Ikenna Posted October 20, 2012 Report Share Posted October 20, 2012 My AC stopped working. I took it to an AC technician to check for me. He said the compressor has failed, no longer pumping gas. The AC has failed too. It was blocked, which the man claimed was the cause of the compressor failure. Meaning, i will need to replace the two. I went to the market to check for the price of used compressor and new drier, only to be surprised to hear and see that brand new 505 compressor is still in our markets. The new compressor is of two grades or qualities. The one that is made in China is $135 USD, while the one that is made in Japan is $170. The brand name of the one made in Japan is Sanden, the same brand of the one the car came with. The used one is $70. It should last. But am having this feeling that the new Japanese one should last longer. Though, i know that new car parts in Nigeria are mostly fake or below standard, but in this case, i dont know how long the used one will last. At least, the new one made in Japan should last some years before it start giving problems or giving sign of failure. So, people, what do you think i should do? Save and buy the made in Japan one (Sanden -$170) or buy the used one which is cheaper? Ikenna. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrethx Posted October 20, 2012 Report Share Posted October 20, 2012 if it is a question between the new ones, my suggestion would be to go with the japanese-made one, since the price difference is not so great (26%)...if the chinese unit was a lot cheaper (under US$100, say), i would think it would be worth taking a chance. but $35 is not so much difference. just my 2 cents (i.e., my opinion).... from what you have written earlier, i am guessing that air conditioning is a requirement where you are! is it hot year-round? andré Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anj Posted October 20, 2012 Report Share Posted October 20, 2012 Hi Ikenna, I have little experience with replacing compressors and a few hard lessons. My understanding of the system is that when the compressor fails it contaminates the whole system with particles that destroy t'he new compressor. It is a good idea to replace the the compressor, evaporator, condensor and dryer with new. In my case I replaced the compressor for 1200.00 and the next year the evaporator failed 1400.00. The compressor then failed again after two years and I replaced the whole system with OEM myself for 900.00 in parts. This was in the lx450 Lexus. I dont know the cost of freon but it cost roughly 140.00 for t'he freon every time it failed here in Virginia. My suggestion is to buy the Sanden compressor if you replace the all the parts. Buy used or cheap if you only need the AC to work one to two years. Arun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bean Posted October 21, 2012 Report Share Posted October 21, 2012 I just bought a new AC compressor and dryer for the Volvo - the pulley bearing is noisy and it's cheaper to get a new pump than get the pulley from the dealer! Figured since it was coming out anyway I'd do the dryer as the AC shop told me it's essentially the system's filter. Since there's been no internal failure I suspect it should be fine. Spoke to the shop and he'll purge the system so I can replace the compressor and the dryer, and then he'll recharge. Rabin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikenna Posted October 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2012 Thanks everyone. Like andre and Arun advised, i will go for the brand new Sanden compressor. Even if its fake, it will still be better or last longer than the Chinese one. A can of R12 freon (which i have been using to recharge my AC) is $4 each. And it takes only 3 cans of freon to regass the car. And it was cooling well before the compressor failed. A brand new dryer cost $17 here. My concern with the dryer is that the ones i have seen so far here were all written 134a on their lebels. Meaning, they are not for R12 AC system, i think. But the ac has been working well with it. Does it mean the 134a dryer is not compactible with R12 system? The first time i got the car, i first recharged it with 134a freon and it worked. But the gas later leaked, which i spotted the leakage and close the leak. But i started using R12 gas since then, since i found out that the R12 freon was available too in the market till present. Some have asked me to start recharging with 134a freon, but i dont know how safe it is for the compressor and i dont see the reason to do so since the R12 gas is very much available here too and its cheap too like the 134a freon. Like Rabin said, I will also ask them to flush the system, especially the condenser, expansion valve and evaporator before they fix in the new compressor and dryer i will purchase. I had replaced the expansion valve recently, in July this year, when i noticed a leak on it. Am not sure i can afford to replace it now again. I hope it hasnt been damaged like Arun experienced in his. Well, i will work towards buying the Sanden compressor for piece of mind. At least, i wont have to worry about AC compressor again for another 5 years or so, i pray. Ikenna. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrethx Posted October 21, 2012 Report Share Posted October 21, 2012 ikenna -- r12 freon was used in north america until 1995, when manufacturers were required to start using 134a for environmental reasons. lots of people stockpiled cans of the r12 so it was possible to get it for a while but now supplies of r12 have dried up so when you can find it here, it is very expensive. 134a is more expensive than r12 was when r12 was readily available, but it is much cheaper now than r12. i understand that the situation in europe is similar. 134a was originally selected as a replacement for r12 because it was seen as a compatible alternative that was gentler on the environment. as i understand it, though, the issue with 134a is that it requires a different oil, which over time can damage the old seals on an r12 system. since all a/c systems eventually run down, keeping the a/c going on a pre-1995 car either involves switching to 134a (called "conversion" or "retrofitting") or finding sufficient quantities of black-market r12. conversion to 134a involves replacing the dryer and seals (and sometimes the expansion valve) and flushing the system before charging it with the new 134a refrigerant. as an aside, i have heard that it is possible to get r12 easily in mexico (about 2 hours drive from where i am), but there are legal pitfalls associated with that so i haven't considered it. your situation is different, r12 is readily available where you are. i don't think you should have a problem using 134a-compatible components with your r12 system, since that "warning" on the dryer is there to let people who are converting their systems know that they can use that dryer. as i understand it, it is a problem using r12 stuff with 134a systems, but not