When I bought my Max the A/C did not work. I took it to the dealer, they could not find the leak, and simply refilled the system with refrigerant. The tech who could not find a leak has since been fired. They refilled it at the end of July, the A/C worked in August, and stopped working in Septmeber. In November I took it back and a good tech checked for leaks and even showed me that the leak was at the compressor itself (with the UV dye). Since a new compressor is something like $700 from Nissan, I'm going to buy a used one for under $100 from a local salvage yard.

My question is: how common is it for a 4th gen A/C compressor to leak? My car had 74K miles when I bought it and the compressor leaked already, so was it just chance, or a defective compressor? The car was driven in Chicago so probably got heavy A/C use 3 months of each year.

I found a compressor from a '99 Maxima with 103K miles for $75. My idea is that a newer compressor with higher miles is better than an older compressor with somewhat lower miles, but who knows. (I assume all 4th gen A/C compressors are identical). Is there a good chance that this $75 one will serve me well for a few years, or should I look for something with fewer miles? I'm assuming that fixing my leaky (but otherwise working) compressor is more trouble than it's worth.

Judging by the Haynes manual it's pretty simple to change the compressor, but what about draining the refrigerant and refilling? Can i just put a bucket to collect the old stuff or is it harder than that? Keep in mind that it shouldn't be at any pressure due to the leak. I plan on taking it somewhere to get it refilled.

 

I am in the middle of replacing my AC compressor. I have been going through hell in the last month to get this done... Don;t ever buy a rebuilt compressor. I made the mistake of doing it twice... just buy a new one from a good dealer. I got one for 500... and should have done that in the first place instead of trying to spend 300 for rebuilt ones.

 

i have never changed a compressor, but i've read a lot of stuff that scares me away from doing it. the freon (r134a) is a gas under high pressure, so if you loosen a hose fitting, the freon escapes into the atmosphere. (this i have done, it looks like white steam) also in with the freon is a couple of ounces of oil to lubricate the compressor.

cleanliness is extremely important. if you get any dirt inside the ac system, it will destroy the compressor. a compressor from the junk yard could have a lot of s**t in the openings where the hoses go on. junkyards aren't very concerned with clean conditions.

a good ac shop has equipment that can suck the freon out (they call it "evacuating the system"). they can also clean out dirt from the hoses and the compressor.

ask the ac shop you plan on using what the price difference is between you changing the compressor and them changing it. it might be easier for them to check/clean the compressor off the car. maybe they might have to take the compressor off anyway.

 

Isn't the gas meant to be mega toxic? I thought you had to call the pro's in to drain the system

 

freon is bad for the environment. the older R34 supposedly eats the ozone layer in the atmosphere. i don't know if anyone knows what R134a does. you can't breath it, but its not deadly like chlorine gas or something. when i broke my hose, i didn't experience any problem (i think the extra arm and nose i grew were incidental lol).

if your ac system is charged, you have to suck out the freon (evacuate the system) before working on it since the ac system is pressureized. vquick says his system is probably empty from the leak. also, if you take a car with a leaking ac system into a shop and don't get it fixed, the shop is supposed to evacuate the system before returning the car to you. they get to keep the freon then.

 

No,
I wouldn't suggest trying to drink it, or do a whip it of it, or use it as Visine, but it's not pyrophoric or anything crazy like that.

 

Dennis,

When you say "white steam", it actually caught my attention. My AC had been acting up for the past two months. I took it to the shop and had the AC system check out.

When ever I drive local (5 to 10mph), I hear hissing sound from my glove compartment area and "White smoke or White steam" comes out of the right hand side engine (near the Compressor). When I'm on the highway (30mph plus), my AC works perfectly fine.

Can you please elobrate on the "white steam", I think I might have the leaky compressor.

 

That sounds like your evaporator is leaking, which is up under your dash, if you see that "steam" coming into your interior open up some windows. If it's just a seal leak you may be able to get away with a Charge with Stop leak.

 

The "steam" is not coming from inside the cabinet. It's coming near the AC compressor area. It's either "white smoke" or "white steam". When I hear the hissing sound coming near the glove compartment, I would see the "white smoke" coming out near the passenger engine area.

 

Sounds like a leak to me. Your A/C will probably stop working on you any day now, because once the refrigerant pressure drops below a certain level, the compressor won't turn on. Or maybe it does but it can't do anything without pressure.

I would take it to a good Nissan dealer or a good A/C shop.

 

Thanks for the info. I'll call around and see what they say about using a compressor from a salvage yard.

 

The 5spd I'm buying it's A/C compressor is dead. I looked in the Haynes manual as well on how to replace it, doesn't seem hard, but the recyling part is what kind of get in the way. I am also going to be purchasing a used one for $85, because I can't come to the fact why I would spend $550 at pepboys for a new compressor.

I was wondering though can I just take the car to a shop and have them recycle the freon, clean the dirt partciles out, and then just take it back to the house and replace the compressor?

 

4DRSpeed wrote:
I was wondering though can I just take the car to a shop and have them recycle the freon, clean the dirt partciles out, and then just take it back to the house and replace the compressor?


to change the compressor you have to have all the freon taken out before you do any work. after you change the compressor, then you refill the freon. all you can do is go and talk to the tech at the shop and see if they will work with you like this. they can do it if they want to.