AC Compressor seal on 09 LS3
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AC Compressor seal on 09 LS3
Has anyone ever replaced the AC' compressor seal on the OEM GM compressors on the 2009 LS3's
I have been unable to find a seal and GM only services it as the compressor assembly.
I am a Mechanic by trade and when I worked at Honda , it was common practice to change the compressor seals with a lot of success.
Is there any aftermarket sources for these seals on the vettes, or do they even exist?
Seems like a shame to swap out the entire compressor over a leaking seal.
I have been unable to find a seal and GM only services it as the compressor assembly.
I am a Mechanic by trade and when I worked at Honda , it was common practice to change the compressor seals with a lot of success.
Is there any aftermarket sources for these seals on the vettes, or do they even exist?
Seems like a shame to swap out the entire compressor over a leaking seal.
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Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 12,502
Likes: 3,631
With seal gone, would dare to guess that bearings/shaft surfaces are gone as well, and what took out the seal.
But since most of the time its not the needle bearings that are shot, but the shaft that is part of the swash plate that is worn/why you have slop shaft to bearings that take the seal out, would first start with pulling the compressor apart, make sure that shafts/bearings/pistons to channels are still in good shape to begin with. If all that is good, then easy to pull the front seal out of the front cap, mic the shaft and recess for the front cap seal, and just pick up a new front seal and O rings for a few dollars to reassembly the unit.
Basic A/C compressor strip down to bring the rest up to speed, and seal and O rings are just a few dollars, if they are the only problems to start with.
Once you do have part numbers, then easy to cross reference to either get it locally, or just order them up from amazon.
Also, make sure to use silicone grease on the seals, shafts, and O ring when reinstalling, and do a vacuum test of the unit when reassembled, to make sure you don't have an air leak on the unit before you put it back in the car, then put the system under a vacuum to boil out any humidity that is in the system still, before you put the Freon charge to it.
As for seals and O rings,
Can download the book from here, or if you are doing enough seal work, then can get the book from them to have on hand instead.
https://www.herculesus.com/page.php?id=311
Here is your pressure charts for Freon refill in the end.
https://www.mediafire.com/file/6hw61...harts.pdf/file
But since most of the time its not the needle bearings that are shot, but the shaft that is part of the swash plate that is worn/why you have slop shaft to bearings that take the seal out, would first start with pulling the compressor apart, make sure that shafts/bearings/pistons to channels are still in good shape to begin with. If all that is good, then easy to pull the front seal out of the front cap, mic the shaft and recess for the front cap seal, and just pick up a new front seal and O rings for a few dollars to reassembly the unit.
Basic A/C compressor strip down to bring the rest up to speed, and seal and O rings are just a few dollars, if they are the only problems to start with.
Once you do have part numbers, then easy to cross reference to either get it locally, or just order them up from amazon.
Also, make sure to use silicone grease on the seals, shafts, and O ring when reinstalling, and do a vacuum test of the unit when reassembled, to make sure you don't have an air leak on the unit before you put it back in the car, then put the system under a vacuum to boil out any humidity that is in the system still, before you put the Freon charge to it.
As for seals and O rings,
Can download the book from here, or if you are doing enough seal work, then can get the book from them to have on hand instead.
https://www.herculesus.com/page.php?id=311
Here is your pressure charts for Freon refill in the end.
https://www.mediafire.com/file/6hw61...harts.pdf/file
Thread Starter
Advanced
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 52
Likes: 3
With seal gone, would dare to guess that bearings/shaft surfaces are gone as well, and what took out the seal.
But since most of the time its not the needle bearings that are shot, but the shaft that is part of the swash plate that is worn/why you have slop shaft to bearings that take the seal out, would first start with pulling the compressor apart, make sure that shafts/bearings/pistons to channels are still in good shape to begin with. If all that is good, then easy to pull the front seal out of the front cap, mic the shaft and recess for the front cap seal, and just pick up a new front seal and O rings for a few dollars to reassembly the unit.
Basic A/C compressor strip down to bring the rest up to speed, and seal and O rings are just a few dollars, if they are the only problems to start with.
Once you do have part numbers, then easy to cross reference to either get it locally, or just order them up from amazon.
https://youtu.be/w3aqgpKz5nI
Also, make sure to use silicone grease on the seals, shafts, and O ring when reinstalling, and do a vacuum test of the unit when reassembled, to make sure you don't have an air leak on the unit before you put it back in the car, then put the system under a vacuum to boil out any humidity that is in the system still, before you put the Freon charge to it.
