A/C compressor- Advice anyone?

[micker]

My 1990 supercab with 302 is needing a compressor. Was told 6 years ago that it had weak pressure and probabbly wouldn't last much longer. Had it recharged 3 years ago when block was changed. It was weak but working. Now it has slowly gotten weaker til about unnoticeable.

My question is : Is there anything else I need to do beside changing the compressor and dryer. It was changed to the new refridgerant when I bought it. I got the haynes book , but it is a bit short on this topic. Did you run into anything when you did it?

Thanks for the help!

[wafrederick]

I have a tip,do not get a reman or a new one and go with an used one.The new and reman ones are 100% junk and the warrenty sucks.The used ones hold up more betterBefore doing any thing get it discharged,R134A is expensive.The price of R134A has gone up because most of the manufacturers have sold it to the car makers only and quit selling it to the public.

[way2old]

We use new a/c compressors from local parts house on all our Ford products and have not had a real problem with them. I guess you could get a bad one. The dealers are not the only ones that can get R134a. it is readily avilable in parts houses. The only other thing I can think of would be the orifice/exoansion valve. Good luck

[wafrederick]

My father put on new ones and all of them failed right away.To cover them under warrenty,denied every time.My father has better luck with used ones than new ones.There are two manufacturers that sell R134A to the public.Some of the manufacterers sold to GM,Ford,Chrysler only.There are talks that R134A is going to be replaced with something else since the price went up.The nearest Sam's Club was out of R134A when the price of R134A went up right away.

[MT-2500]

New sounds good to me.
But what everway you go proper installation is the key.
Pump down and flush the system if needed and add right oil and right amount.
And the proper freon charge.
On a change over cut the 134A freon charge by 10-15 %
Here is a link that knows air cond systems and also has parts.
http://www.autoacforum.com/
Good luck MT

[unclebubbles]

The biggest cause of replacement compressor failure, is trash and debris in the system from the failed compressor. I use alot of remans from various rebuilders, with only a few defects in 10 years or so. Stay away from Four seasons brand, they have a high failure rate due to poor workmanship. Ive got fresh ones out of the box, that had trash and metal shavings in the ports. Inspect it at the store, and if it aint clean enough to eat off of in the ports, dont take it. Flush the individual components of the system, and blow all the solvent out , from both directions. Filter the solvent, and keep flushing till you quit getting trash. Replace the accumulator, orifice tube, all the orings, and put the correct amount of oil in each component. The compressor should come with instructions, put the oil in it and spin it on the workbench. Divide the rest of the oil with the other components. Dont install the accumulator till you`re through flushing. Bolt everything together, and pull a vacum on it for 24 hrs. this will remove any remaining solvent and moisture. I always install a filter on the suction line, some rebuilders require this for warranty. Sounds like alot of trouble, but having to redo it and buying another compressor aint fun. They wont warranty it if it has trash in it. Good luck.
Later
Ed