Seems that I’m not lucky with compressors:
1. one on vehicle, original, hadn’t worked
2. bought original / ac delco - it burned up upon connection;
3. Bought Delphi - and it worked since, about 1.5 years - now dead.
4. Ordered A-premium from Amazon now - got “order cancelled by the seller” in a week.

Need forum wisdom to decide what brand to buy and where, as I see nothing else in Amazon and vendors I use for new items (Rockauto and Summit). Not sure that ready to rely on preowned one from eBay…

thanks in advance.

 

Four Seasons is reputedly a good brand......

 

Have you been using 150 weight compressor oil? I bought a kit from Rockauto and forgot the brand but it wasn't GM, it's worked very well. They offer a UAC kit now for $300.

 

My 4 year old, 20k mile Delphi has begun seeping refrigerant, so I’m with you on figuring out what to try next.

 

I had a Four Seasons compressor installed in May and seems fine. The original was rusted and bearings were making a lot of noise. I do not know where the shop sourced the part however.

 

It sounds like you have a condition from your first original failed compressor that was not corrected with compressor number 2 and also led to a short life for compressor number 3. Whether it was a loss of charge, internal contamination, excessive high side pressure, or whatever else, if its not corrected with number 4 you can expect another early failure.

I have not seen anyones V7 copy so I have no knowledge about their quality and reliability. I do have personal experience with the Delphi V7 and know the design and development work that went into it. When I realized last year that Delphi stopped making service compressors for the C5, I searched and searched to find one still on someones shelf and bought it. The body o-rings are a design weakness and my 24 year old V7 is showing a bit of weepage so I will get around to replacing it one of these days.

There are still some NOS V7’s for sale that have been sitting on a shelf since 2004. There may also be newer Delphi service compressors out there too. As long as they have remained sealed and stored under reasonable warehouse conditions, they should good.

You should note that the service instructions ask you to rotate the compressor by hand. This is needed to get oil onto all the internal surfaces.

 

Great call!! If the first compressor puked, the condensor and everything easily accessed should've been changed. If that was what happened, with no change of the condenser, drier, and lines, you could go thru 8 compressors before you might remove all the shrapnel.....

 

I just went through this. First compressor grenaded and was replaced. That one seized up on the freeway, this time all components were replaced except the evaporator. Shop used a Four Seasons compressor, so far so good. The second shop also said the replacement compressor most likely failed due to contaminants in the system from the first compressor failure.

 

Just used oil in compressor, as far as I think - no need to add if buying new, filled option…

 

Thanks to both great posts. Is there any checklist what to check / what to change - to ensure that previous condition is fixed ?

 

PS: ordered new ‘four seasons’ via amazon. Now need instruction not to screw up this one

 

You need a compressor, condenser, orifice tube and accumulator. You need a flush gun and solution. The new compressor crankcase needs to be filled with oil before installation.

 

Some compressors are shipped with thinner oil so that needs to be drained before installation.

 

AFAIK, all new compressors come filled with, use, and have used for at least the last 15-20 years, PAG oil (polyalkylene glycol). No more mineral oil.....

 

Now lets hope you're getting the real deal Four Seasons comsqueezor, and not some Chinesium knockoff......

 

You will find multiple Youtubes for compressor replacement. Some remove the water pump, some drop the cradle slightly, possibly other methods too.

The attached file may help you decide. It’s author did an excellent write up.

Given your compressor failure history, you’ve received advice to replace components and flush what remains. This will leave your system free of oil so you will need a full charge. For a Delphi V7, it is 9 ounces I believe. Four Seasons should provide information for their quantity requirement. Additionally, Four Seasons should specify the type/brand name (as Grinder noted, all R134a systems use a PAG oil) and state whether or not the compressor is filled with a full system charge or not.