AC Compressor is probably shot - estimate cost?

[TridenT]

I barely made it to Austin today. I almost died of heat exhaustion due to me nearly passing out multiple times on the freeway. Unfortunately, Phoenix is my next destination... and it gets over 110F in that region frequently. Not having AC in my car is not an option for that drive.

I have a problem. My car is 2000 honda civic ex coupe. It has over 181k miles. I haven't replaced the timing belt and water pump yet but I was thinking of doing it... until today.

My AC has been acting faulty as of recently. Sometimes working, sometimes not... and then today it just stopped after 20 minutes into my drive. Full quit for the next 8 hours of driving. I was surprised I made it to Austin but I did have to stop multiple times at an AC'd place and refuel myself (again, heat exhaustion). I think it's the AC Compressor because I turned on the AC while my car was parked and I heard a bad noise from the engine bay. I was like, "oh boy... That's gotta be the compressor alright..."

So, I need to know how much you think replacing an AC compressor would cost on such a car. I'll call some places tomorrow but man... it looks expensive. I would do it myself but I'm on the road and I need specialty tools for such a job. So, not an option. I have to take it to a shop.

At this point, I'm really frustrated. I'm on the last legs of my trip and I need to figure out what I'm doing with this car. It's a liability and I need to get it to Phoenix at the very least (I'm considering buying garbage bags and lots of ice and driving only in the middle of the night... Sad part is that Phoenix is a 16 hour drive from Austin). I've also invested a lot of money in repairing it within the last 6 months. (Something like $1.5-2k...) So, ya know...

 

[Wingznut]

RepairPal.com

You are looking right around a thousand bucks.

 

[TridenT]

Said something like $819 to $1137 with the AC Recharge included. (That bumped the price by about $200...)

Ugh. Maybe that would be significantly lower with RockAuto parts. I don't know what I need to replace yet, so I cannot make that decision.

 

[Wingznut]

I went to trade school in Phoenix, and my car (1973 Plymouth Duster 340 4-speed) had no A/C... So, it's not like you can't survive without it.

 

[TridenT]

I went to trade school in Phoenix, and my car (1973 Plymouth Duster 340 4-speed) had no A/C... So, it's not like you can't survive without it.

Yeah, I'd agree but I was very close to crashing my car today thanks to 100F+ heat index weather. I really don't do well in the heat. I start to get sick and will pass out.

 

[TridenT]

Could it be that just the AC compressor clutch is bad? That doesn't require removing the compressor entirely and unhooking everything (Which is troublesome). That is something I could actually do on my own (or have a shop do too...).

 

[CrimsonWolf]

I was quoted about $1,200 when the compressor died on my 1993 Accord several years ago. However, that also involved converting the whole system from R12 to R134 so I'm not sure how much that would have added to the cost.

 

[PottedMeat]

Could it be that just the AC compressor clutch is bad? That doesn't require removing the compressor entirely and unhooking everything (Which is troublesome). That is something I could actually do on my own (or have a shop do too...).

it's possible. see if the ac clutch relay clicks. see if the clutch engages. see if the clutch turns with the belt when it engages.



if it's done 181k miles and never had a timing belt change... tick tock
what's the interval on those 105k?

 

[jlee]

RepairPal.com

You are looking right around a thousand bucks.

Is that really accurate?

Damn, if I factor in the work I do myself as income, I might make ATOT salary! ~$60 labor for distributor cap/rotor replacement on an MR2, which takes all of 10 minutes?

 

[ballmode]

Is it possible for you to drive at night and find a hotel to sleep in the morning/afternoons?

A/C's are pricey to fix.... if you had the time you might be better off just selling the car to anybody, and renting a car to get your destination the money saved repairing the belts/ac etc could be applied to another car

 

[JCH13]

$1k to fix AC isn't unheard of.

Having said that...

I barely made it to Austin today. I almost died of heat exhaustion due to me nearly passing out multiple times on the freeway.

Next time, stop. You needlessly put yourself and everyone around you in danger. Irresponsibility like this can turn the nuisance of not having AC into getting someone killed.