the other way around; perhaps the more mechanically astute forum members can weigh in on this? andré Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N9TE Posted October 22, 2012 Report Share Posted October 22, 2012 From what I've heard, R12 is readily available. Although it's manufacture has been prohibited, stockpiles have been allowed to exist. So how does it get used? In pre-95 cars - which are becoming a very small percentage of all cars on the road. Actually, many automakers switched over to R134a in 93. Plus stocks have gone up since you can recover Freon from old systems legally. From junk cars or people who have had their systems retrofitted. As a result, prices have fallen and there is plenty of R12 to go around. But most people have been convinced that it's fruitless, way expensive and evil. If you just put 134 in your system it will leak out. Look for the black sticky dust around fittings (near junction at top center of firewall on the 505). All retrofitted cars will have this tell-tale problem. The molecule is smaller than the Freon molecule and seeps past seals on systems that were designed for the old gas. In addition the new gas is less efficient than Freon and is flammable. Modern society depends heavily on refrigeration. From food safety to comfort for frail people who can't handle the heat. If you decrease the efficiency of something 10% how many people will get food poisoning that otherwise wouldn't. There probably is a death toll associated with this. But as they say, you gotta crack a few eggs to make an omelette. We moved over because...... Mother Earth?...... Some more cynical people think that because the Patent ran out of Freon DuPont could go to the refrigerant well longer with the new gas/patent. Living in the omelette! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrethx Posted October 24, 2012 Report Share Posted October 24, 2012 okay, based on koll's post (above), i did a little research...and he's right, there are many places to get r12 fairly cheap, including on ebay. i had looked into this issue many years ago, and the info in my earlier post was based on that (outdated) knowledge. note -- if you are searching for r12 on ebay, there are several products with "12" in the name that are not really good substitutes for r12 (freeze12, etc.). most of the merchants selling r12 require you to have proof of an EPA 609 certification (basically, that you are certified to work on car a/c systems)...one can get this online for about US$15. some will let you substitute a letter attesting that you will resell the r12 to a licensed person (?!?) and others don't seem to require anything. based on this, i will probably just rehab my current system instead of doing an 134a conversion. thanks for schooling me, koll! andré Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikenna Posted October 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2012 From what andre has said, it appears that what we have here is the R12 substitute gas. I checked the one i have been using and it has 12 written on it. But R12 is written on it on 2 places at the back of the can, as you can see on the images attached. Unfortunately, everything is written in Chinese, except the figures R12. Ikenna. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikenna Posted October 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2012 Attached is the back of the can's image. Ikenna. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrethx Posted October 24, 2012 Report Share Posted October 24, 2012 i have no idea if this is r12! on the front of the can, it says "CFC12" -- this is just another name for r12. but who knows what those characters after it mean? my mother-in-law speaks chinese, i will ask her to look at these pictures when i see her this weekend... andré Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tulaweb Posted October 24, 2012 Report Share Posted October 24, 2012 It looks like it says CFCs HCFCs series substitution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikenna Posted November 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2012 I have finally purchased the new Compressor. But am yet to mount it. Will do that as soon as the cone filter i have expecting arrives. I don't want to drive the car again with the foam filter. I had to clean up the dirt accumulated on the MAF 2 days ago, with Methylated Spirit. I also cleaned IAC and throttle body with Carb cleaner. So I will wait for the cone filter. Ikenna. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikenna Posted November 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 I have installed the new compressor and recharge the system with R12 gas. The A/C works fine now. Thanks everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themcguire Posted August 4, 2013 Report Share Posted August 4, 2013 I am a bit late for this forum but want to add my 2 cents for new readers.If you convert the refrigerant in an A/C system you must do the following because the OILS ARE NOT COMPATIBLE.!!!! (R134a will turn the mineral oil in a R12 system into grit that will destroy your compressor.)1. You must replace the expansion valve / orifice tube with a new one.2. You must replace the dryer with a new one.3. You must remove the old compressor, drain the old oil out, refill the compressor with correct amount You must then manually rotate the compressor a few times (make sure to have a cup ready to catch the oil) to pump the new oil out thereby flushing the compressor.4. Install the proper amout of new oil that is appropriate for your refrigerant. (Mineral oil for R12, Ester or PAG oil for R134a) look up your compressor for how much oil is need for that specific compressor. (Do research about how much oil is needed for your vehicle.)5. You must FLUSH out the Evaperator, Condenser, ALL hoses with a good flush solvent. Then blow them out with compressed air. then repeat. (Catch the solvent and examine for particles, if particles continue to appear repeat until clean.) These particles can clog you compressor and cause it to fail.6. If you switch from R12 to R134a you should consider converting to a parellel flow condenser which has much more volume then a tube and fin or piccilo type condenser. Warning: You cannot flush a parallel flow, the holes are too small so if it gets clogged in the future you must replace it.I have read a lot about this and it is suggested that you install and inline filter to protect your compressor for the future. There are many more details so I suggest you reseach auto a/c forums for help on the specifics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bean Posted August 4, 2013 Report Share Posted August 4, 2013 Welcome to the forums 'themcguire' - and thanks for the synopsis on AC todo's! I have to redo the AC systems on both my Peugeot's - so having the todo's listed like that is awesome! Rabin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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