blackbyrd

iTrader: (14)

of course when it gets hot teh a/c goes out right?

In my 06 GTO, the other day I noticed with the A/c on there was an audible click/whir only when the A/c was on. it almost sounds like something is in the blower motor but it goes away as soon as the A/c button is off and the fan still blowing air so im thinking it may be the compressor clutch trying to engage. Ive not done a pressure check on the system as I dont believe that to be the issue since I can hear a noise.

I guess my question is if the refrigerant is low will the compressor make a noise , or if its the clutch is there a repair or do I need to replace the compressor?

SoFla01SSLookinstok

It could really be either. If it's only the clutch I'm pretty sure they sell clutch replacement kits. Now with the refrigerant being low, a leak in system, this also means the lubricant in the system is probably low also. The compressor may have gotten damaged because of this.

blackbyrd

iTrader: (14)

Im gonna dig into it this weekend, noticed yesterday the noise I described I cant hear outside the car, granted I have longtubes and no cats. I would think the sound would be more audible outside the car. i did check to see if the belt didnt get thrown off but I didnt check the tension it may need belts I have not done them but I bought the car with 54k on the clock and they look fine so I assumed they were replaced. It seems to be an all of the sudden change rather than a gradual one.

SoFla01SSLookinstok

Cool. Good luck man. Post what you find.

blackbyrd

iTrader: (14)

clutch is engaging and pulley spins freely when the car is off, until it builds pressure. I swapped out the relay just to be sure but no change. Clicking/whirl noise is definitely inside the car, cant hear it at all outside with the A/C on and the hood up. Gonna pull the fuse to see if I can reset the the system, and if that doesnt work Ill be checking pressures. Guess I could hook up my HPtuner scan tool and see the pressure's without hooking up gauges.

blackbyrd

iTrader: (14)

swapped the fuse and the air got cool for a little bit, but not cold. The next time i started the car it was back to blowing warm air. Pulled the fuse again and it got sort of cool but shortly after started blowing warm air again.

SoFla01SSLookinstok

To me it is sounding like a worn out compressor(noise). Keep at it. With a correct charge it may still do its duties. Probably won't quiet down much.

blackbyrd

iTrader: (14)

I would think that would be more audible outside the car though? Not that I'm certain thats not the problem, that just makes more sense for some reason. Ill be finding out soon enough I picked up my gauges so ill get to work on it either tonight or tomorrow and ill report my findings.

Also another thought, any idea where the condensation drain is on a GTO it may be obstructed?

blackbyrd

iTrader: (14)

Wasn't able to start it since ethe kid was asleep, but hooked up.the gauges and I was a bit shocked to see both sides at 100psi with e gone off. Car had been setting for a couple of hours and cooled off but wasn't entirely room temp. Curious to see what it reads when the engine is running

blackbyrd

iTrader: (14)

Backed out of the garage abd started it got it up to operating temp and kicked the ac in and measured
Lowside is bouncing between 65-70 and the high side was at 125. I was really expecting to see high pressure and expecting a stuck expansion valve. Then again I suppose it could be partially stuck open.

RockinWs6

expansion valve? good luck finding one of those on your car..............

blackbyrd

iTrader: (14)

It's right up against the fire wall on a GTO

RockinWs6

Dayum I see, expensive too. Looks like your compressor is toasted from what you posted above. I didn't look into the details of how your compressor works but some of these newer compressors run all the time and have a built in unloading system. If that valve system doesn't work properly you end up with cooling problems. Might be something to check out.

blackbyrd

iTrader: (14)

I found some on the evilbay that are under $20 so that's not too bad. Aslong as the compressor isn't tanked....
I have a shop I trust so I'll probably take it to them. To me the next step would be to drain it and see how much refrigerant is in it. I don't have the means to do that

blackbyrd

iTrader: (14)

SoFla you called it compressor crapped out, I took it to a shop I trust since I got to a point where I couldnt take it further. You know its never good when they call and say how bad do you want to fix it.....

He admitted his source is super proud of the parts required for the fix so he told me what I needed if I want to hunt them down myself...the bill was gonna have 1350 in parts on. Included new compressor, dryer, condensor coil, and expansion valve. I can get that stuff on rock auto for 1/3 of that! If I went to the fleabay I could get even cheaper but at a point is that worth it?

anybody want to chime in on this, cause I dont think I can justify OE part costs on this

SoFla01SSLookinstok

As you know I can't really diagnose the system. I just try to help, give, a little info from experience. I never "tell" anyone what the real problem is because I could be wrong & I never want someone doing something just because of "what I think".

Anyway. I was going to state that an A/C machine is the pinnacle of A/C repair but I didn't know if you were just going to repair all yourself. Didn't want to start telling you what to do.

If it's a guy you trust he probably put it on the machine & saw bad things with pressures so the compressor usually. Always good to replace drier if a leak in system or replacing compressor/parts. OEM parts are the best for A/C parts but not needed of coarse. Lots of better price stuff out there. Now the compressor, expansion valve, & dryer sounds right. Also wanting to replace the condenser? The only reason I would replace one is if damaged/leak. That can sometimes be repaired custom. If he's thinking compressor material in condenser? I've taken them out & just flushed them out to clean instead of replace. But takes more time that tech/mechanics usually don't have a lot of. Maybe better to just replace it on what the problem really is.

Again, I never like to tell anyone "what" to do. Just give a little insight.

blackbyrd

iTrader: (14)

in my search I actually stumbled upon a thread that described the machine (built in weather station for barometric pressure accuracy) I actually work in a lab environment so reading that made total sense to me. I dont think I would ever do a dose charge cause without knowing the weight of whats in the system it would be really easy to do it wrong. Admittedly I know little about A/c though I learned a lot in the research process. Like pressure readings arent an accurate picture of an issue without knowing humidity and temperature accurately (of the actual lines). He said on his machine that the pressures were equal with the compressor running so it was done. When he pulled the freon he said i was .1 pounds off from spec. I used to work with the guy that owns this shop when I got out of college so when it comes to something I cant do or dont have time for it goes to him. On the condensor he said the OE was hard to flush by its design.

If the system had been pulled Id probably install everything myself and take it back to be checked and recharged, but since its not I think im just gonna bite the bullet and know that its done right. GTO isnt actually that bad to work on in the engine bay, I actually think other than the belt I could do all the work from the top. Parts are on the way I cheaped out, its gonna cut the cost of the repair in half and I just couldnt justify that to go OE, everything has a lifetime on it so thats how im justifying it.

SoFla01SSLookinstok

Sounds good man. That A/C is gonna be cold!

blackbyrd

iTrader: (14)

It's been 85 most of the week here so I'm looking forward to that