Mechanic wants $800 to replace A/C condensor and receiver..that fair price?

[DocuDude]

So the a/c in my 95 will work for a few minutes, then will stop working.

Tried adding refrigerant, but didnt seem to help.

Brought to local mechanic....he says there is something clogging the system, they tried sucking it out but they couldnt.

Said would be 700-800 to replace the receiver and condensor.

That sound right? I have little knowledge about a/c systems.

THANKS ALL;p

 

[RockJock82]

Is that 700-800 including labor, parts and recharge on the system? Is the compressor still good?

 

[neal0124]

If you follow the directions in the stickies you can replace everything in the your AC system yourself, and save a lot of money. Not to mention the knowledge of how your truck works. I replaced my compressor, drier, and expansion valve for about $350 and 2 hours of my time.

It sound like your expansion valve may be the problem. Or your fan clutch may not be adequate. Where in LA are you?

 

[2garfields]

a local shop wanted $250 labor to replace the a/c condenser and dryer, and I will supply all the parts and 2lbs of R134a.

 

[half k cruiser]

Thats absurd, tell him to get f 'd. The AC system ( other than the liquid line ) is one of the easiest things to service on this vehicle. Also, as mentioned above, if you do it yourself it will be a good learning experience for you.

 

[DocuDude]

RockJock82- 700-800 parts and labor...assuming he meant refigerant also. Compressor works fine, it will blow cold the first 5-10 minutes in the morning.

neal0124-
I scanned the FAQ, dont i have to invest in a vacuum tool thats like $150?
I am in the Westside of LA.

2garfields-
Where you buy the parts from? The shop in SoCal?

half k cruiser-
If i did work myself, what should I be aware of. When i wrench on the rest of car I just break a belt or bolt if I mess up, here i can cause an explosion.

 

[neal0124]

RockJock82- 700-800 parts and labor...assuming he meant refigerant also. Compressor works fine, it will blow cold the first 5-10 minutes in the morning.

neal0124-
I scanned the FAQ, dont i have to invest in a vacuum tool thats like $150?
I am in the Westside of LA.

2garfields-
Where you buy the parts from? The shop in SoCal?

half k cruiser-
If i did work myself, what should I be aware of. When i wrench on the rest of car I just break a belt or bolt if I mess up, here i can cause an explosion.

Follow the directions in the FAQ to drop out the AC unit under the dash behind the glove box. You can clean all the dirt/leaves out of there and change out your own expansion valve. It is extremely easy to do this. Just take your time and follow the directions in the sticky.

You could just pump a bunch of refrigerant into the system with those cans you get at the autoparts store, but you will leave air/moisture in the system. Change the parts out and then take it to an AC shop, they'll have all the equipment to purge the system and charge it properly. The guy I used to charge my system charged me $80. Much cheaper than buying a pump, manifold, and several cans of 134.

I ordered this kit. It ships from socal so it get delivered quick.
http://www.discountacparts.com/Toyota-Landcruiser-AC_Kit-60~81279_RK.html

 

[CruiseOrlando]

You can also rent a good vacuum pump from most auto parts stores for next to nothing, if not for free.

 

[2garfields]

You can get a Denso a/c condenser from rockauto.com for about $80, and OEM dryer for abuot $20.

 

[Rwhat]

Also hit up coolstream he's a vendor on here. The a/c pump is $100 at harbor freight. I would lend you mine except TSA confiscated it last time I flew to Hawaii. They thought it was a gas pump.

 

[CJF]

So the a/c in my 95 will work for a few minutes, then will stop working.

From the threads I've seen here, that's usually the expansion valve.

I think your mechanic is clueless.

 

[Coolstream]

From the threads I've seen here, that's usually the expansion valve

I tend to agree. If you have access to a set of gauges, hook them up and let the system operate until it fails. Look at the low pressure gauge and if it's very low <10psi or in a vacuum, you need an expansion block and drier. There can be other sources for a problem like this, such as a weak fan clutch letting the engine get hot enough to shut down the A/C. If you have a Scan gauge, you can track engine temp to verify.

 

[Subluxator]

I just got this fixed on mine, same exact issue. My mechanic charged me $250 to replace the expansion valve and recharge the system. It took some trial and error before he got it fixed but he always tries the least expensive fix first. I was pretty sure what the problem was before I took it in(thanks Mud) but I don't like telling other people how to do their job so I let him figure it out on his own.

 

[half k cruiser]

RockJock82-
half k cruiser-
If i did work myself, what should I be aware of. When i wrench on the rest of car I just break a belt or bolt if I mess up, here i can cause an explosion.

I don't think you will cause any explosions. You do need to evacuate the system first ( do a search on that, or have a local shop do it ). Then just take your time and work your way through it. In all honesty most of the system can be taken apart with 10&12mm sockets. The expansion valve will take you the better part of an hour the first time you do it, then you can start working your way around the lines ( I went counter clockwise from the two lines on the firewall) and replace the o-rings.

So in summary, order an expansion valve and drier, then get an o-ring kit from you local parts store. Don't be put off by the kit, you will not use all of the o-rings they give you. Pick up a bottle of PAG-46 while your at it. Once your done refurbishing the system you can take it to a shop and have them charge it for you. Let us know if you need any help.

 

[l1coeea9]

I recently had AC service at Santa Monica Radiator. Chuck is the owner and he runs a quality shop for a fair price. I replaced the compressor, dryer, hose, o rings on condensor, expansion valve, and changed out to R134 from R12 for about $1K. (1991 FJ80 with 234K miles) This was essentially the first AC service the truck ever had.

 

[DocuDude]

So going off of this thread https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/584005-intermittent-c.html I have decided to replace the drier and expansion valve.

Went to A/C place, they want 110 for sucking out and putting refrigerant back in (assuming i dont need any more refrigerant).

That seem a good price?

Also, I have noticed when I am stopped with A/C on, every 10-15 seconds or so, my RPM's will drop down to 700 or so...real low, almost stalling out the car. When I am moving, I dont notice this at all. Does this mean something else can be broken? Or does this prove it is the expansion valve and drier that needs replacing?

 

[CJF]

Tried adding refrigerant,

every 10-15 seconds or so, my RPM's will drop down to 700 or so

You overcharged the system.

Probably haven't hurt anything else yet, but stop using it till you get it fixed properly.