If you're getting heat exhaustion from sitting in a car that's moving (presumably with the windows down) you're doing it wrong. Plenty of people drove where you're driving now without AC and didn't "almost die of heat exhaustion." Stay hydrated, stop to rest if you're tired or hot, sit on a bag of ice if you really have to. Do not continue to drive if you've "almost passed out multiple times."

 

[Yuriman]

The compressor went out in my brother's Saturn. I took it to a shop and had it vacuumed, got a compressor from a junkyard for next to nothing, a drier from Rock Auto, and then replaced the compressor and drier and had the same shop vacuum and refill it. Total came to just under $200.

Replaced a leaking line in my Del Sol with a similar process. Total cost came to $110 and it's been blowing cold for 2 years.

 

[Wingznut]

The compressor went out in my brother's Saturn. I took it to a shop and had it vacuumed, got a compressor from a junkyard for next to nothing, a drier from Rock Auto, and then replaced the compressor and drier and had the same shop vacuum and refill it. Total came to just under $200.

You got a shop to replace a compressor and drier, and vacuum/recharge (with their refrigerant?) for like a hundred bucks? That has got to be the cheapest shop rate on this continent!

 

[jlee]

You got a shop to replace a compressor and drier, and vacuum/recharge (with their refrigerant?) for like a hundred bucks? That has got to be the cheapest shop rate on this continent!

I'm guessing the shop evacuated the system (15-30min, $50?), he picked up RockAuto parts for $10, and a junkyard compressor for $20, installed it himself in the now-empty system, then had a shop refill it for $120?

 

[Yuriman]

I'm guessing the shop evacuated the system (15-30min, $50?), he picked up RockAuto parts for $10, and a junkyard compressor for $20, installed it himself in the now-empty system, then had a shop refill it for $120?

^ This

The vacuum + refill was actually only around $60.

 

[TridenT]

The compressor went out in my brother's Saturn. I took it to a shop and had it vacuumed, got a compressor from a junkyard for next to nothing, a drier from Rock Auto, and then replaced the compressor and drier and had the same shop vacuum and refill it. Total came to just under $200.

Replaced a leaking line in my Del Sol with a similar process. Total cost came to $110 and it's been blowing cold for 2 years.

I'm not going to get a compressor from the junkyard. There are items I'll get from the junkyard, an AC compressor is not one of them.

Parts alone is going to be near $300-400.

Anyway, I decided to take a bit of a closer look today. The noise is unpredictable now and it's hard to place when it happens. I couldn't tell if it was coming from the idler pulley or from the AC Compressor or my engine?

However, the idler pulley and the AC Compressor both were spinning just fine. A little noise most of the time but nothing alarming. And then bursts of a louder noise here and there. (Could just be my engine on its way out or something...) The one thing I was worried about was that the AC Compressor was not being engaged. Well, it is being engaged. I can see the clutch engage and start turning the AC Compressor. One of the pipes gets hot/warm to touch... so it's probably working to some extent.

I'm starting to think there's probably a leak and the freon might be low? I don't know. It's weird to have working/not-working performance for so long from a freon leak (to me). I would think it would just slowly fade in performance. Which mine did to some extent but it had long runs of just not working and then one day it works full blast and then stops again.

Anyway, thoughts? I'm not wanting to take it to a mechanic because of cost right now.

 

[Wingznut]

I'm guessing the shop evacuated the system (15-30min, $50?), he picked up RockAuto parts for $10, and a junkyard compressor for $20, installed it himself in the now-empty system, then had a shop refill it for $120?

^ This

The vacuum + refill was actually only around $60.

Oh, yeah, that's very different... Nice work, though! And pretty irrelevant to someone on the road.

 

[jlee]

I'm not going to get a compressor from the junkyard. There are items I'll get from the junkyard, an AC compressor is not one of them.

Parts alone is going to be near $300-400.

Anyway, I decided to take a bit of a closer look today. The noise is unpredictable now and it's hard to place when it happens. I couldn't tell if it was coming from the idler pulley or from the AC Compressor or my engine?

