Quick car help. wifes car at dealer right now

[sniper7]

I'd let the pros do that one or trade the car in on something new or newer.

[tmleadr03]

$500 for parts and $500 for labor sounds about right . . . that's probably at least a 3 hour job to get to the compressor, replace it, charge it, replace whatever needed to be removed to get to the compressor, then test it. I'm guessing the compressor is about the same amount of labor as a heater core. If it isn't under warranty, you could've probably saved a hundred bucks or so by taking it somewhere other than the dealership. NOT a job to attempt yourself, and not something you want to take to a service station that'll do the work for half price (with used parts and improper tools).

About 2-300 in labor at the dealer for that job.

If the dealer prices are too much take it to a local independent shop.

I would say come see me but I am booked till the 5th. And if I take another car in before J gets his car back he is going to ban me.

[JMBD2112]

HBAR, I think you could get away with that in the older vehicles easier.

I don't know if this system is fixed orifice or expansion block, and it's my suspicion that the system ran *weak* for a little while before it blew up. It could have been dumping bits and pieces of plastic compression ring and aluminum into the system for a little while. IF that's the case, then everything ahead of the block/orifice might have to be replaced as well for maximum efficiency again. (accumulator and condenser)

Hopefully it just broke and that was the end of it.

Just my two cents.

if the parts are that high, then most likely the $1100 quote isn't too far off. Considdering to do it right, you need about $400 worth of tools to do the job, and depending on how hard the compressor is to get at, you could be looking at 5-8 hours of labor, plus you need to know WTF you're doing when you evacuate and charge the system or it isn't going to run efficiently.


For reference, I am certified by MACS for mobile AC.

I used to work for BOZO, They charge over $200 for a/c diag. They do have an ACR2000 (AC machine) that will flush the system, but you will have to replace the expansion valve. There's added labor as well since it's a hybrid. Not a big deal to disable, but they normally have one guy that's hybrid certified since it is a 300 volt system. Anyways I'm pretty familiar with the platform. If you haven't forked out the cash to get it fixed yet, pm me your VIN and I'll get you an estimate on Monday.

[XC700116]

I used to work for BOZO, They charge over $200 for a/c diag. They do have an ACR2000 (AC machine) that will flush the system, but you will have to replace the expansion valve. There's added labor as well since it's a hybrid. Not a big deal to disable, but they normally have one guy that's hybrid certified since it is a 300 volt system. Anyways I'm pretty familiar with the platform. If you haven't forked out the cash to get it fixed yet, pm me your VIN and I'll get you an estimate on Monday.

Good point on the intricacies of the hybrid platforms, I'd have never even thought of that aspect of it, since all of my work is on heavy equipment, but the AC system is pretty much the same thing in the basic sense as most automotive applications. Good info for sure.

[ChunkyMonkey]

Normaly the ac compressor + orifice tube are around $400-$500...

Sexy.. happy ending?

[ChunkyMonkey]

About 2-300 in labor at the dealer for that job.

If the dealer prices are too much take it to a local independent shop.

I would say come see me but I am booked till the 5th. And if I take another car in before J gets his car back he is going to ban me.

You meant to say.. if J doesnt give you some kind of special treatment, he ain't getting his car back.

[BushMasterBoy]

I replaced a compressor in a Nissan Altima a couple years ago. Hose was leaking and it lost a lot of lubricating oil. The compressor had seized I bought a compressor used on ebay for $80, got a new hose from rockauto.com for about $80. I bought a vacuum tool that connects to a air compressor for power, and evacuated the entire system for 30 minutes. I had also bought a set of A/C gauges from ebay for $40. Jacked the car up and removed and replaced compressor. Connected the new refrigerant hose. Then I set the vacuum pump to purge the system. Added some oil according to manufacturers specs. Added some refrigerant to specs. Checked the pressures. And the A/C worked good. Talked her into selling it and buying a jeep. Thank god she got the jeep, these dirt roads were beating the Altima to shit, struts were gonna be next...but hey the cheap Chinese gauges and vacuum pump did the trick!