Need advice on dealing with A/C in old car

I have a 1990 Plymouth Sundance. Odometer says 125k but it broke several
years ago. So heaven only knows how many miles are actually on the car. I
bought it as a program car with 5K miles on it, all the other mileage is
mine. It's been a great car and I've kept it maintained and it's in decent
mechanical shape for a car its age, albeit the body and interior are getting
a bit ragged.

The air conditioner worked fine during most of the life of the car, I think
in 14 years I only had to have Freon added a handful of times, which
surprised me. Anyway, in 2004 the A/C quit working. I took it to an A/C shop
and they gave me a six-foot-long list of what was the matter with it and
basically told me it would cost more than the car was worth to fix it and
that I ought to let them recharge it and try to sell it quickly as-is before
the air quit again. I left that place and never have and never will be back,
basically because of that last bit (as well as the fact that they ripped my
father-in-law off). I have this funny habit of wanting to be on the
up-and-up with people.

I then took it to my main mechanic, the guy who does all but the heaviest
work on my cars, and he said, "Shoot, let me have a shot at it," and he
changed the thing to R-134, filled the system and the thing worked
absolutely fine for two entire years.

In spring 2006, I noticed that the A/C had quit working again, took it to my
mechanic and he filled the system and it worked fine throughout most of the
summer. Then in August ... really good time to have A/C problems in the Deep
South, LOL! ... the clutch broke off the compressor as I was driving down
the road with the A/C working fine. After I finally tracked down a clutch
(more on that later), my mechanic made the repairs and filled the system
again and everything was fine, but I noticed in late September, as it was
still a bit warm and I was running the A/C, that it had quit again. In
hindsight, and this is strictly anecdotal and off the top of my head, but I
wonder if the clutch breaking off ... and it sounded like the freaking
engine had disintegrated when it happened ... really damaged something even
more in the A/C.

My mechanic recharged the system again on April 2, this time using some
refrigerant that contained a stop/leak formula. The A/C worked fine until
yesterday, when it quit again.

I know the first thing everybody is going to say is, "Get another car." That
isn't an option. This is one of the sacrifices we are making to send two
kids to private school. Basically, we're going to run this one until it
quits before crossing the bridge of replacing it.

I have, in my storage shed, a recycled A/C compressor that will fit the car.
I bought it last year when I was looking for a replacement clutch, because a
replacement clutch was like twice as expensive as the whole compressor. I
figured I'd take the clutch off the compressor and use it and save some
money. Until I found out that it wasn't the EXACT compressor and clutch,
just one that would interchange with the Sundance if you replaced the whole
thing, so I ended up having to buy the clutch anyway. But this one is
sitting there ready to be installed, all I'd be looking at is probably the
cost of a new hose assembly and labor.

The thing is ... and I've discussed this with my mechanic, and I'm about to
go see him when I get up from the computer, I just was looking for some
other input as well ... I'm afraid that if I have the compressor and maybe a
new hose assembly installed, it might wind up that the condenser or the
evaporator is actually what's leaking.

Given what I've said here ... and I've made this lengthy to be as detailed
as possible ... how would some of you A/C folks recommend that I proceed
here? I know there is some leak detector with dye in it that will show where
leaks are, should I get my mechanic to do that?

Or should I just quit trying to put bandaids on this ancient car and roll
the windows down ... the only problem there is that the Sundance is so
aerodynamic that I can roll the windows down and drive 70 mph on the
interstate and not enough air to muss my hair will get into the car.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Followup, hopefully shorter ... the Freon hasn't leaked out, the same thing
that happened last summer, the clutch plate flying off, was about to happen
again, the thing was barely hanging on. And that part of the compressor
seems to be pretty much trashed, my mechanic was unable to retighten the nut
that holds the plate to the shaft, he checked with a flashlight and dental
mirror and the shaft area itself is damaged, plus the key-pin that sort of
helps hold the plate on the shaft was shredded. That same thing happened
last time and I absolutely could not find a pin to match it and my mechanic
engineered one and isn't sure he can do it again. Basically, because of the
damage and to keep from having to re-engineer the key-pin every few months
because it's apparent this is liable to happen again, we're going to go
ahead and install the other compressor and keep our fingers crossed that
nothing else is the matter.


