I had to disconnect the compressor and let it hang while I put in a new alternator. It was a major pain in the butt! I finally was able to mount the alternator but when I was tightening the alternator nut, I heard a loud pop and Freon sprayed all over the engine compartment. What the $@9/$&(!

It appears that I bumped into the compressor while I was torquing the alternator nut. Even though the compressor was supported by a jack while it was in the hanging position, the bump must have caused the compressor to move and put too much pressure on the AC Suction Line Hose Connector. The connector bolt pulled out of the compressor (see photo) causing all the Freon to literally explode in my garage.

Logic tells me that if the bolt was pulled out of the compressor, the grooves in the compressor hole where the bolt is screwed into must be stripped. There is no point in just trying to put the bolt back in the compressor and reconnect the hose. The connection will not be tight and it will just leak freon. Do you agree with that thinking? I put this this compressor 5 years ago so I am not afraid of AC work. Rather than messing with it, I am considering just putting in a new compressor and called it a freaky learning experience.

 

tap the compressor,find a stud+ nut, and drill the bracket to match. while your at it just put in new rubber lines since these cars are old.

A/C on these cars are pretty easy to work on. I changed my compresor, rubber lines, expansion valve , and drier last summer. still blowing like a champ.

make sure to use the green A/C O-rings. regular black O-rings always fail.

pull a vacuum for half an hour and make sure the gauge doesn't go back to zero after an hour. high side pressure should be double outside temperature + 50 psi. I also check pressure with hood closed and in the sunlight to make sure there isn't too much freon. too much freon will make the compressor cycle on and off. when the pressure is perfect the compressor will go none stop and the A/C will be super cold.

you wont need to add compressor oil either...

 

Brilliant idea. Tap the hole and use a larger bolt. it beats buying a new compressor because the mounting holes for the hose is stripped. I put this compressor in 4 years ago myself. So I am brave enough to mess with AC work.

 

The suction hose connector bolt was at a location in the compressor where I could not tap and drill all the way through and add a nut.

But the principle of tapping still worked. I bought a tapping wrench and a 3/8” - 16 bottoming tap to cut new grooves for a 3/8” - 16 bolt that I found. I had to enlarge the existing hole slightly prior to tapping. I had to order new green O rings in metric sizes. My box of O rings in SAE sizes did not fit. I evacuated the system and tested for leaks. After an hour, the vacuum pressure held. I added 1.1 pounds of r134. Every works now. Icy cold air and alternator puts out >14 volts.

Lessons learned to pass onto others:

- It is true. The alternator was a PIA to replace. Even tough some people say that you could replace it without removing the compressor, I could not do it. I removed the coolant fans and was able to get the old alternator out but I could not put in the new one using this method.
- The service manual calls for removing compressor bolts to replace alternator. That worked.
- New Problem - when tightened the alternator bolt, I bumped into the compressor and caused the suction hose to pop out. There was a a134 explosion in my garage. It was contained in the engine compartment. Thank goodness. So be careful when you let the compressor hang. Even if you support it, there is a lot of torque and pressure on the small bolt holding the hose connectors. One wrong move, and they will pop off.
- Tapping new grooves for a larger bolt saved me from having to buy a new compressor due to the old stripped bolt hole.
- Use metric size O rings for hose connector. System leaked when I used SAE size even though they looked similar to the naked eye.

Replacing the alternator was more than I bargained for. I had to also do AC repair. I had worked on my AC a few years ago. So good skill to have. I also had to drain and refill my engine coolant due to disconnecting upper and lower hoses. But every works now.

 

I did my alternator a few times, the pulleys on the Duralast alternators kept coming off. it got easier each time I did it. when I swapped in the 2014 engine I returned the Duralast unit to Autozone for a refund and got a 4th gen 125 amp alternator from Rockauto. I also put a lightweight Z1 motorsports 350Z alternator pulley on it and used orange Loctite on the nut. the extra 15 amps really helps when my stereo is cranked up,I have a small amp for the door speakers and another for the sub.