Morning all!

I am currently running a 1999 Trans Am who's AC just decided to go out. I can juice it up with Freon, but it only lasts a couple hours. The leak is either from the compressor itself or from a line connection to it as the compressor has oil all over it!
Now, here is the down and dirty. I would hate to have to take it to a shop to have this work performed. At least, most the work performed. I am fairly comfortable turning a wrench and just replaced the slave on my tranny. What is the best way to approach this. First, my pockets are tapped from the slave swap so, that is why changing it myself is more attractive. Can I just go and swap in a new compressor and then have a shop run a vacuum through it and fill it? Or is this definitely a "don't touch it yourself" kind of thing?? I have read various stuff on here and other sites more or less pointing it to a professional shop (yeah, ok).
Pointers, tips, thoughts? I am on a trip right now with the wife and kids so I will have to throw more freon in the car before I leave (so I don't have to hear, "It's hot").
Thanks all!

 

To change it yourself is pretty simple. Make sure you get all the componets to do it. Most people wont warranty a new compressor without a new orfice or what ever being installed as well. But like you already said, once your done your best to take it to a shop and let them vacumn it down and refill it. I've had mine apart a group of times for different motor work but my Pops has a vacumn pump for a/c so it makes it more simple.

 

Thanks for the response! So it could be as easy as a swap out then a shop visit. Let me ask you, anything out of the ordinary I need to look out for (read: purchase); like o rings or seals or such?

 

When you buy the parts, you get all that you need. Its all pretty basic and straight forward.

 

You've got several things to look for when diagnosing a/c failures. One of which you've already done. Check for PAG Oil leaks, well done. Now that you've isolated the leak it's time to figure out why it's leaking. Our compressors are bolted to the block with 15mm hardware, it takes nothing extravagent to get them off. Buy a can of brake cleaner non-chlorinated and spray off the pag oil. Normally if the leak isn't obvious I'll take an air blower and pressurize the line through the schrader valve. You need to remove the pin obviously to do this, just like letting all the air out of a tire before you break the bead on a rim. If the leak is big enough you'll be able to hear where it's coming from. This is a cheap and economical way of doing things, especially since your refrigerant has already leaked into the atmosphere. If the leak isn't big enough to hear air coming through I'd move to plan B. Pull the hard lines off the metal hose going into the compressor. There should be O-Rings on each hardline, this is another thing to inspect and seems logical considering the source of the oil. If the O-Rings look the smallest bit torn or swollen replace them. They are #4 or #6 I can't remember but should be readily available at most hardware places. I come to these conclusions with the following in mind. If in fact your compressor had a leak it would leak internally past the reed valves. If you hooked a gaugeset up to it you would see the needles jumping with this condition, but it still wouldn't cause your refrigerant to leak out, so you might not even have to replace anything. Plan C which is what I normally do first just to save myself some time. If the leak is small enough to pull a vacuum on and leave it for say 30 minutes with little to no drop then a UV light with some Dye is going to be your best bet. This is where you need to take it to a shop. If the shop is competent the first thing they will do is hook a refrigerant machine up to it and pull a vacuum on the system. If the vacuum isn't immediatly bled off they'll inject the system with the dye and move on with the UV light to see exactly where it's coming from. System leaks can range from several dollars to the thousands depending on the complexity of the system and the source of the leak. I don't see what you've described being very expensive to fix. Good luck, PM me if you have any questions.