Erik, > Is it possible to rebuild the A/C Compressor? I had a bad experience having a compressor rebuilt. For the trouble it is worth a few extra bucks to buy a new one from a DeLorean vendor. I paid around $200 for a local wholesale rebuilder to do mine. The alternatives were a new one from PJ Grady for around $250 and a local import specialty shop had about the same price as Grady. But I wasn't sure if the local one would have the correct head. I started with a compressor that had been sitting in the weather for about 4 years on a junk chassis that had the body removed by the previous owner. The rebuild shop (Chilly Bear in St. Pete, FL) tested it on their bench and said it was okay except the bearings & seals needed replacing. They did a "standard rebuild" and also replaced the clutch for free. It was broken & welded at by the previous owner. It wasn't visible, though, until they took it apart. In the course of the rebuild, they never touched the oil filler port (the big bolt on the top). I unscrewed it to find that it was stripped out and had a black o-ring (not necessarily R-134a compatible). The oil they put in the compressor looked nasty (green). I took it back. They fiddled with it for a while and then gave me a different compressor but swapped heads. The oil they put in this compressor was a different color (brown) and looked just as nasty as the previous stuff. I flushed it all out and used my own oil (clear) Ester oil. Chilly Bear is a huge rebuild wholesaler who sells to PepBoys (that's how I found them) and several other chains. Considering the lack of quality of the work, I would never trust a rebuilt compressor from that outfit again or any rebuilt part from any auto parts chain. Who I would trust for a rebuild, though, is Classic Auto A/C Manufacturing in Tampa. They are the only a/c outfit that advertises in Hemmings, and they are the ones making the reproduction evaporators for DMCH. They also rebuild accumulators. Rob Grady told me that the compressor's head is unique to the DeLorean. If you buy a new compressor from just any place, I wouldn't expect the head to be the same. If it is, please let me know so I can discuss it in a future technical article. I would also like to know what the proper torque spec is for the head bolts. I'm guessing around 20 ft-lbs. The guy at Chilly Bear just snugged them by feel. Considering that it needs to hold back 2.2 lbs of "gold vapor" R-12, I wasn't impressed. When you put the compressor back on, make sure it has 8 ounces of your favorite refrigerant oil. It is fine to dump it all in the compressor, but some people like to put some of it elsewhere in the system. I posted on the DML a while back trying to figure out what the proper amount of oil is supposed to be, and no one came up with an answer. I did my own research (read the Haynes a/c repair textbook (which I recommend)) and compared with advice from Al (the owner of Classic Auto A/C) came up with "approximately" 8 ounces, probably no less, but a little extra won't hurt. I since bought a complete label kit from DMCH that has a replacement sticker for the compressor. It says to use 1.8 cubic inches, but no one uses those units. I don't have the patience right now to do the math to see what this is equivalent to. If you figure it out, let me know. It turns out to be less than 8, I would still use at least 8. The charging procedure I use is a follows IF you have the equipment: Charge the system with dry nitrogen to around 40 psi and turn the compressor by hand a dozen times. This helps to seat the new seal. If you skip this procedure then you may not pull or keep a good vacuum. Instead of nitrogen, you can use refrigerant but there are issues with recovery & contamination. Pull a hard vacuum for about an hour. Mechanics who are in a hurry will do much less or not even bother, but you should pull a good vacuum. Hooking it to the vacuum of a running engine is bullshit. That only makes around 18inHg and you need at least 28 (varies with your altitude). I could go on for a few more pages, but this should get you started. Walt P.S. I'll get back with you soon on those parts I need. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Make Money Online Auctions! Make $500.00 or We Will Give You Thirty Dollars for Trying! http://us.click.yahoo.com/yMx78A/fNtFAA/46VHAA/HliolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: DMCForum-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
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