Need Truck AC help

The Buddha · September 23, 2006, 10:02:37 AM

OK Evidently my truck has a bad AC compressor.
I can buy it off ebay for like $175. How to replace it

too hard ... I know I have to fill it afterward. Its a 97 F150.
Cool.
Srinath.

NiceGuysFinishLast · September 23, 2006, 10:22:17 AM

I think you have to have a shop do any AC work, since the whole system is under pressure, and it's a federal offense to release freon or r-134a into the atmosphere. Just my thought though, I'm probably wrong.

The Buddha · September 23, 2006, 10:39:07 AM

OK I am a moron. I should post in for sale section ... yea ...
BTW there aint no refrigerant, its all gone. I wanna do it myself, cos retail on the damn compressor is 525 and they want 640 total to swap it. I can ebay it for 175 and they may not want to do the swap. Essentially I save 1/2 or close to 300+
Cool.
Srinath.

ashman · September 23, 2006, 02:29:03 PM

I dont know if this will help with your situation any or not but here it is... My Accords A/C went out because the fan that kicks in to help cool down the freon shattered into a million pieces. So the temp of the freon rose so did the pressure in the system enough to the point where the, I guess its an high pressure blow off valve of sorts, well it blew. So my system had no freon left. I replaced the fan and bought a cheap freon refilling kit from walmart and recharged it 15 min. later it was blowing cold. Its been working just fine for a couple months now. G'luck!

-ash

Jughead · September 23, 2006, 04:29:34 PM

Srinath before you spring for a New Compressor make sure it is set up for 134.If not go to your local Auto zoe and buy the retro fit Kit with the 134 Seals,Oil,Valves ETC.then buy the do it yourself Hose and a few Cans of the 134 Gas and the Sealer.YOU do not have to have License to buy the 134.If it is set up for R134 jst get the Sealer,Oil and Gas with the 134 Hose.The reason the Compressor isn't Kicking in is because it is either Low on Gas or out.More than Likely you may have to pull a Vaccum on the System to Evacuate all of the Air and Moisture out BUT Northern Tools or Harbor Freight will have the El Cheapo little Pumps to pull the Vaccum for around $10-20.
I'm not A/C Tech but I did stay at the Holiday Inn last night.

Just kidding I did work in Residential Heating and Air for a While and My Cousin Used to be a Certified Mechanic so I picked up enough to know what goes Wrong to cause something Else to Quit Working.

The Buddha · September 24, 2006, 09:33:48 AM

The dude is pretty certain the compressor has a leak. However I know its out of freon. It all leaked out. Someone said the evaporator was bad and we replaced that. But we still have no AC. Its still leaking.
Cool.
Srinath.

starwalt · September 24, 2006, 02:21:18 PM

You've got to pump the system down with a vac pump...no you can't use your vacuum cleaner. It's not brain surgery, but some special gear is needed. Do some googling on auto A/C repair. It can't hurt.

You also need to know the path for the entire system. If the leak is in your dash, thats a bummer. The shops squirt some black light fluoroscent oil into the system to determine where the leak is.

Dig out your black light from the 70's and you'll be able to track it down.

The Buddha · September 24, 2006, 06:01:16 PM

One shop said it was the evaporator whihc is in the dash, another guy on my insistence pulled the dash apart and gave up. Then an AC shop pulled it apart and found that the evaporator while was leaking ... he wasn't sure it was the problem. The AC worked for a few days and the control knob quit. Then when the shop looked at it, said they dont know why the knob quit and they'll fix it, and BTW they also left the radio/Tape palyer un connected ... and they now say there is a leak in the compressor. So I got no clue ... but I will have someone else diagnose it I guess ... then take it to someone else, those guys are a bunch of monkeys. if it comes down to it, I'll try to replace it myself.
Cool.
Srinath.

natedawg120 · September 25, 2006, 07:26:19 AM

try the oil/sealant/refigerant refill. On really slow leaks that works pretty good. A 97 will use R134a and it can be had at any auto parts store but you will also want gauges to see what the pressure is before adding more, wouldn't want to blow something. When completly empty normally you have to pull a vaccume, Check a book for the vaccume as my memory is foggy. A vaccume compressor can be made out of an old refigerator compressor, Krimp the outbound side and clamp a pressure hose on the inbound side. normally when the system has lost pressure you should replace the accumulator and o-rings with it, but when broke i have done without. If any moisture has gotten in the system then you have to replace the accumulator. anytime the system is opened a vaccume has to be pulled, compressor or any part replaced vaccume, Fill from the low pressure side untill about 40-50psi on a hot day, you can eyeball it and you should stop putting in refigerant when the larger metal tube, low, is cold and sweaty. Don't touch the high side it will be hot. Slow leaks can also be caused by o-rings and you could be told that something more expensive is the cause - AKA - AWAYS ASK FOR YOUR OLD PARTS BACK OR ASK TO SEE THE OLD PARTS BEFORE TRASHING. i have seen many many people get raped by shops with any a/c work that way

The Buddha · September 29, 2006, 05:00:23 AM

OK The shop said (and not that I trust them when they say it needs this or that but they said the opposite) the accumulator on these never go, and heck the evaporator doesn't go either, and I had been hit mith a misdiagnosis before we went in ... but anyway, he insists that we change the compressor and fill it (not sure about pulling vacuum maybe its included in the filling part) and it should work.
I'll let y'all know.
Cool.
Srinath.

natedawg120 · September 29, 2006, 05:44:30 AM

Quote from: seshadri_srinath on September 29, 2006, 05:00:23 AM
OK The shop said (and not that I trust them when they say it needs this or that but they said the opposite) the accumulator on these never go, and heck the evaporator doesn't go either, and I had been hit mith a misdiagnosis before we went in ... but anyway, he insists that we change the compressor and fill it (not sure about pulling vacuum maybe its included in the filling part) and it should work.
I'll let y'all know.
Cool.
Srinath.

For the most part that is right, unles the system is overcharged and it cracks on of those. But yeah when they say change the compressor and refill they are including the pulling the vacume to get it started. If they aren't then you will have a hell of a lot of moisture in the system and that is bad. Good luck man and I hope it gets fixed and stays that way.

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Need Truck AC help