AC seized? (1 Viewer)

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Feb 6, 2023
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Washington
Hey all. I’ve checked around on other threads and I think that my AC compressor is seized. Last owner said he replaced some ac parts but there was a slow leak somewhere, but it lasted him the summer. I just recharged the 134a and when I hit the ac button the engine bogs down and there’s a few sparks coming from the compressor. I checked with a couple wires from the battery to the compressor and it does engage the clutch but I can’t spin it by hand.

Is there anything else I could do/rebuild or is the best course to just swap out the whole compressor?

If the last owner swapped out the rest of the ac components do I need to do anything alongside the new compressor while I’m in there?

Pic below is what the last owner purchased and replaced.

0FF392B0-B885-46C4-9FF5-FDA10B933F48.jpeg
 
EDIT: I somehow missed that it says the ac compressor was ordered on the bottom there. Is it possible that it could be seized in 1.5 years?
 
Hey all. I’ve checked around on other threads and I think that my AC compressor is seized. Last owner said he replaced some ac parts but there was a slow leak somewhere, but it lasted him the summer. I just recharged the 134a and when I hit the ac button the engine bogs down and there’s a few sparks coming from the compressor. I checked with a couple wires from the battery to the compressor and it does engage the clutch but I can’t spin it by hand.

Is there anything else I could do/rebuild or is the best course to just swap out the whole compressor?

If the last owner swapped out the rest of the ac components do I need to do anything alongside the new compressor while I’m in there?

Pic below is what the last owner purchased and replaced.

View attachment 3252745

I unfortunately had to go down this road a few years ago. If the compressor truly did seize up, there is likely metal fragment contamination throughout the whole system. Even more fun with rear air. Ideally every component needs to be replaced and hard lines thoroughly flushed.

With a leak, even with a new compressor, you can lose both refrigerant and lubrication. I think my low pressure switch was also faulty so it allowed the compressor to run until it grenaded. Plenty of good threads on system replacement. If you have rear air, capping it will make things a lot easier.
 
I unfortunately had to go down this road a few years ago. If the compressor truly did seize up, there is likely metal fragment contamination throughout the whole system. Even more fun with rear air. Ideally every component needs to be replaced and hard lines thoroughly flushed.

With a leak, even with a new compressor, you can lose both refrigerant and lubrication. I think my low pressure switch was also faulty so it allowed the compressor to run until it grenaded. Plenty of good threads on system replacement. If you have rear air, capping it will make things a lot easier.
Yeah, I was really hoping the compressor was fine and it was the "normal" leak with the rear AC lines that I could cap. The system still had pressure (25-30 psi) and it only took a bit of 134a added to get the compressor to kick on so I think it really was a small leak.
 
Yeah, I was really hoping the compressor was fine and it was the "normal" leak with the rear AC lines that I could cap. The system still had pressure (25-30 psi) and it only took a bit of 134a added to get the compressor to kick on so I think it really was a small leak.

Pull the compressor and you will quickly know. Metal shavings are pretty obvious.
 
Pull the compressor and you will quickly know. Metal shavings are pretty obvious.
Yep. I’m just concerned if I go slap the same $500 worth of replacement parts on there, will history repeat itself. I must be missing something if it’s seizing up after a year or so with oem parts
 
Yep. I’m just concerned if I go slap the same $500 worth of replacement parts on there, will history repeat itself. I must be missing something if it’s seizing up after a year or so with oem parts

There are a lot of potential areas for leaks, especially with rear air. Those leak detecting dyes are not always visible either. There are probably 10+ o rings in the hard line connections that never get replaced.

If I had to do it again, I would delete the rear air, which alone will save you hours of labor. Confirm the compressor is seized before pulling everything apart.
 
There are a lot of potential areas for leaks, especially with rear air. Those leak detecting dyes are not always visible either. There are probably 10+ o rings in the hard line connections that never get replaced.

If I had to do it again, I would delete the rear air, which alone will save you hours of labor. Confirm the compressor is seized before pulling everything apart.
Right on. Thanks for the help
 

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