2001 Suburban & Silverado both have bad A/C compressors?

[mattt]

Have a 2001 Suburban with 5.3 and a 2001 Silverado w/ 4.8. Truck has around 160k, Sub is over 200k. Within a few months both of them stopped blowing cold with A/C on. Had both vehicles evac'd and recharged. They both blew cold for between 4-5 months after the A/C service, but neither blow cold any longer. Took them back to where the service was done, different shops for the 2 vehicles, and both shops have said, "Leak at the compressor." What are the chances both have leaky compressors? Is this the point in age that compressor replacement should be expected?

Quotes were pretty high....$900 to around $1100 for the Sub. Not sure it's worth spending that much coin on 15 year old vehicles. Anyone have a trick to restore A/C system for $500 or less?

Is 2001 model year overdue for compressor replacement...or put a better way......

How many 2001's out here in TYF land are still on the original a/c compressor and it's still functional, blowing cold?

 

[Tonyrodz]

If you can fix the harness, I have an ac compressor from a 5.3 you can have for free. Bought it from a by, they said it worked. Looked at it months later and they messed up the harness, so I just bought another one. Yours if you want it.

 

[mattt]

Thank you for the offer, but I'll pass on it given shipping cost coast to coast. Thank you!

 

[Tonyrodz]

Np buddy, just wanted to offer it. Let me know if you change your mind.

 

[retiredsparky]

A leak at the compressor is quite common in older vehicles. The professional way to repair both of your vehicles would have been to first charge the system with nitrogen, then leak test. The shops should have done this and then given you a price for the repair before putting gas into a leaky system. They probably knew to do this, but wanted the extra business of fixing the problem two times, first temporarily, then the second time permanently. Not all shops would be this dishonest, but those two were.

The front seal on the compressor is a common one to go out, either because of wear, or the front bearing goes bad, then the seal fails, or the compressor clutch electrical coil shorts out gradually, causing high heat at the seal location, destroying the seal.

Larry

 

[01ssreda4]

Buy a home recharge kit and learn how to top em off to buy you some time. Since you didnt have a compressor failure (no metal debris), you can purchase a new/reman compressor, swap it, vac the system, recharge it and be back on the road for prolly $200 and a couple hours of your time. No other components need to be replaced.

 

[01ssreda4]

And yeah at 15 years its time for them to go, be surprised you got that long.

 

[2011SSVHOE]

Yep I had to do it on my 99 k3500 with only 60k on her. Get a new compressor and vacuum pump and gauge set , flush the system and replace the orifice tube. Took a couple of hours total cost with new tools was a little over three hundred hundred dollars. I got everything off eBay

 

[mattt]

Thanks for the suggestions.

01ssreda....are you suggesting buying one of the recharge cans with the gauge on it that supposedly have sealant? Not sure what to think about those.

 

[rockola1971]

Now wait a minute.... "a leak at the compressor"....what exactly does that mean? Is the leak at the front seal or is it at the oring seals where the high and low side hoses attach? Big difference in cost to repair/replace. Also keep in mind that everytime you top it off and run it that you are not just leaking refrigerant. You are also leaking lube oil. It gets low enough (lube oil) and the compressor locks up and throws debris into the whole system. My Sierra OBS 5.7L which i bought at 82k still has the original compressor and now has 265K+ miles on it and still going. My 03 Tahoe appears to have the original compressor on it and its at 209K.
Most of the compressor failures are most likely caused by someone "topping off" the refrigerant to "fix" a small leak and lube oil leaks out too and eventually enough does to cause compressor lock up.

It probably helps that I have a Universal A/C license....I dont get hot. I have snowmen playing in my vehicles in July and August.

That sealant is NOT going to fix a leaking compressor front seal. It may take care of a leaking Oring but I wouldnt bet on it. Youre dealing 40-50 PSI on the low side and 150psi+ on the High side depending on what the temp is outside since the pressure of refrigerant is directly proportional to the outside temp.