PontiacBonnevilleClub.com

I would like to get some opinions on this one. My repair place is saying I need a new compressor and before I spend the bucks on it I want to get some second and maybe third opinions

So back in 2018 my car went into Northstar Performance in Canada for an engine transplant. While doing the job I had him replace the A/C compressor since the engine would be out. Hindsight maybe I shouldn't have done that.. but fast foward to now.. the car slowly lost it's cooling last summer and stopped working but up until that point it had worked as it should cycling as normal. This year I took it in and all the freon was gone so I had it recharged. The place said there was probably a leak and so they added the dye. They also put it on a vacuum and it held vacuum so if there was a leak they thought it would be small. He said the car took 32oz of Freon which I thought was a bit high.

The A/C now would come on and run but only at RPM higher than about 1000-1500. You stop at a light and it would get warm. Then taking off it would get cold again and I mean really cold - like it should. So it did this for a bit and then it started getting warm while driving at higher than 1000 RPM so I took it back to him (he told me to do this in case something happened for him to check for leaks). When I told him about the thing with it only coming on at 1000 RPM or over that's when he went to the theory of a bad compressor. He checked it again and it had lost 3.5 oz of freon. They found a leak on a line coming off the compressor. Again he told me that the compressor was likely failing and it's going to keep acting like this. I had him fix just the leak and refill the freon.

I haven't gotten it back yet to see if it's operating normally. I just find it odd that it stopped working and then when recharged it was not working normally again. I'm wondering if it was possibly overcharged because I didn't think it would take that amount of Freon. He supposedly has a licensed dude that works there that knows what he's doing. I've always been nervous to have someone work on the a/c because you never know what you're going to get.

Thanks!
Rich

Anyone?

Little late, but to me it sounds like they actually DIDN'T recharge it. It is a "safety" in the system that the compressor won't cycle on if their isn't an acceptable level of refrigerant in it.

When they pull and hold a vacuum to test for leaks it will indicate most but not all leaks. Last year my wife's car slowly lost AC. I shot gunned some parts at it, it passed a vac test, I re-charged it and the same thing happened quicker in the spring. I made an air hose to a/c charge line adapter, pressurized the system with air then sprayed down all the lines with soapy water. I found the mechanical pressure relief valve near the compressor was leaking.. which makes since since a vacuum would seal it. I replaced that and it fixed the issue.

Yea, I should've been more clear. Either they didn't actually recharge it, or as you said, a small leak allowed refrigerant to escape.

I have that with the G8, but I found it in the fitting itself.

Hey there! Sounds like a frustrating situation. Before committing to a new compressor, it might be worth checking the basics. Could be a sensor issue or perhaps an overcharge, as you mentioned. Have you considered getting a second opinion from another A/C specialist to rule out other possibilities? Better safe than sorry! #CarACWoes