Well i was leaving flagler beach and was all happy my a/c was working when i heard something under the hood like i ran over a wire in the road or something. so i pull over and smoke is coming from under the hood. The sound i heard was the belt shreading cause my compressor locked up and the seal blew leaking coolant all over the front of the engine. I heard the last of the coolant leaking out. So i had to call my pops to rescue me and get it towed while i hopped in my backup car (srt4) and just barely made my court time to get divorced. So this week i'll be replacing the compressor the dryer and the expansion valve. I'm just glad my condenser didn't go but i might replace that too. Hey at least i'm single now and don't have to hear the bitching about dropping money into my car.

 

Yup, that is a very bad day.
However, the divorce kinda made it balance out if it was anything like mine. The day I put my first wife on an airplane back to her mother was one of the monumental turning points in my life -- looking back, 25 years ago, it was better than any birthday and I dropped my wedding ring into the garbage can at the airport exit --- there was this kinda walk-by, no effort or ceremony aspect to dropping the ring into the convenient trash receptable without interrupting my stride to the parking lot -- a way cool moment.
I have found a guy on ebay...
do an ebay search under this dude's sellers name: "discountape"
He sent a quick reply to a question I had -- has a decent feedback too.
A compressor, accumulator, orifice tube, condensor, a qt of purging solvent. system oil, and o-rings total to under $350. Understand that your system is slightly different than mine.
I went and saw my mechanic yesterday who seems to have a different memory about how he insisted that I change my condensor when he replaced my my compressor two years ago -- also tells me that I should have installed an auxillary filter. Dang, I remember things differently. But I certainly am clear about being charged over $600 for a new compressor.
The word is that when your compressor blows its cookies, the debris contaminates the condensor. I'm not sure anymore of the order of components but you gotta be sure that the system is free of debris.
Good luck on your new life. I ended up married to a great girl some years later. Does your ex have a good lookin' sister?

 

Where is our AC guru?
... gotta understand that we could use some real advice here. I've been reading a lot about AC but a little knowledge is dangerous...

 

Doesn't most of the 134a juice u put in have the proper oil in it? It's 384 bucks plus shipping for my compressor, expansion valve, dryer, and condenser. I think i'm gonna put it all in myself and then take it somewhere to do a proper first time charge. I gotta get in my book and see if it says anything about that.

 

more to read http://www.ackits.com/c/BlackDeath/A...ck+Death).html

 

The link is an excellent read. My orifice tube looked worse than the one on the link page. I'd try to purge some of my components but here is the problem. I used both acetone and lacquer thinner to clean out a single straight line. Initially, the solvent came out quite dirty. When is was runing through clean, I stuck a length of nylon weedwacker line through it and it pushed out a whole bunch of gunk that does not disolve via acetone and acetone is really hot stuff.

 

not as bad as i thought. Crawled under there today and noticed the refrigerant hose assembly rubbed on the compressor pulley, cut through it, sprayed the frig oil on my pulleys, jumped the belt, the compressor clutch caught the belt and ate it to pieces. Got the compressor out and it spins freely and clutch moves too. Ordered new hose assembly and belt. I know i have to put oil back in the compressor but how much and where do i put it? If i can figure that out i'll put it together and take it somewhere to get it evaporated and charged.

 

I believe that despite having a mess under your hood, you've actually had a change in your luck. A compressor failure is just the end and I would have assumed that is what happened also. Replace the lines, take it to a reputable service tech for an evacuation, new oil, and recharge and you should be a cool and happy again.

I'm knocking out a few of these bit and piece jobs I have laying around to get some extra cash and am going ahead with replacing everything. I just can't stand it when something is broken on my SS. Its kinda odd that when "my" car breaks there is an attitude that its a money pit. I make it a practice to use other sources of income to keep up with the maintenance. Generally speaking, the car hasn't been bad for repair costs. I can get 22 MPG if I keep my foot light and I think that's really great -- but I tend to enjoy on ramps to the interstate. That's good news about your AC.

 

I was looking at compressor oil and i'm not sure which one would be better. They have the oil u pour into the compressor it's self then they have the same oil in a charge can that you hook to the low pressure side and push it in that way. Both come in 4 fluid ounce cans. I'm thinking hooking it up and charging the oil into the low pressure side would be much less messy and i absolutely don't wanna drive it to a shop if the compressor is bone dry.

 

Your specific car will have a specific spec for the quanity of oil. The spec is intended for systems that have absolutely no oil in them. Due to the cost of parts and the fact the neither one of knows what we're doing -- a little knowledge is dangerous -- I'd either find a local AC guy who is willing to give you coaching or install the parts and take it to a pro for a full service. Too much oil will displace available refrigerent and too little or the wrong kind will generate more bad days.

 

I wondering, if the clutch isnt engaged, can i drive my car without any damage to the compressor since it doesn't have and refrigerant oil in it. I'm thinking it's ok cause only the pulley is spinning and not the compressor internals?