Inspecting the A/C

[Tim]

Went to the pick 'n' pull today, and I assembled what I believe to be a complete air conditioning setup for my Festiva. Before I go to the trouble of installing everything, is there a way I can check stuff like the compressor and A/C core to make sure they work? How would I go about doing this?


Regards,

Tim

[mattswabb]

Was there pressure in it when you took it apart? If so I would assume it works. Other than that not sure how to check other than going to an air conditioner repair shop and ask them to test them.

matt

[Tim]

While the freon had been drained, there was still some pressure -enough to make a "hiss" when I disconnected the hoses. Some freon also spilled out from the compressor when I turned it on its side.


All this has been sitting in a junkyard for a couple years; would the elements have a significant impact on their useability? Everything looks OK; I removed an inch (no joke) of oil and crap from the compressor when I unbolted it.

[SimonTuffGuy]

Moved it to the engine section since it's located in the engine more than the interior of the car.

Simon

[Kindred]

Install it and see how it works. If the compressor is shot, you're probably going looking at changing a few other parts as it'll spew metal shards into the system. These metal shards will destroy any new compressor you may install. My AC system wouldn't hold a charge. I would have had to refill it every 3 months or it would stop working for me. When you get it in the car, have it flushed and leak checked. Since it's been sitting around for so long, you'll want to flush it to minimize contaminants which can clog your expansion valve and destroy the compressor.

[Silv3rBull3t]

...

I have a good compressor from my 1990 that I took out when I did my motor swap Jan. 10... So it's def. still good let me know if you need it... -Kyle

[Tim]

Thanks.

The pick 'n' pull gave me a 30 day warranty on the compressor, which I deemed the most failure-prone component. If I have the whole shebang running after 30 days and the compressor dies I might take you up on the offer.


Regards,

Tim


BTW, is there a way I can check to see if the clutch is good on it?