However, the idler pulley and the AC Compressor both were spinning just fine. A little noise most of the time but nothing alarming. And then bursts of a louder noise here and there. (Could just be my engine on its way out or something...) The one thing I was worried about was that the AC Compressor was not being engaged. Well, it is being engaged. I can see the clutch engage and start turning the AC Compressor. One of the pipes gets hot/warm to touch... so it's probably working to some extent.

I'm starting to think there's probably a leak and the freon might be low? I don't know. It's weird to have working/not-working performance for so long from a freon leak (to me). I would think it would just slowly fade in performance. Which mine did to some extent but it had long runs of just not working and then one day it works full blast and then stops again.

Anyway, thoughts? I'm not wanting to take it to a mechanic because of cost right now.

The compressor has a safety cutoff to prevent it from running with a low level of refrigerant. Depending on temperature (and the relative system pressure), I could see a low level of r134a causing intermittent performance.

If you make it to Phoenix, you can give me 8 bucks and I'll put a can of r134a in it and see if it gets any better.

 

[Zenmervolt]

I'm not going to get a compressor from the junkyard. There are items I'll get from the junkyard, an AC compressor is not one of them.

Because the rest of your rolling hunk of shit is in such great shape?

You were perfectly OK driving for thousands of miles with the check engine light on but a used A/C compressor is somehow beyond the pale. Whatever.

A brand-new A/C compressor just doesn't make any sense given the fact that the rest of your car is fairly obviously falling apart around it (given your posting history).

I'm not wanting to take it to a mechanic because of cost right now.

Yet the extra cost of a new compressor instead of a used one is fine...

Look, given your history, the car needs to go to a mechanic if you want it fixed properly. If you don't want to do that, it's your choice.

ZV

 

[bruceb]

Nothing wrong with getting an AC compressor from a salvage yard. Just try to pick one that was in a late model wreck that will fit your car. It is better if the ac in the donor car was still intact before removal or low mileage. An ac shop can drain and refill the compressor with new and proper oil level. Also, depending on why your old compressor failed, the ac shop should flush the lines, then change the receiver drier and vacuum pump the system, leak test and then refill the freon.

 

[PottedMeat]

If you're getting heat exhaustion from sitting in a car that's moving (presumably with the windows down) you're doing it wrong. Plenty of people drove where you're driving now without AC and didn't "almost die of heat exhaustion."

...you did roll your windows down right OP?

 

[TridenT]

Because the rest of your rolling hunk of shit is in such great shape?

You were perfectly OK driving for thousands of miles with the check engine light on but a used A/C compressor is somehow beyond the pale. Whatever.

A brand-new A/C compressor just doesn't make any sense given the fact that the rest of your car is fairly obviously falling apart around it (given your posting history).



Yet the extra cost of a new compressor instead of a used one is fine...

Look, given your history, the car needs to go to a mechanic if you want it fixed properly. If you don't want to do that, it's your choice.

ZV

I suppose. I just didn't want to risk buying an AC Compressor off a junkyard car and it being broke like mine might be.

...you did roll your windows down right OP?

Yes. Unfortunately, the heat index was ~105F. So, I was melting still.

 

[rsutoratosu]

1st gen tsx are prone to ac failure where the compressor grenaded and all the lines needs to be flushed.

I had mine failed at 96k under 7 year extended warranty.. cost me 100 deductible. People over at tsxforum have gotten bills from 1500-3000 (depending on dealer)

it is insane. I saw rent a car or use zip car (if available)

 

[JCH13]

...you did roll your windows down right OP?

Yes. Unfortunately, the heat index was ~105F. So, I was melting still.

Fun fact - winchill is actually 'windheating' when air temp is above your body temp. You likely should have driven with the windows barely cracked to prevent solar from overheating your car, rather than all the way down.

 

[imagoon]

105F Heat index isn't anything.... Other than they oddly cool summer this year, that is normal Chicago July -> August temps.