ok so my 2000 v6 has been making a clicking sound that is coming from the a/c compressor. i took it to my mechanic friend and he told me the bearings are going out and that i needed to replace the entire compressor. i went ahead and purchased a compressor in hopes that i could do it myself and save a little money. when i was reading the instructions that came with i read that i have to flush the entire system prior to installing the new compressor, and that i have to measure the air gap on the clutch. i dont have to equipment to flush and i dont have the tool to measure the air gap. does anyone know what i would use to measure that and is flushing the system absolutely necessary or can i go without doing that?

thanks

 

you have to flush the system of the refridgerent and properly dispose of it. any a/c work you must flush and change the refridgerent. i suggest since you do not have the machine to recycle and evacuate the cooling system you should bring it to your local tech.

 

Yes you gotta flush!
When the compressor takes a dump you have to flush the system. "stuff" from the compressor, pieces of metal and such get pumped into the system. First stop is the condenser which is impossible to flush properly so replacement is a must...bummer...I'm going thru this nightmare right now myself......but you gotta have A/C (at least here in Kaliphornia) Har......

 

lol there are valves on the suction line and the liquid line i believe of the a/c system the put clamps on the valves and suck out the refridgerent and it goes through a filter back into a holding tank on the machine there using an the refridgerent is recycled, then they evacuate the system by putting a vacuum on the machine which then gets out all the air and whats left in there. then they put the recycle refridgerent back in its accually pretty cool

 

i am not a mechanic but it sounds like the compressor has not gone out yet so the flush should not be required, but it is prob not a bad idea. the shop can do an evac and empty out the system then you can replace the compressor and the accumulator (i heard the accumulator should always be replaced when you replace a compressor). mine was out when i got mine a few months back and we did not flush but put a new compressor and accumulator on and i did not do any gap measuring i dont know what that is. it is still working, i had to replace the low pressure switch on the accumulator also. don't know how long it will last but it is something you can put together and recharge yourself. i guess the flush is a judgement call. maybe i got lucky and did not need the flush. here is something i was looking at when i was going through my problems.


http://www.autoacrepairs.com/index.html

check it out and maybe talk you an a/c person to get their opinion

 

if its not broke dont fix it you do not have to change the accumulator if you replace the compressor

 

like i said that's what ive heard, but if the bearings are going out shouldn't he replace it before it does take a dump and contaminates the whole system. would you say he should just have a shop evac it and replace the compressor only, then recharge it himself? use the synthetic 134a. that's what i put in mine. and get some oil and prime the compressor before you install it. autozone also has a can called 1st charge that i used. it is suppose to protect the compressor from a dry startup when you are adding fresh freon, but if you prime it i don't know if you need it i used it anyway.

 

the stuff in a can is one of the worst things to put in your a/c system, im telling you man the best place to go is either a dealer or local tech that has all the stuff. 134a is what you should use but how did you get it is my question because you need a 609 to get the refridgerent.

 

i agree i'd rather my compressor not seize up on me driving down the road somewhere.

 

honestly you cant really do it yourself you need the right stuff in order to do it and get your a/c running right, hey you dont have to follow my instructions if you want to try and do it yourself ok just dont expect the results to be the same