A/C Compressor Question

[jkk]

Hello all!

I have a 93' XLT I bought for my daughter to learn on & drive. All is fine w/ it except A/C. I can fix pretty much all else to keep it running but have not done A/C work before (short of adding a can of freon to a past car).

Of course the 93' has the "old stuff" & when the A/C was blowing warm when I bought it a co-worker had some of the old freon but we quickly realized it was full. When getting the truck inspected, I had them diagnose the A/C & they advised compressor is bad. Of course they recommend drier & orifice tube replacement w/ the compressor. Haynes manual shows the replacement of these parts is not that difficult. A few questions for you guys! Remember...I only need this Explorer to last a few years...it is not a vehicle I plan to keep forever. I've read all the threads in the forums on R-134 conversion, etc. & still have questions.

1) If I was to do the work myself, any idea how much $ I would be looking at to have them collect the old freon & flush the system first?
2) Yeah, yeah, R-134 is $30 "death in a can" but just how bad is it? I have buddies who had no problem after the conversion. What are your thoughts? If I could easily convert while the old freon is out, it would be easy for me to refill w/ R-134 after I make the repair.
3) I live in Houston, Texas area so A/C is a must but I only paid $1,300 (great deal...good truck w/ records!) so the thought of spending tons of $ to fix the A/C is not good.

Please advise your thoughts...keep in mind this isn't a keeper I'm restoring...just keepin' her running for the young un' to drive!

Thanks in advance all!

JKK

 

[ExplorerDMB]

The conversion would be a good idea. I think it's pretty hard to get ahold of R-12 and I believe you need a special license for it. Also, the only real difference is the fittings from 134 and r12. There isn't really a "flush" for the a/c system --- but if you do convert it and so on, make sure you put dye in it so if for some reason it looses it's "punch" you can try and find it with a u.v. lights or black light. Good luck - I'm sure someone else will chime in with better advice

-Drew

 

[Josh]

Actualy there is a flush for the ac system. I got mine from Pep Boys a couple of years ago. Also, you should replace all of the O-rings with O-rings recomended for R-134A. The orefice tube is also a must. When my compressor went bad, it put a lot of junk in the system. The orefice tube is a filter and when clogged will hinder your system performance. It is located in the tube under the receiver dryer. Mine was easy to change. If you get a compressor from the chunkyard, it will be a lot cheaper as long as it works. I get them here for 30 bucks. If you buy new or reman you will also have to buy the receiver dryer and oil in order for the warranty to be valid in most cases which will add about 70 bucks to the cost. Mine ended up costing me somewhere between 250 and 300 because I bought a remnufactured unit and had to buy all the extras for the warranty. If you have someone do it, it will cost anywhere from 500 1500 bucks, at least those are the numbers I have been reading about people getting charged.