QuestionI had my a/c evacuated and recharged. The a/c worked for two full days.I realized that it has a leak but the shop says the compressor is bad. It seems to work fine. What would you do replace the compressor or change o-rings? Wouldn't a bad compressor not operate at all?
AnswerBree,
A compressor is a major operation. Do you know what caused them to diagnose that your compessor was bad? I have nothing to make a call on either way for you. If you had the pressure readings for me, it would help out. Has it been making any strange noises? Metal on metal, anything like that? Without a little more information I can't make that call for you. Sorry.
As for a bad compressor not working at all... not necessarily. If it doesn't work at all, that usually is diagnosed as a compressor clutch. If the mechanics were looking at your pressures and seen just a light variance. Example: Say your pressures are supposed to be 45 low and 165 high on a specific day (pressure varies with temperature) If the tech looked at his gauges and read 45low and 90 high, that compressor, though working, would be diagnosed as being bad because it is not intensifying the heat in the refrigerant through the compression stroke. That would indicate that the valves or valve springs inside the compressor are losing their strength. So, although it is still technically working, it definitely needs replacing. Whether this is the case with yours or not, I cannot say without pressure readings.
Another way compressors go bad is that they will sieze up from lack of lubrication in the system. But you would definitely know if this was the case.
As for your leak, what makes you think that it is the compressor o-rings that are leaking? An easy way to determine where the leak is actually coming from is to mix some soap and water in a spray bottle, (windex works well also) and spray down all of the connections in your system. You will see bubbles form where the leak is.
So, as I was saying, I am sorry for not being able to help you more, but without more information, I really do not want to make a recommendation as to whether or not you should undergo a 500+ dollar service.
So, thank yhou for the question, if I can do anything else now or inthe future, please do not hesitate to ask. If you found this response at all helpful, please remember to rate this answer. Good luck in everything.
