Time to make my '96 Roady Wagon cool again!

So the a/c died the other day on the Roadmaster wagon. Compressor still comes on, no leaks to be seen. Put gauges on it and full pressure...the SHAFT inside the compressor broke! Ha! New one on me!


Thank Goodness I had a Rock Auto discount number I've been saving.  Got a new compressor, but it's not a Delco, so we'll see how it works.   Wanted the Delco but this was new and a great price.   Fingers crossed!







That original compressor lasted 130K miles and through 21-years of Texas Heat...I'm not really even mad...it made it all this summer too, and it had a LONG hard life!

-Texas Mike

As it is from Global Parts Distributors, I'm guessing that means made in cheena?

Tom

silverfox103 wrote:

As it is from Global Parts Distributors, I'm guessing that means made in cheena?

Tom

I got it from Rock Auto.  It had the "heart" next to it as one of the most popular products, so I'll hope it was bolted together well.  It looks like a quality item.   We'll see how it holds up. The box came from Georgia. Here is what it came with:

Description:
Brand: Global Parts Distributors
Part Number: 6511344
Condition: New

http://www.globalpartsdist.com/catalog/about.php

(Global Parts Distributors LLC). GPD is one of the most knowledgeable and dependable sources for A/C parts and radiators in the United States. The motto of GPD is "To supply the best parts and prices possible". These GPD compressors are a great quality product at a great price."

We shall see!

-Mike

blah blah blah - all that product info the marketing guys write.  I put one GPD and one 4 Seasons compressor on two of my minivans two years ago. Neither one made it two years;  one started eating itself and the other one started leaking at the case seal.  Keep a close eye on it and your warranty paperwork in hand.

BTW any rock auto discount code will work - half the time I use the one they send me and half the time I just grab one off the internet.

Had folks asking me on Facebook why I was messing with a/c in November. Ha! Welcome to Texas!

81X11 wrote:

Had folks asking me on Facebook why I was messing with a/c in November.   Ha!   Welcome to Texas!

Lol we are supposed to have a 80 degree day tomorrow lol

OK we're cool again! Blowing ice cubes, which is good because it hit 90-degrees today here in Round Rock! Even for Texas this is crazy weather! Not complaining!








Stay Cool Folks!

-Mike

WELL this didn't take long. Compressor froze on the Roadmaster last night. Impressive too...threw sparks like it was the 4th-of-July...clutch trying to turn a frozen unit. Amazing... Original compressor lasted 134K miles and 21-years. New one lasted 4-month and 3000 miles...

Grrr....

Glad I have a couple used take offs on my shelf...

jayoldschool wrote:

Glad I have a couple used take offs on my shelf...

I bought the compressor, accumulator and orifice tube from RockAuto. The return policy is a bit sketchy now. They do no have ANY phone support, you have to do it on the website. To get replacements, I had to purchase all new parts, and then will have to send the failed parts back. I just ordered the parts, and they should be here on Friday. I really hope once I send the parts back, they refund me. That was money I did not have to spend right now.

Frustrating.

-Michael

Always wondered about the return/warranty process for RA. It's why i only use them for certain items. Anything that has a chance at failure comes from Advance Auto. Can order parts online, pick up in store and they always have a 15 to 20% discount active on their site.

On topic, sucks that your new part failed. AC products are so hit and miss these days.

Please don't take offense, I have no idea of your AC expertise.

Did you use the correct PAG lubricant and measure it precisely for the new components? What do you use for pulling vacuum?

Lack of lube
Too much refrigerant?

Don't worry about Rock Auto returns. Have returned a number of items with no issues. There are phone numbers but you really have to dig to find them on the site. Usually better using email. They do respond.

Bill

In my experience,lack of lube ALWAYS causes issues.

Well well well. Don't get me wrong, I'm sorry that happened to you. But I'm not surprised. Can you rotate it by hand in either direction?

Usually those compressors ship FULL of oil, and after you hook everything up you're actually supposed to rotate them by hand to pump all the oil out into the lines before you start the car. That's been my experience on four different compressors for three different manufacturers' vehicles.

Rock Auto warranty works the same as an Advance Auto warranty, except that you have to pay for shipping costs with Rock Auto.

Plus Advance has a compressor that you can take home the same day you turn one in

Rockauto is just too slow on shipping. I have moved on to Amazon. Two days and unlike RA, they ship on weekends.

