I agree, non Oem compressors have seals made for cars that top out at 6,000rpm for us the fun is just starting. Used Oem compressors are still better than aftermarket or remanned compressors. As far as dryers and expansion valves, you can use aftermarket with confidence. 4 seasons makes good stuff, global air as well.

 

Thanks for all the input guys.... i know nothing about AC systems so im trying to grasp it


The car made a hissing noise like leaking air for a second and then no more cold air!!!


.... replace the compressor(if needed) along with the drier/receiver and a new expansion valve. (Does $1500 sound right for this)

The cars already at the shop getting a new head rebuilt so im going to call them and get a quote on evacuating the system and change out the drier and expansion valve, and have the shop vacuum, leak test and charge the system with oil and refrigerant. (I feel like they ll want $1000 for this job) Anyone have ballpark numbers for these jobs...


...what does evacuate the system consist of???

 

Shouldn't cost more than $200 tops to do that. The constant hissing is caused by the expansion valve, typical when you're low on refrigerant. So most likely your compressor is fine. Change the drier and expansion valve, recharge the system professionally, and have them change the o rings while they're at it.

You'd have to pay a lot if you had to replace the evaporator because you have to rip out the dash to change it. But a drier and an expansion valve is a piece of cake.

You loosen one screw, remove two bolts and the thermal switch, put new o rings on the lines and transfer your thermal switch w new o ring and replace the drier. The expansion valve is at the end of the ac lines running along side the battery. Pull out the plastic grommet and split it in two. One 10mm bolt and two 4mm Allen bolts.

I remove the battery, and the air filter box and the bolt on the battery heat shield closest to the front. That lets me remove the ac line bracket, and with a screw driver you free the low side ac line from the bracket that sits under the air box. That'll give you enough slack to move the ac lines out of the way. Then slip new o rings at the fittings on the evaporator, bolt in the new expansion valve, lines etc.

Evacuate meaning recovering all the oil and refrigerant in the system. Part of recovery involves cleaning and filtering what you recover so you don't re-introduce used oil and acidified refrigerant.

 

.....so they are saying the compressor is shot..... how do i double check if this is true???

Also i have a CR AC delete belt on right now.... can i just flip on the AC and see if its spinning with no belt on it, and if it is spinning then the compressor is ok?


...where would you recommend looking for a new compressor.... any on here for sale????

 

If the compressor is leaking or making a terrible noise then yeah it's pretty much shot. Used Oem compressors are available, I got mine for $120 shipped and works like a charm. I wouldn't get a remanned compressor, remember our rev happy motors are more than some seals can handle. I made that mistake, I got ripped off, after 2yrs it started Pissing oil and refrigerant through the shaft seal. The most important thing for its longevity is that the ac is serviced properly.

The compressor pulley should spin freely, and the plate in front of the pulley should freewheel until the magnetic clutch activates. Both should spin smoothly and easily. And if the compressor makes noise when you spin the plate, it's shot.

 

So what's the difference between a remand, a refurbished, and a used compressor.... Or maybe a better question is who makes our oem compressor?
Do u have a website u could recommend.... There's 100s for sale all over the place

 

Kehin makes the compressor for our cars. I think the shaft seals are the main difference. Oem used is often better than new aftermarket for these cars. You notice Honda sells remanned starters and alternators but not remanned ac's.

 

I just had a shop quote me $1,400+ for compressor, drier, and expansion valve. This seems like quite a premium over the parts, even OEM, so I was considering doing it myself.

The drier and compressor look fairly straightforward to access, so I'm most worried about the expansion valve. My initial search seemed to turn up that I would need to rip apart the inside of the dash to get to everything, including unbolting the passenger airbag. But maybe that's to take the whole evap unit out? Slowcrash_101, are you saying that the expansion valve can be reached from the engine bay? Removing the intake, battery, and heat shield sounds a lot easier.

Are there DIY instructions anywhere? I didn't find the service manual particularly helpful for this.

 

Follow the AC lines to the firewall, you'll see they go into a plastic grommet looking thing. Remove the grommet from it's slot(it just pulls out) and then carefully remove the two tabs that hold it together and split the piece in two. The two ac lines are plugged into the expansion valve. Once both lines are disconnected, you use a 4mm or 5mm allen key, can't remember exactly the size, and unbolt the expansion valve, the valve comes out with a bit of prying. Once removed there are two O-rings on the two ports to the evaporator, these should be changed if you plan to replace the expansion valve. Replacing those two o-rings is the hardest part of the whole procedure.

Also take note that the low side line is too thick to be moved out of the way. You will need to unlock the tabs securing the low side line to the front brace and the side of the battery heat shield. The tabs unlock manually, then once you unbolt the high and low side lines you'll be able to move them out of the way. You'll have to remove one bolt from the heat shield, and the air box as well to undo the tabs that hold the line on.

It's a lot easier to work by removing the battery altogether during the procedure, if you have the battery relocated ignore this.

 

Awesome, thanks for the detailed description! Nice to have an A/C expert around here.

I saw you mentioned replacing o-rings before...are you talking about part 22 on this diagram:
http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/...=HEATER+BLOWER

Are A/C o-rings specific? Should I be ordering the ones for each location from Honda? Or are these generic A/C o-rings and I should just be buying in bulk? Sorry, A/C service noob here!