Mustang_Don

I got my replacement A/C compressor from Rock Auto. Their website includes the following statement in the product description:

Should I also replace my condenser?
It is recommended that the condenser be replaced whenever the compressor is replaced. While older Tube & Fin style condensers can technically be flushed, metal shards from a failed compressor can get lodged in the cylindrical tubes and restrict refrigerant flow, diminishing the heat transfer capabilities of the condenser and A/C system. Newer style, mini-tube condensers cannot be flushed and should always be replaced along with the compressor.

I bolded and italicized the last sentence in their recommendation. My concern is, does the '03 New Age Mustang have the newer style or older style condenser? The compressor I bought specifies the accumulator and orifice tube must be replaced for the warranty to be any good, but doesn't mandate the condenser be replaced. What's the real story here?

08'MustangDude

Almost no one, that does it themselves, replaces the condenser. Most of the time, not even
a shop will, or even suggest it. A dealer may approach you and say that they "recommend"
replacing the condenser... Personally, I have never done it when replacing a compressor, and
never had issues.

ANY condenser can be flushed, that is crap. If metal particles can lodge in the condenser,
they can be pressure flushed out, usually in reverse of the refrigerant flow.

Derf00

Never heard of replacing the Condensor along with the compressor just for the sake of replacing it in any vehicle. Unless you had a failure of the compressor or Receiver/Drier where contaminants were released into the system or the condenser is beat to hell, there's no reason to replace the condenser. If that were the case, you would also need to replace the Evaporator in the dash. It too is of the mini-tube style.

P.S. Almost all of the vehicles that use R134A are mini-tube. They had to use this type of condenser to offset some of the efficiency loss of R134A vs R12. The minitube design increased the surface area of the condenser which adds to the heat exchange capacity for the same physical size vs older R12 condensers that had larger tubes.

Mustang_Don

Thank you MustangDude, I checked the RockAuto site and learned that the '03 condenser is the fin/tube type of design, so that is no longer a concern for me. I have had the A/C repaired on three different vehicles over the years prior to this one and to the best of my knowledge the condenser was never replaced in any of these occasions. Both of the evaporator cores (F/R A/C) had leaks detected by the 'sniffer' in my 2002 Expedition when the A/C was repaired on it, but I inquired about a stop-leak for the system and the shop used that to seal the leaks, no guarantee that it would work. It worked just fine until I sold the SUV, saving me several $hundred I am sure. I found the following link on the RockAuto site to be very informative:

https://www.rockauto.com/genImages/1..._WORKSHEET.pdf



f/R