Is all of this necessary for air conditioning repair?

[InFiD3ViL]

AC is one of those things that can get expensive because they usually recommended you replace nearly every part after a hard failure. All those lines, valves, seals, tight orifices, condensers, etc... they can hold on to (or be damaged by) debris from the compressor or part failure. Matter of fact, most companies will not warranty a replacement compressor without proof of condenser replacement, at minimum.

[2010sgm]

Originally Posted by Hetfield03

I have a friend with a garage in the back of his house and he does a lot of work on my car.
Lately my air conditioning has been blowing warmer so he tried to add some refrigerant and it wouldn't hold. Tried to hold a vacuum and the high side wouldn't.

So I took it to a local place were they injected dye and so they came back and said my compressor was bad. They want to replace the compressor, drier, expansion valve. $1,600 would be the total.

I don't have the know-how or the room to do something like this myself, and I don't think my friend wants to do the work either.

But does this price sound right, high, on the money? And does everything have to be replaced at once?

145,000 miles on the car and never had to mess with the air conditioning in 10 years.

Thank you.


Edit: moderators sorry that I posted here. I just saw the sticky. It's been several months since I've been to this forum. I do not know how to change it.

Sadly its needed as metal get in placed you wont belive....

[Hetfield03]

Well, this was awhile back, but they said that I got lucky and only needed a compressor. So now its about a month and a half later and its cool, but not cold. So I called the shop and I'm going to have them look at it again. My question is, should they be allowed to charge me again to diagnose this? If they didn't fix it right to begin with? Or is it just one of those, "it comes with the territory" type things?

Its going to the guy's other shop so the original crew wont be working on it, if that makes any difference.

[gtstorey]

Depends on what has failed. If the compressor failed before but you now have leaking evaporator core, then it's on you. If something they messed with is now leaking (fitting not tightened for example), then it's on them. The grey area is something like a line they may have removed and reinstalled is now leaking, you would probably need to prove they damaged the line.

[Hetfield03]

Originally Posted by gtstorey

Depends on what has failed. If the compressor failed before but you now have leaking evaporator core, then it's on you. If something they messed with is now leaking (fitting not tightened for example), then it's on them. The grey area is something like a line they may have removed and reinstalled is now leaking, you would probably need to prove they damaged the line.

Here is what they wrote for a diagnosis. Failed clutch coil. And then there is more which I'm unfamiliar with.

I fully expected more than the compressor to be replaced, but I mean, whatdya do?

Ill find out soon enough

[gtstorey]

If the clutch coil is what failed, no need to replace anything else. I wouldn't expect that to put debris in the system.

The fact that the system was low to start with might be a concern and maybe they should have tracked down the leak, which has probably continued to leak. Again, getting into a little bit of a grey area since it's hard to know exactly what was done from the description given.

[LarryD]

In 2021 I had to have my compressor replaced. Fortunately it was just before my extended warranty expired. The cost was $1,100 to the insurance group. If you have the V8, that compressor is buried near the bottom of the engine and I think has to be removed from below. The belt is what is called a "stretch" belt which means you need the special tool (readily available) to get a new belt on which should be replaced at the same time as the compressor. On my car, there was no noise out of the compressor, it ran fine and only had a leak. So, they only replaced the compressor and recharged the system. It now has 25,000 more miles and is still running fine. You do run some risk if you don't replace other components especially if the compressor is making noise. If they think there is metal in the system from the compressor, make sure they also flush the system. I am certified to work on A/C systems (can even do R12) and would have done it myself except that I had the extended warranty that covered it.

[CamaroCracka]

I pull the passenger fender liner to get to the bolts and take it out the top, but I don't read the manual either. I also have turbo crap in the way so...

From what I understand the ball valves GM used on the high and low ports are the biggest leak problem on these. I have had them fail on my Camaro and Silverado. Easy replacement, but then you need a machine to recharge.

[Hetfield03]

Originally Posted by CamaroCracka

I pull the passenger fender liner to get to the bolts and take it out the top, but I don't read the manual either. I also have turbo crap in the way so...

From what I understand the ball valves GM used on the high and low ports are the biggest leak problem on these. I have had them fail on my Camaro and Silverado. Easy replacement, but then you need a machine to recharge.

My friend had to replace the ball valves on his fiance's Camaro. I believe he said on the high side was where the leak was.

I wonder if I should tell the shop owner maybe look at those or should I just keep my mouth shut and let him inspect on his own. I don't necessarily want to tell the mechanic how to do his job just because I watched a few videos and got on a few message boards you know what I mean?

[CamaroCracka]

Originally Posted by Hetfield03

My friend had to replace the ball valves on his fiance's Camaro. I believe he said on the high side was where the leak was.

I wonder if I should tell the shop owner maybe look at those or should I just keep my mouth shut and let him inspect on his own. I don't necessarily want to tell the mechanic how to do his job just because I watched a few videos and got on a few message boards you know what I mean?

It was approximately a $10 part. You could ask him to proactively replace them once he determines what the leak is.