guess you must think that whatever I buy is going to be better than the Four Seasons new or reconditioned?

Four seasons and murry do not have a good tract record.
New compresser would be the best choice.
The ac kits.com can help you if you need a new or rebuilt compresser from them.
But you will have a wait for the shipping. depending on where you are at.
1-2-3 days.
Good Luck
MT