Air conditioner issues and Q's

[AndrewD]

I have had to get my a/c regassed twice recently. First time, the gas slowly leaked out and the a/c techie thought it was an issue with the valves where the gas is removed and injected. The second visit he replaced the valves and o rings on the compressor where the pipe connects. He checked for leaks everywhere and could not find any die. His only conclusion is that the compressor may have a very small leak around the seal but he couldn't see any die there either. If for some reason it continues to leak my next option is to have the compressor removed and checked. I was told that these compressors are a throw away item because the seal can't be replaced. Can anyone confirm or deny this?

 

[Old.Tony]

Recent compressors are definitely a throw-away item. I was examining the insides of one with an air conditioning engineer about a week before Christmas and while they're remarkable pieces of equipment, there are no parts available for the internal workings, unlike the older compressors that you could disassemble, replace pistons, seals, rods, bearings etc. The manufacturers simply don't supply the components.

Part of the new compressors is a variable output built into the unit, which can go from nothing (off) to max by some widget the guy showed me and I didn't exactly follow. These new compressors don't need clutches on the belt drive - they're permanently engaged.

I suppose it depends how old your compressor is. If it has a clutch at the front where the fan belt drives it, it might be serviceable. If not, it's disposable and not as cheap as you might like.

On the subject of the leak, can you smell anything inside the cabin? R134A (tetrafluoroethane) does have an odour (similar to paintball gun discharge). It's not dangerous, generally, but in gas form it's heavier than air so it will sink to the bottom of the vehicle - or your lungs. If your cabin smells of it, get the guy to check the evaporator.

 

[AndrewD]

Thanks for that Tony. Haven't noticed a smell. I thought it would be a throw away item like everything today.

 

[scouller]

if your aircon man cannot find any dye in the engine bay after regassing it twice it is more than likely be leaking in your evaporator. this is the only aircon componant that is not visable. if ther is no glo-leak on the compressor and it is functioning well when gassed i would not be changing it. after gassing it twice and leaking out with gloleak it should light up like a xmas tree under uv light and glasses if it was the comp. if the evaporator is leaking it wouldnt nessesarily smell.

 

[elijah]

Recent compressors are definitely a throw-away item. I was examining the insides of one with an air conditioning engineer about a week before Christmas and while they're remarkable pieces of equipment, there are no parts available for the internal workings, unlike the older compressors that you could disassemble, replace pistons, seals, rods, bearings etc. The manufacturers simply don't supply the components.

Part of the new compressors is a variable output built into the unit, which can go from nothing (off) to max by some widget the guy showed me and I didn't exactly follow. These new compressors don't need clutches on the belt drive - they're permanently engaged.

I suppose it depends how old your compressor is. If it has a clutch at the front where the fan belt drives it, it might be serviceable. If not, it's disposable and not as cheap as you might like.

On the subject of the leak, can you smell anything inside the cabin? R134A (tetrafluoroethane) does have an odour (similar to paintball gun discharge). It's not dangerous, generally, but in gas form it's heavier than air so it will sink to the bottom of the vehicle - or your lungs. If your cabin smells of it, get the guy to check the a/c evaporator.

That's a helpful information you have there. Well, my friend is telling me that it seems that his vehicle is having a leak but he can't identify whether it's coming from the evaporator or compressor. He can't remember if there is a smell or not on that leak but having read what you have said, I'm gonna let my friend check it again on the leak if he could smell something like a paintball gun as you have mentioned. In any case, thanks for this info.

 

[andymish]

Recent compressors are definitely a throw-away item. I was examining the insides of one with an air conditioning engineer about a week before Christmas and while they're remarkable pieces of equipment, there are no parts available for the internal workings, unlike the older compressors that you could disassemble, replace pistons, seals, rods, bearings etc. The manufacturers simply don't supply the components.

Part of the new compressors is a variable output built into the unit, which can go from nothing (off) to max by some widget the guy showed me and I didn't exactly follow. These new compressors don't need clutches on the belt drive - they're permanently engaged.

I suppose it depends how old your compressor is. If it has a clutch at the front where the fan belt drives it, it might be serviceable. If not, it's disposable and not as cheap as you might like.

On the subject of the leak, can you smell anything inside the cabin? R134A (tetrafluoroethane) does have an odour (similar to paintball gun discharge). It's not dangerous, generally, but in gas form it's heavier than air so it will sink to the bottom of the vehicle - or your lungs. If your cabin smells of it, get the guy to check the a/c evaporator.

I think this is quite a common problem with the compressors and evaporator. As you can see, my cousin had experienced this kind of leak just recently and we immediately noticed a smell on the leak which is really like a paintball gun like you said. My cousin had to bring his vehicle on a nearby workshop to have the evaporator check and it was really leaking. So the mechanic had to fix and seal it. Lucky it was an easy fix for the mechanic and now my cousin's vehicle is back to normal. Anyway, just sharing some experience about it too.

 

[gusdale]

Compressors are around $1000!!!!!!!!!!!