Shop replacing ac compressor ?! holy s@#!
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 329
Likes: 0
From: North Little Rock Arkansas
Shop replacing ac compressor ?! holy s@#!
My ac compressor has a leak in the rear of it. Enough to drain a full charge in two days. Well I bought the compressor and decided I would just see how much a shop would charge to install because I knew it was going to be a hassle to diy. I almost pissed my pants when they told me 1,499 dollars!! 
I could but another car with ac for that much. haha So its going to be DIY for me. Any tips for me when i do this? there is no freon so I dont have to worry about evaculating it. but do I need an ac flush gun?
I could but another car with ac for that much. haha So its going to be DIY for me. Any tips for me when i do this? there is no freon so I dont have to worry about evaculating it. but do I need an ac flush gun?
Pro
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 719
Likes: 2
From: Columbia South Carolina
Sounds like a rip off. My compressor in my 2003 C240 is noisy, no leaks and works fine. So I decided to live with the noise due to the quote of $1600 for the replacement. Of course this includes the compressor and labor, which would include taking apart the front end to get to it.....
I do believe that our A/C compressor is much more assessable.
I do believe that our A/C compressor is much more assessable.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 329
Likes: 0
From: North Little Rock Arkansas
yeah I know you have to remove the water pump and the front passenger tire to get to the bolts to take out the compressor but honestly these auto repair shops feed on non-car educated people like a boogie man on little kids.
Pro
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 654
Likes: 1
From: chandler az
After you recover what freon is left, I would just install the new compressor, vacuum it down and make sure it holds vacuum overnight. The next day charge it up. It should take about 2lbs. I believe new compressors come with the new oil already in it.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 19,344
Likes: 1,123
From: Dyer, IN
My ac compressor has a leak in the rear of it. Enough to drain a full charge in two days. Well I bought the compressor and decided I would just see how much a shop would charge to install because I knew it was going to be a hassle to diy. I almost pissed my pants when they told me 1,499 dollars!! I could but another car with ac for that much. haha So its going to be DIY for me. Any tips for me when i do this? there is no freon so I dont have to worry about evaculating it. but do I need an ac flush gun?
I could but another car with ac for that much. haha So its going to be DIY for me. Any tips for me when i do this? there is no freon so I dont have to worry about evaculating it. but do I need an ac flush gun?
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 32,910
Likes: 2,402
From: Anthony TX
CI 6,7,8,9,11 Vet
St. Jude Donor '08
If you don’t use the tables, the charge will not be correct.
BC
Pro
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 606
Likes: 18
From: burke va
According to the receipt for work done to the AC system less than one month before I bought my '97 last November (car had 58,000 mi.) The "stealer" charged : new delco compressor-$780, delco orfice-$7, Delco something (could not read writing)-$43, AC oil-$15, flush-$15, Freon-$45, belt $34, Labor-$552. Very close to $1,500. It looks like that price is the going rate.
Team Owner
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 23,480
Likes: 9
From: East Meadow NY
St. Jude Donor '12
My ac compressor has a leak in the rear of it. Enough to drain a full charge in two days. Well I bought the compressor and decided I would just see how much a shop would charge to install because I knew it was going to be a hassle to diy. I almost pissed my pants when they told me 1,499 dollars!! I could but another car with ac for that much. haha So its going to be DIY for me. Any tips for me when i do this? there is no freon so I dont have to worry about evaculating it. but do I need an ac flush gun?
I could but another car with ac for that much. haha So its going to be DIY for me. Any tips for me when i do this? there is no freon so I dont have to worry about evaculating it. but do I need an ac flush gun?Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)
Joe Kucinski
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!
Brett Foote
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know
Joe Kucinski
5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2
Michael S. Palmer
2027 Corvette vs The World: Every C8 vs Its Closest Competitor
Joe Kucinski
10 Most Common Corvette Problems of the Last 20 Years!
Joe Kucinski
5 MOST and 5 LEAST Popular Corvette Model Years in History!
Joe Kucinski
Drifting
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 1,389
Likes: 3
From: somewhere shooting my assault rifles
You gotta remove water pump to get compressor off? What idiot designer thought that up?
If mine ever goes out making racket/squeaking etc. ill just cut the belt since I never have used the heater or A/C for last 5 years anyway.
Man I swear having to remove other major items to get to another is just not right designing...
If mine ever goes out making racket/squeaking etc. ill just cut the belt since I never have used the heater or A/C for last 5 years anyway.
Man I swear having to remove other major items to get to another is just not right designing...
7th Gear
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 7
Likes: 0
From: Texas City (south of Houston) Texas
I have all maintenance records for my '98 from the original owner and I thumbed back through them to find the one with A/C work. I found a receipt from 06 with the following charges:
Compressor $760
Orifice $4.01
Lubricant $13.64
Dye Kit $4.45
Hose Asm $117.89
R134 Freon $26.68
Core $7.01
Parts total $933.68
Tech Labor $506.50
Total $1440.18
Tax included $1518.00
This was done at a Stealership in Fontana California according to the records I have.
The complaint was A/C not cold. Solution was Replaced compressor and muffler hose, vacuum and recharge.
Compressor $760
Orifice $4.01
Lubricant $13.64
Dye Kit $4.45
Hose Asm $117.89
R134 Freon $26.68
Core $7.01
Parts total $933.68
Tech Labor $506.50
Total $1440.18
Tax included $1518.00
This was done at a Stealership in Fontana California according to the records I have.
The complaint was A/C not cold. Solution was Replaced compressor and muffler hose, vacuum and recharge.
Last edited by framedragger; May 18, 2010 at 08:50 PM. Reason: forgot to include tax.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 32,910
Likes: 2,402
From: Anthony TX
CI 6,7,8,9,11 Vet
St. Jude Donor '08
Most likley half of the compressor replacements were FICTIONAL repairs and the compressor didnt need to be replaced. Ive seen too many things replaced that were 100% operational.
ALWAYS get a second opinion and NEVER let them think you will just cave in and throw cash at them!
They will run with your cash each time!
ALWAYS get a second opinion and NEVER let them think you will just cave in and throw cash at them!
They will run with your cash each time!
Burning Brakes
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 963
Likes: 23
Wow that's a lot man. Last summer I bought a compressor off of a guy on the forums for 250 bucks. Took it to the local shop and they installed and charged it for about 450. So all in all about 700 bucks total on mine and they always do an outstanding job. Must be all about location huh?
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 3,518
Likes: 37
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 329
Likes: 0
From: North Little Rock Arkansas
this write up from a fellow CF member is the one im going to use. http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-t...-write-up.html
Last edited by 00transamls1; May 19, 2010 at 08:07 AM.
Tech Contributor
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 3,100
Likes: 17
From: Somers, CT and Clermont, FL
St. Jude Donor '09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16
If any moisture is allowed to remain inside, it reacts with the refrigerant, causing internal corrosion of the sealed system.
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 1,454
Likes: 1
From: Port Charlotte FL
Wow im about to pick up a remanfactured ac compressor on ebay and have someone local install it, hopefully for around $300 max... My ac compressor has always made a loud clicking, then one day the clicking stopped and my air doesn't blow cold. The compressor still turns on though, its not seized or anything so I'm not sure what happened?