Remanufacured AC compressors

[Skunksmash]

It seems my air conditioning compressor decided to bite the big one. So I guess its time for a reman. But I had a few questions about them first. And in case it is somehow relevant, I am having a local shop do this job.

Which one should I buy? Are there any brands that are known to be inferior, and that I should stay away from?

Does it matter if the truck had been retrofitted to R-134a? My truck has, so do I need a special compressor that is made for R-134a?

How much would you pay for a remanufactured unit? Their prices seem to vary pretty wildly. I have chosen to go with a reman cause I just don't trust one from the junkyard.

[beastie_3]

Did the shop recommend any?

[Skunksmash]

Yeah a $300 one lol. That is a little rich for my blood. When they say a price like that, it makes you go online and look for stuff like this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260619727366&crlp=1_263602_263622&ff4=263602_263622&viewitem=&guid=6e44e7961200a020c1a30a63ffff78f0&rvr_id=&ua=%3F*F%3F&itemid=260619727366

Is there any reason that I shouldn't buy the one from the link? Reputable seller, in the US.

[bobcooter]

Autozone and OReilly's sell the brand new R-4 for around $130.00. I would buy locally, so if you do have a problem, you can bring it back.

[Skunksmash]

Yeah that is what I ended up doing. Got the orifice and the accumulator as well as the compressor for $180. Not too shabby for all new parts with a warranty. A lot less than the shop wanted to charge me for all those parts. Those silly people wanted $600 to source it themselves and install it. Found it all my self, and now I am paying a total of $280 for all parts and labor.

But I do have one question for the AC knowledgeable guys. Why do you need a new orifice and dryer? I though that they sucked all the water out that they could, and the dryer handled the rest? Why would you need a new one? They said they couldn't warranty anything unless I got those two parts as well as the compressor.

[bobcooter]

If your compressor bit the dirt, you could have pieces of metal and junk in the dryer and clogging the orifice. I guess some of it could work it's way through the system and make it's way back into yopur new compressor.

[Jacked85K10]

If you back flush the system with some a/c flush you should be fine. Unless the shop has one of the fancy new a/c machines capable of flushing it.

[VileZambonie]

You cannot flush the accumulator. When the dessicant bag is contaminated and saturated it is no good. Cut your old one in half and look inside it when you replace it, you'll see what I'm talking about. I wouldn't put a warranty on a compressor without replacing these parts either. Think of it like replacing an engine and using the old oil and filter.

[autorepr]

It sounds like you have it under control but you guys keep in mind "you get what you pay for"  I know money is tight for everybody but if you buy a cheap china "new" compressor for $150 and it only lasts 1-2 years when you could have got 1 that was reman'd here in the U.S. for $300 and it lasts 5-10 years??? I guess everyone just has to do their own math.  I've installed both along with new and reman starters and alternators and if you take any of them apart after they fail you see a HUGE difference in quality. Allot of reman's only needed their wear items replaced so they still have the OEM important parts in them.

Another thing to keep in mind a shop has big overhead they have to cover. In this case they wanted what? $600? You bought the parts for $280? Your knocking them for "putting $320 in their pocket"? Keep in mind they're not doing this stuff for fun. It's how they keep the shop up and running and food on their family table.

[bobcooter]

My deal was at Autozone and OReilly's the new ones and the remanned ones had the same warranty.

[Skunksmash]

It sounds like you have it under control but you guys keep in mind "you get what you pay for"  I know money is tight for everybody but if you buy a cheap china "new" compressor for $150 and it only lasts 1-2 years when you could have got 1 that was reman'd here in the U.S. for $300 and it lasts 5-10 years??? I guess everyone just has to do their own math.  I've installed both along with new and reman starters and alternators and if you take any of them apart after they fail you see a HUGE difference in quality. Allot of reman's only needed their wear items replaced so they still have the OEM important parts in them.

Another thing to keep in mind a shop has big overhead they have to cover. In this case they wanted what? $600? You bought the parts for $280? Your knocking them for "putting $320 in their pocket"? Keep in mind they're not doing this stuff for fun. It's how they keep the shop up and running and food on their family table.

It's a dog eat dog world, and I have to put my needs above the needs of that shop. And my needs are to save money. I don't have the luxury of caring whether or not they can put food on the table. If the owner is an inventive and good businessman, then he will come up with ways to make money just like I came up with ways to save money. As for the chinese compressor... I am not sure if it was chinese. It was "Murry" brand from O'rielly's, so who knows. It has a one year warranty, at least. Knock on wood, but O'rielly's has always sold me quality parts that last. Can't say the same for autozone lol.

[VileZambonie]

If you don't want to pay the cost of a normal repair then you should stay away from licensed repair facilities. If your needs are simply to save as much money as possible, throw a used compressor in there for $50 bucks and the whole job shouldn't cost you more than $100 bucks.

[Skunksmash]

Well the orifice was $2, and the accumulator was $31. Very cheap insurance, and they will warranty the work if I include those parts in the repair. I did consider just going with a used one, but it just wouldn't feel right I guess.

[autorepr]

Oh I'm not knocking you for taking this route. I mean heck, if you can bang two rocks together you can unbolt bad parts and bolt on new. That's no magic trick. You did what was right for you, your happy, Orielly's is happy and the that shop is probably equally happy as well.

My point is don't knock them for charging for making you comfortable while your rolling down the road. I'm a full time professional auto mechanic and after accurately diagnosing people's cars for them and giving them an estimate of how much it will take to fix it some people for whatever reason tell me how much they can buy the parts for and how much I should charge them. Guess what? We don't care....... We're not doing this for fun and unless you have saved our lives and we owe you that life..... Sorry but "Blank, blank or blank" nobody rides for free. 

[HIGHPLAINSDRIFTER]

If you don't want to pay the cost of a normal repair then you should stay away from licensed repair facilities. If your needs are simply to save as much money as possible, throw a used compressor in there for $50 bucks and the whole job shouldn't cost you more than $100 bucks.

The window opens for free.