A/C whine in my '99.

[98LXand99LC]

I've got a whining noise coming from the engine when the AC is on. The noise fluctuates with the RPM's. Does anyone know what is causing this, and what it takes to fix it?

Thanks,

 

[98LXand99LC]

Well just got back for the local Toyota dealership (went in for the hitch wiring recall). Their diagnosis is bad A/C Compressor. And, they say I will need the following:

Item Qty Price/Each Ext.

AC Comp 1 $486.32 $486.32
Freon 3 $10.65 $31.95
Dryer 1 $266.69 $266.69
Orig. 1 $10.00 $10.00
Clutch 1 $245.64 $245.64

Subtotal $1,040.60
Tax $67.64
Total $1,108.24

 

[98LXand99LC]

Oh, and labor for the job is $250.39. Has anyone done this job before? I'll try and do it myself with parts from CDan if it's a low bannana count job.

 

[mabrodis]

Is the whine really bad? I'm asking because if they say to replace the compressor anyway, then why not use it till it dies (it probably never will).

Also look around the A/C compressor, are there any hoses pinched or kinked at all, it could be a flow issue and the pressure is making the noise. Does the a/c work good?

 

[fsusteve]

The whine could be the bearings going in the compressor, bad clutches don't really whine so much as grind and then seize and snap the belt. At first I was thinking the compressor price wasn't bad until you posted the clutch assembly seperate, whoa baby.
In all honesty, I would PM CDan or look for a local ac shop to do it, but I bet it still runs close to a $1k. Unless you have to tools and the ability to evaporate the system, I wouldn't do it, much harder than just adding some freon.

 

[98LXand99LC]

The whine is anoying but tolerable (especially at $1K), the AC still blows cold. WRT to evaporating the system, I was thinking I could have that done, replace the parts and then go back and get more freon.

 

[fsusteve]

You could go that route, have him bleed down the high side, flush out the system and then take it back to charge it (if he'd be willing to do that), it would save alot of labor time.

 

[98LXand99LC]

Ok, I have another dilemma here. The Toyota guy told me that it's possible that I don't need a new clutch, just the compressor and dryer. I've sent a PM to CDan WRT pricing the parts, so should I just get the compressor and dryer and hope the clutch is good?

 

[DMX84]

The AC clutch is usually not that hard to replace and will not require any Freon to be added. So I say keep the old one if you want to save the money.

 

[hank14]

Let us know what the parts run from other sources. I may be needing this as well, although my whine has been gone the last week or so and doesn't go away with the a/c on or off, but does get higher pitched with increased rpm's

 

[ShottsUZJ100]

My 2001 makes the same screech/whine sound when the A/C compressor is kicked in. While my dealer has replaced a few things freely under my extended warranty (CV boots, ball joints, etc) he can't justify the compressor. It's not super loud (though it's annoying) and he said they can go a couple more years like that. Damn! He's afraid of it coming back to bite him unless it gets REALLY loud.

 

[98LXand99LC]

It's not super loud (though it's annoying) and he said they can go a couple more years like that. Damn!

Well, I sat and browsed my FSM last night while watching the USC blowout. And one of the steps for replacing the compressor punched me right in the stomach.

"Remove the LH driveshaft"

WTF! The $250 labor charge from Toyota is starting to sound a little more reasonable.

Hank14, I haven't yet heard from Cdan, but I priced the compressor and dryer through this site:

http://www.parts.com/index.cfm?action=goToStoreFront&sfid=213747&target=window

And the Compressor and Dryer are about $530, $230 less than the local Toyota dealership.

But, based on the comments from ShottsUZJ100, I might just wait until it craps out and then buy the parts and have the local Toyota dealership do the install. Or, at least until I cannot take the whining sound anymore.

 

[98LXand99LC]

All,

I couldn't take the whinnig any more. I convinced Cdan to send me the parts and I had the local Toyota shop do the swap. Only whine now is the liquid kind.