As for seals and O rings,
Can download the book from here, or if you are doing enough seal work, then can get the book from them to have on hand instead.
https://www.herculesus.com/page.php?id=311
Here is your pressure charts for Freon refill in the end.
https://www.mediafire.com/file/6hw61...harts.pdf/file
But since most of the time its not the needle bearings that are shot, but the shaft that is part of the swash plate that is worn/why you have slop shaft to bearings that take the seal out, would first start with pulling the compressor apart, make sure that shafts/bearings/pistons to channels are still in good shape to begin with. If all that is good, then easy to pull the front seal out of the front cap, mic the shaft and recess for the front cap seal, and just pick up a new front seal and O rings for a few dollars to reassembly the unit.
Basic A/C compressor strip down to bring the rest up to speed, and seal and O rings are just a few dollars, if they are the only problems to start with.
Once you do have part numbers, then easy to cross reference to either get it locally, or just order them up from amazon.
https://youtu.be/w3aqgpKz5nI
Also, make sure to use silicone grease on the seals, shafts, and O ring when reinstalling, and do a vacuum test of the unit when reassembled, to make sure you don't have an air leak on the unit before you put it back in the car, then put the system under a vacuum to boil out any humidity that is in the system still, before you put the Freon charge to it.
As for seals and O rings,
Can download the book from here, or if you are doing enough seal work, then can get the book from them to have on hand instead.
https://www.herculesus.com/page.php?id=311
Here is your pressure charts for Freon refill in the end.
https://www.mediafire.com/file/6hw61...harts.pdf/file
I'm not trying to sound rude and hope I don't, however, I am a licenced technician and I have done this before and there are no issues with my compressor except the seal is shot. Already had it apart to inspect.
Really what I am looking for is where to find the compressor seal.
I just cant seem to find a source for it.
So any info leading to a source would be greatly appreciated.
Thank again
Allen
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Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 12,502
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Got the measurements of the shaft for ID, the seal pocket in the cover for OD and height of seal, and if seal is single or double lipped?
If you have it out, then just post a photo of it so we can see what lips/design it has to figure that out, then post the other dimension so we can figure out the rest
Same for the O rings for there thickness/sizes as well.
Short of that, give these guys a call, and should be able to hook you up for a few dollars more at a package seal of what you need.
https://www.finditparts.com/search?u...gs=true&page=1
If you have it out, then just post a photo of it so we can see what lips/design it has to figure that out, then post the other dimension so we can figure out the rest
Same for the O rings for there thickness/sizes as well.
Short of that, give these guys a call, and should be able to hook you up for a few dollars more at a package seal of what you need.
https://www.finditparts.com/search?u...gs=true&page=1
Thread Starter
Advanced
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 52
Likes: 3
Got the measurements of the shaft for ID, the seal pocket in the cover for OD and height of seal, and if seal is single or double lipped?
If you have it out, then just post a photo of it so we can see what lips/design it has to figure that out, then post the other dimension so we can figure out the rest
Same for the O rings for there thickness/sizes as well.
Short of that, give these guys a call, and should be able to hook you up for a few dollars more at a package seal of what you need.
https://www.finditparts.com/search?u...gs=true&page=1
If you have it out, then just post a photo of it so we can see what lips/design it has to figure that out, then post the other dimension so we can figure out the rest
Same for the O rings for there thickness/sizes as well.
Short of that, give these guys a call, and should be able to hook you up for a few dollars more at a package seal of what you need.
https://www.finditparts.com/search?u...gs=true&page=1
Thread Starter
Advanced
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 52
Likes: 3
OK so here are some pics of the seal and the shaft as well as the front cover of the compressor housing. Sorry the pics are not the best but I think you can still get a good idea of the seal
The shaft is in beautiful shape and from what I can see the seal would fix this thing right up.
I'm not sure what type of seal you would call it but the inside of the seal is a very hard plastic/rubber compound that contacts the shaft then an very thin lip that contacts the shaft as well
Here are the dimensions I came up with
Shaft Diameter - .5625" or 14.29mm
Seal Bore (OD) - 1.0220 or 25.95mm
seal height not including the thin sealing lip - .283" or 7.17mm
It looks like Omega Environmental Technologies lists the compressor number 20-21515 from 06-13 vette and its a CVC type compressor.
The only seal I was able to match from the link that you sent me was this OMEGA MT2158 but it only lists for an 05-08 vette however the compressors are supposed to be the
same for 05-13 from what I know of.
MT2158 by OMEGA ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES - A/C Compressor Shaft Seal Kit - Mitsubishi Msc90C/Msc105Cvs Thin Lip Seal Kit (finditparts.com)
I am not sure if you have any suggestions but I am going to call Omega tomorrow and see what they can tell me.
There seems to be very limited information on this compressor anyways. It seems specific to C6 vette only, however I'm sure much of the internal parts would be the same as other GM models.
Last edited by Allen Vos; Oct 29, 2023 at 12:58 PM.
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Posts: 12,502
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