"Greg Bailey" > wrote in message
. ..
>I have a 1990 Plymouth Sundance. Odometer says 125k but it broke several
>years ago. So heaven only knows how many miles are actually on the car. I
>bought it as a program car with 5K miles on it, all the other mileage is
>mine. It's been a great car and I've kept it maintained and it's in decent
>mechanical shape for a car its age, albeit the body and interior are
>getting a bit ragged.
>
> The air conditioner worked fine during most of the life of the car, I
> think in 14 years I only had to have Freon added a handful of times, which
> surprised me. Anyway, in 2004 the A/C quit working. I took it to an A/C
> shop and they gave me a six-foot-long list of what was the matter with it
> and basically told me it would cost more than the car was worth to fix it
> and that I ought to let them recharge it and try to sell it quickly as-is
> before the air quit again. I left that place and never have and never will
> be back, basically because of that last bit (as well as the fact that they
> ripped my father-in-law off). I have this funny habit of wanting to be on
> the up-and-up with people.
>
> I then took it to my main mechanic, the guy who does all but the heaviest
> work on my cars, and he said, "Shoot, let me have a shot at it," and he
> changed the thing to R-134, filled the system and the thing worked
> absolutely fine for two entire years.
>
> In spring 2006, I noticed that the A/C had quit working again, took it to
> my mechanic and he filled the system and it worked fine throughout most of
> the summer. Then in August ... really good time to have A/C problems in
> the Deep South, LOL! ... the clutch broke off the compressor as I was
> driving down the road with the A/C working fine. After I finally tracked
> down a clutch (more on that later), my mechanic made the repairs and
> filled the system again and everything was fine, but I noticed in late
> September, as it was still a bit warm and I was running the A/C, that it
> had quit again. In hindsight, and this is strictly anecdotal and off the
> top of my head, but I wonder if the clutch breaking off ... and it sounded
> like the freaking engine had disintegrated when it happened ... really
> damaged something even more in the A/C.
>
> My mechanic recharged the system again on April 2, this time using some
> refrigerant that contained a stop/leak formula. The A/C worked fine until
> yesterday, when it quit again.
>
> I know the first thing everybody is going to say is, "Get another car."
> That isn't an option. This is one of the sacrifices we are making to send
> two kids to private school. Basically, we're going to run this one until
> it quits before crossing the bridge of replacing it.
>
> I have, in my storage shed, a recycled A/C compressor that will fit the
> car. I bought it last year when I was looking for a replacement clutch,
> because a replacement clutch was like twice as expensive as the whole
> compressor. I figured I'd take the clutch off the compressor and use it
> and save some money. Until I found out that it wasn't the EXACT compressor
> and clutch, just one that would interchange with the Sundance if you
> replaced the whole thing, so I ended up having to buy the clutch anyway.
> But this one is sitting there ready to be installed, all I'd be looking at
> is probably the cost of a new hose assembly and labor.
>
> The thing is ... and I've discussed this with my mechanic, and I'm about
> to go see him when I get up from the computer, I just was looking for some
> other input as well ... I'm afraid that if I have the compressor and maybe
> a new hose assembly installed, it might wind up that the condenser or the
> evaporator is actually what's leaking.
>
> Given what I've said here ... and I've made this lengthy to be as detailed
> as possible ... how would some of you A/C folks recommend that I proceed
> here? I know there is some leak detector with dye in it that will show
> where leaks are, should I get my mechanic to do that?
>
> Or should I just quit trying to put bandaids on this ancient car and roll
> the windows down ... the only problem there is that the Sundance is so
> aerodynamic that I can roll the windows down and drive 70 mph on the
> interstate and not enough air to muss my hair will get into the car.
>
> Thanks in advance for any help.
>
>
>
>
>

On Mon, 21 May 2007 13:37:08 -0500, "Greg Bailey"
> wrote:

>Followup, hopefully shorter ... the Freon hasn't leaked out, the same thing
>that happened last summer, the clutch plate flying off, was about to happen
>again, the thing was barely hanging on. And that part of the compressor
>seems to be pretty much trashed, my mechanic was unable to retighten the nut
>that holds the plate to the shaft, he checked with a flashlight and dental
>mirror and the shaft area itself is damaged, plus the key-pin that sort of
>helps hold the plate on the shaft was shredded. That same thing happened
>last time and I absolutely could not find a pin to match it and my mechanic
>engineered one and isn't sure he can do it again. Basically, because of the
>damage and to keep from having to re-engineer the key-pin every few months
>because it's apparent this is liable to happen again, we're going to go
>ahead and install the other compressor and keep our fingers crossed that
>nothing else is the matter.

The compressor is locking up internally and this is why the clutch
keeps getting twisted off. You will need to replace the compressor,
flush the system and replace the dryer and metering device.

I would not use an unknown used compressor unless you just can't
possibly afford a rebuilt. acsource.net has great products at fair
prices and stands behind them (no, I don't work for them but have
bought a LOT of stuff from them). I say this because if the old
compressor is bad then you have to pay for all the labor, dryer, flush
and metering device all over again which is usually the biggest part
of the cost.

There is no reason that the a/c system can't be kept operational and
reliable on this car. I have fixed a number of systems up to 30 years
older than your car and they are reliable (although a bit leakier than
yours should be when it is fixed).


Steve B.

Price is a concern, I've already bought this compressor ... and it came with
a year's warranty, which is about half gone, but it still shows that the
recycler (FYI, got it online from a place in Massachusetts) was confident
enough to stand behind his merchandise ... so we're going to give it a shot,
if I need to do something else we'll cross that bridge when we get there.


"Steve B." > wrote in message
news
> On Mon, 21 May 2007 13:37:08 -0500, "Greg Bailey"
> > wrote:
>
> The compressor is locking up internally and this is why the clutch
> keeps getting twisted off. You will need to replace the compressor,
> flush the system and replace the dryer and metering device.
>
> I would not use an unknown used compressor unless you just can't
> possibly afford a rebuilt. acsource.net has great products at fair
> prices and stands behind them (no, I don't work for them but have
> bought a LOT of stuff from them). I say this because if the old
> compressor is bad then you have to pay for all the labor, dryer, flush
> and metering device all over again which is usually the biggest part
> of the cost.
>
> There is no reason that the a/c system can't be kept operational and
> reliable on this car. I have fixed a number of systems up to 30 years
> older than your car and they are reliable (although a bit leakier than
> yours should be when it is fixed).
>
>
> Steve B.