AC compressor rebuild kit

JustinG · 11-20-2016, 10:35 PM

Does anyone know where I can find a rebuild kit for the compressor for a 99 alero 3.4? I have searched all over and cannot find anything. I bought a rebuilt compressor earlier in the year, but since I was working on the car and not driving it for about 8 months everything seemed fine until I saw the green dye leaking from around the compressor seal the other day.

I would like to rebuild the compressor myself, I just need to find the seals so I can get started.

Thanks

sleepyalero · 11-21-2016, 10:45 PM

... I honestly dont think anyone offers something like that. Might have to buy another unit.

kbubb91 · 11-22-2016, 12:30 AM

buy another unit on ebay, its only like $80

zzyzzx · 11-23-2016, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kbubb91

buy another unit on ebay, its only like $80

Link to $80 unit on eBay please.

IIRC a NEW one is like $150. And only a moron uses a rebuilt one.

Yes, I took apart a car A/C compressor once, and I doubt I could ever get it back together. That as a Ford FS10 compressor. I would not attempt to replace an A/C compressor gasket unless I had a spare to tinker with first to see how practical it was.

Here is a cheap new one on eBay, but it's still $130, and a no-name brand:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/A-C-Compress...-/331859338578

Now if you want a good one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/A-C-Compress...-/111989641549
$137 shipped and has a one year warranty.

JustinG · 11-26-2016, 02:30 PM

I ended up calling the company that rebuilt my compressor and they were going to send me another one and I would just mail the leaky one back. I told the guy to just send me the O ring that I needed and I never heard back from him. A few days later in the mail I got the O rings, I took the compressor out of the car yesterday and disassembled the unit. I had to clean out the groove where the O ring sits since there was a little pitting in the groove. Everything has been re-assembled and I will put the unit back in the car today.

I just have to wait until my cans of refrigerant comes in next week from amazon for me to charge the system. If it comes down to it and I have to purchase another unit I can do that since I am a moron. The links you posted above are good to know, when I was looking for a compressor they were not that cheap for a new one. But it is an old car and I have already brought it back alive with lots of new parts and a few rebuilt parts.

JustinG · 11-26-2016, 02:33 PM

Forgot to mention, I did find a place that sells kits to rebuild the compressor. The guy does videos on youtube and points you to the website to get the kit needed. Only detail is you need to know exactly what kit you need to order.

http://www.shopcenturyautoair.com/st..._Products.html

I was happy since I didn't need to order a kit since all the stickers and markings were not on the rebuilt compressor.

zzyzzx · 11-28-2016, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JustinG

I took the compressor out of the car yesterday and disassembled the unit. I had to clean out the groove where the O ring sits since there was a little pitting in the groove. Everything has been re-assembled and I will put the unit back in the car today.

Did you take any pictures when you replaced the seal?
How hard was it to do and did you use any special tools?
Like I said, I took another one apart and no way could I get it back together.

zzyzzx · 11-28-2016, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JustinG

I told the guy to just send me the O ring that I needed and I never heard back from him. A few days later in the mail I got the O rings

Is this what you got:
http://www.shopcenturyautoair.com/st...it_KT-V5N.html

And if you lost your r134a charge because if a crappy rebuilt compressor, they should have sent you 2 cans of r134a along with the gaskets. Of course you didn't think to ask.

JustinG · 11-30-2016, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zzyzzx

Is this what you got:
http://www.shopcenturyautoair.com/st...it_KT-V5N.html

And if you lost your r134a charge because if a crappy rebuilt compressor, they should have sent you 2 cans of r134a along with the gaskets. Of course you didn't think to ask.

The big seal is the one they sent me in the mail, it was extremely easy to replace the seal. I had found a video on youtube that showed this guy rebuilding a compressor and it was pretty much the same. The kit that I got to open the compressor was from harborfreight, I had the kit in my arsenal and it worked really well.

video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-mDBudWESE

I did think about my two cans of Freon but I didn't want to deal with the back and forth. I am sure they would have given me the Freon if I had followed their quidelines on getting the compressor installed by a certified AC tech.

zzyzzx · 12-01-2016, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JustinG

The kit that I got to open the compressor was from harborfreight, I had the kit in my arsenal and it worked really well.

Got a link and/or harbor freight part number on the kit?

zzyzzx · 12-01-2016, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JustinG

It was extremely easy to replace the seal.

Did the new gasket stop the leaking?

More importantly, did you just replace the big case gaskets and if so, did you take the whole thing apart, or were you just able to separate the two halves and replace those two gaskets? That is what I am looking to do since I think that is where mine is leaking from, and if I can get away with just separating the two halves and replacing those two gaskets, that might be easy enough to do.

JustinG · 12-09-2016, 07:28 PM

Sorry, I hadn't been on the forum for a while. I opened the compressor into two halves, I didn't dismantle everything like I was going to clean. Once I took the compressor apart I cleaned out the grooves with my dremel and a little wire wheel attached to the dremel. I guess you can use anything but the dremel was small and that seemed to work pretty good.

Once completed I just put it back together and tightened the bolts pretty snug since I didn't have the torque specs. I tested out the compressor and there were no leaks, everything seems to be working okay. I will keep my eye on the compressor maybe every weekend or so to see if the body starts leaking again. From what I understand, the compressors for these cars seem to spring a leak from the body seal all the time.

Let me look at the kit again and I will post a picture so you can see the exact kit. I just got inside from the garage and its kinda cold. Heading out to the gym in a few but I will post a pic for you tomorrow for the kit.

JustinG · 12-09-2016, 07:34 PM

I just did a quick check on my ebay to see if I really did get that kit from harborfreight. Looks like I didn't, I got it from here.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/A-C-Compress...item2811dc809c

Make sure and look at the video that I posted its really informative and will help you out a lot. When you disassemble do not go beyond what you are trying to fix. I say that because I tend to do that a lot and then end up with something that doesn't work when I put it back together all because I didn't match up a notch or groove etc.

zzyzzx · 12-11-2016, 11:11 PM

OK, so you just separated the halves, so no clutch pull or no replacing the shaft seal. Those are the hard parts, IMO.

JustinG · 12-12-2016, 02:05 PM

I had to remove everything on the top before I could get to the bolts that hold the body together. Its not as hard as it seems, it was pretty easy when I did it. Once the bolts came off you just hit it with a rubber mallet and the halves will come apart.

I didn't replace the shaft seal, I had to pull the clutch off with the puller tool. I guess it was easy to come off since they had already rebuilt the unit.