Sorta.... so I was driving home from church Sunday and rodding on my car a bit and heard a pop from underneath. It sounded like a bolt or something breaking which is initially what I thought it was because I had been tightening my right side header collector bolt the day before to try and alleviate an exhaust leak. I figured I had over tightened it and when I hit the gas it broke and went flying. That's what it sounded like, just a pop and then a ping of something metal hitting the bottom of the car. I stopped and walked the road but didn't see anything on it. Couldn't get a good look at the header bolts but there was smoke coming from that area. Car didn't seem to get louder or sound like it had a major exhaust leak though. Then the smoke stopped and after looking it over the best I could and it seeming to be running fine I carefully drove it the couple miles home watching the gauges. Got it jacked up and saw that the collector bolts looked fine. Then I noticed a liquid all over the bottom of the car. At first I thought it was oil, then noticed it had a bright green color and thought it was antifreeze, then I saw this.....


I looked online and from what I found the cost of going to a shop and getting the compressor replaced is like 700-1000 which seems ridiculous to me. I looked online and it appears to be a 200-300 dollar part... which sucks. My question is could I replace it myself and then bring it somewhere to have the system evacuated of moisture, air, and other contaminents, as well as filled with oil and refrigerant? Are there any other components that will need to be replaced? It's just sitting in the garage right now with a hole in the compressor. Also has anyone else seen anything like this or have any idea what would have caused it? Thanks

 

looks like something hit it to me. unless something came loose from your motor.


im sure a shop could recharge your system after you install a new compressor.

 

I don't think anything hit it because it happened when I was on a real nice clean, smooth road and didn't see, feel, or hear anything they would have indicated that. Unless of course something hit it awhile ago that caused it to crack or weake?n and it just now failed. I also don't think anything from the engine hit it since it is on the very bottom. So do you think the compressor is all I would need to replace? Or is there most likely contamination in the system now and other components need to be replaced? Or will the vacuum pump at the shop take care of all that? Also, I know they can recharge the system with refrigerant at the shop after the compressor is installed but what about the oil? Can they do that too? Do they normally add some with the refrigerant? Do I need to add some before taking it in? (Wouldn't think so as they have to hook up a vacuum pump which would suck it all back out anyways)

 

Damn. Was the a/c on when you heard the pop?

 

a shop will repair your AC as long as you pay.

 

Yes the AC was on when I heard it go. I know a shop will fix it. I was just wondering if I could do the install myself and just bring it in to get charged and filled with it oil to avoid paying 700-1000 bucks because it should be easy to install.

 

for the time being take off the AC belt so you dont break something else (maybe)


the compressor is easy to get off... two 15mm bolts on top and 2 15mm bolts on bottom and one 13mm bolt holding the lines on at the rear of the compressor


forgot to mention that most places you buy a compressor at (including my work) will only have a warranty if you get the orifice tube and receiver dryer at the same time ..

 

IMHO, get your self an ac compressor kit off of ebay, pretty cheap and they come with everything you need, new compressor, o'rings, orifice tube, oil charge, dryer too. YMMV

PS even the replacement ac delco compressors are made overseas now, so get the best deal going and be done with it. I did

 

So I just pulled the belt off of it and have been driving around with it like that. Not sure when I will fix it but I need to eventually especially with as humid as it has been lately. I see above someone mentioned that there are 4 15mm bolts that hold it on and then one 13mm bolt that holds the lines on the back. Is it really just 4 bolts securing the compressor? The reason I ask is I removed 3 15mm bolts from the top, and then 2 from the bottom, the only ones that I could see that could be holding the compressor on, and it was still on there rock solid, like it was still bolted solid to the block. Would it somehow be stuck on there?? I can't think of why it would be and didn't want to pry or anything and mess something up. I figured it wouldn't be on there solid though and if I removed the mounting bolts it would give me better access to the back. I searched and searched but could not find what else was holding it on and it was getting late on a work night so I put the bolts back in and said screw it for the time being. What am I missing?

 

yeah it just the 2 bolts on bottom and 2 bolts on top... as soon as I started to loosen the final bolt on mine it started to come off...

(you may have to give it a whack or two)

and yes the 13mm bolt on back is easier to get off when you can move the compressor forward and out.

 

my brand new compressor did that, i didnt not replace everything only the dryer. i also bought a used compressor because screw doing it twice lol and i did the work myself. not hard at all.