OK so I've replaced the compressor, accumulator, and orifice tube, and I flushed everything really well. The car is blowing ice-cubes again, and compressor is quiet, BUT I noticed only the main engine fan is coming on when the compressor is on. I pulled the temp switch wire near the water pump, and both fans come on, so the motors work, and then I swapped the two fan relays to see if I possibly had a bad relay, but nope, works the same...
SO does anyone know...DO both fans always come on with the a/c, or is the 2nd fan controlled with a pressure switch or something? It's not terribly hot out right now, but it's Texas and will be soon. I want to make sure this is working right.
OH and I do have the Innovative Wiring kit installed. My car originally had the mechanical fan, but I swapped to the dual electrics a few years back. It worked fine...I thought.
-Michael

The fans are controlled by both temperature AND A/C system pressure. The secondary fan pressure threshold is significantly higher than the primary.

Did you have your pcm reprogrammed to lower the fan turn on temps ?

jasonlachapelle wrote:

The fans are controlled by both temperature AND A/C system pressure.   The secondary fan pressure threshold is significantly higher than the primary.

Did you have your pcm reprogrammed to lower the fan turn on temps ?

No I never found anyone local to program the fans to come on at a lower temp, but in the past they both did work with the a/c on, but that second fan would cycle.   I've let it idle a long time and have yet to see the 2nd fan come on.  I also swapped the relays thinking that might be the issue, but that didn't change anything.   Lastly I checked the two related fuses, and both are fine.  

Frustrating.

what are you frustrated about? a/c on fan running all is cool
as jason says the secondary fan doesn't turn on until the engine is approaching medium rare, your engine is not overheating,. it's all good! you need to switch the ocd button off

phantom 309 wrote:

what are you frustrated about? a/c on fan running all is cool
as jason says the secondary fan doesn't turn on until the engine is approaching medium rare, your engine is not overheating,. it's all good!   you need to switch the ocd button off

The last compressor lasted only a few months, and I hardly drive this car. I was worried the fan wasn't coming on, causing too much pressure in the system, which led to the failure. Compressor #3 is installed...don't want to lose it to. Just wanted to be sure....

As Nick said, I would not stress about anything you are stressing about.

SO the Roadmaster is again blowing ice-cubes. I'm a little concerned that it's going to happen again, as I still have not seen the second fan come on...but it's not really hot out, only 80's here. I need to have the PCM done to kick the fans on earlier...

I'm also a little concerned about only flushing the condenser. I worked at an a/c shop in the mid-90's, and we always did the accumulator and orifice when doing a compressor, but only flushed the evap and condenser. I'm told now that 134A cars have condensers with smaller tubes, and flushing doesn't always get them clean, and that I should have replaced the condenser too. Anyone else been told this? New on to me!

-Michael

I work on lots of AC and we never flush a condenser, it gets replaced. They are too hard, impossible really, to flush out completely.

The Evap should be flushed as well as all lines. New orifice tube and accumulator.

All it takes is a little dirt, metal to destroy a compressor.

A minimum of 1 hour vacuum as well.

Very rare that I have a come back issue and I work on systems that run nearly 24/7.

Any crap that made it into the condenser can't make it out past the orifice tube screen. So after running the system for a few days or a month, evacuate it and pull the orifice tube. That virtually never happens since the parallel flow condenser design turn any debris into deposits in the bottom tube. But if there was crap in that screen, replace it and check again in another few days.

If crap did make it past the orifice tube, next would have to make it all the way through the evaporator to the accumulator, which is another place where any debris will simply fall to the bottom and, well, accumulate. The only thing coming out of the accumulator is vapour.

GM recommends against flushing, and specifies that the only acceptable flush medium is R134a refrigerant. They recommend installing a suction side screen when replacing the compressor (eg: GM Part # J44551-10). The reason is NOT because crap from the failed compressor may have made it's way all the way around the system, but rather, that crap may have been blown back into the suction line when the system died.

As for the factory oil fill that comes in the new compressor, you are supposed to drain that out and add a measured amount of fresh. And as mentioned, after buttoning up the system, you are supposed to rotate the compressor manually 10 turns to distribute the oil.

Just an update, since having the PCM tune, the fans are both coming on now. Before I hardly ever noticed the driver's side one coming on, but now it cycles a lot more often with the a/c on, and with both fans on at most stops and in show traffic, the a/c blows ice cubes!