its 110 degrees outside, and my ac compressor crapped out...

[ALTERED4]

so, if i cannot fix it, the accord may be on its way to the junker... 3 years ago, i paid almost 1200 dollars for similar ac work done to my prelude... im not going to fork over that much money on a car that is not worth over 1500 dollars...

anyone done this kind of work on their car? i figure a rebuilt compressor cannot be that expensive, 300 dollars at most, i imagine...

i cant drive the accord around without ac, i commute about 100 miles a day, many times i have a toddler and/or infant twins in the backseat...

btw the haynes manual is pretty much worthless...

[Mac]

Are you sure your compressor is bad? It could just be a leak. Any way if you are going to change compressor you will need to go to a shop to have the freon removed from system first.

[88accordlxcarb]

When you turn the switch to AC does air come out at the same temp as outside air?

Our compressors have a low-pressure cut off switch. When the coolant inside the tubes escapes and the compressor will shut off.

You might have a freon leak. I would recommend taking your car to the shop and telling them to run a vacuum on the system. It should not cost much, and it would tell you if you had a leak. If you do, you can buy the hose(hopefully its just a hose) from NAPA or where ever and then just go get the system recharged.

[ACCORD EX]

does the clucth enagage !? check the how to 's you can rebuild your old compressor for 50 $ ( if the clutch is burnt )
the procedure is here !

http://209.151.81.66/showthread.php?s=&threadid=18178

i recently did it ! i know AC job is pain in the A$$ when it comes to work with it or pay someone else ! download the AC section of teh service manual , it's pretty useful !

if you need anyhelp just ask !


MIKE

[ALTERED4]

i guess i dont have much to lose... ill have to tackle the ac job myself, ive done just about all other repairs on the car myself... i mean, whats the worse that can happen, the ac will stop working less???

accord ex, you mentioned you downloaded part of the service manual from somewhere... where??? it would sure be a great help, since as of now, im going about it blind...

i did take the car in to have it diagnosed... id hate to pull out the compressor, when the actual fault might have been electrical... indeed, the compressor was shot, i paid a couple more dollars to have the r12 evacuated...

i also found out that a rebuilt compressor goes for a little over 250 dollars at napa, not a bad deal considering my original compressor lasted for 15 years...

for all you guys who have done ac work, anything else i should be aware of? while im in there, any other parts need to be checked or replaced? again, thanks for the help...

on a side note, my wife tells me today, "you own your house, have 3 other cars you dont drive (2 really, i gave the jetta to her as an anniversary present) and make 60k a year... why the hell do you drive that piece of garbage around? you need to get yourself a nice car..."

[Jareds 89 LX-i]

Originally posted by ALTERED4
on a side note, my wife tells me today, "you own your house, have 3 other cars you dont drive (2 really, i gave the jetta to her as an anniversary present) and make 60k a year... why the hell do you drive that piece of garbage around? you need to get yourself a nice car..."

UGH.... women. They just don't get it....

Anyways, once you understand the a/c system, and what you can and can't do, it's really not that difficult to do stuff to it. I completely redid my a/c system and got it working great. Beware though, if you switch to R134a, it's alot of prep work, and your risking poor a/c performance and a shot a/c compressor not long down the road. If you can, stick with R-12. It's alot cheaper if you just spend the $15 to get your EPA certification, then buy it off ebay yourself rather than going through a mechanic. This will give the best cooling performance and reliability

Things you will definitely want to replace before you put everything back together:
-expansion valve (in evaporator case behind glove box)
-reciever/drier (located behind driver side h/l motor). This is a must, especially if you switch to R134a
-o-rings

If you convert, you must completely flush the system to get all the old oil and any contaminants out. Then refill with POE oil (not PAG), adding 1oz into the compressor and then turning it over about 15 times by hand, and the rest into the reciever/drier. If you don't convert and stay with R-12, then still replace the things mentioned above, but flushing shouldn't be necessary unless your old compressor siezed up. You would just need to add a little mineral oil to the new compressor when you install it.

Is the entire compressor shot, or just the clutch? If the a/c was always at the proper pressure with the right oil, the compressor sometimes outlasts the clutch (the compressor I have in my car right now came from an 87 with about 260k or so miles of use. It was the original, I just swapped the clutches with a good one and it works great!). And is your current compressor Keihin or Nippondenso? (since it lasted 15 years I'm guessing it's ND, heh) If not ND, then you'll have to get new suction and discharge hoses, and compressor bracket (both readily available at the junkyard) to fit the new comp.

Check the forum at www.aircondition.com . Lots of info there

Sorry if my post didn't make much sense, lol. I need sleep

[ACCORD EX]

download service manaul here !>
http://209.151.81.66/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7283

MIKE

[Mac]

Don't panic. I just redid the ac on my 88 LX. Really not that hard. The toughest part probally will be removing the compressor and that's not to hard. You should unbolt the pwr steering pump and move it aside. Then remove the fan just for more room. Disconnect the lines to comp. Loosen the belt adjuster and unbolt it. Cake.

As you remove lines cap them off to keep moisture out. You should change the receiver/dryer every time you open a line for an extended period.

If you really feel like it you can get a bunch of 3/8 and 5/8 in. A/C o-rings (about 6 each) and change them while you are at it. Honda sells an o-ring kit for about $3.00. You will need 2 or 3 kits to change them all.

When you go to get it serviced get a good vacuum to remove all the moisture. That's important.
Good luck.

Oh yeah, make sure the compressor has right amout of oil before you re-install it. Very, very important!