Auto Air Conditioning & Heater Repair: My son bought a 98 Sable..., metal fragments, salvage yard

Question
My son bought a '98 Sable with 90,000 miles on it last winter for $3K.  When the weather heated up in spring, the A/C didn't work.  I paid for a $20 checkup at a Firestone while getting his oil changed.  Their conclusion was the compressor is bad and came up with an estimate of over $1300 to replace the compressor and flush the system "to remove metal fragments that might have gotten loose in the lines", and recharge with freon.  Does this sound like a fair price?  Any chance he can buy a compressor from a salvage yard, install it himself, then pay an A/C shop to vacuum & recharge? Is the clutch part of the compressor?  Should he replace the drier as well?  Also, what email to send pictures to?
Thanks,
Charlie

Answer
NEVER EVER buy a JUNK YARD ANYTHING as you have NO way of knowing HOW LONG the junk yard compressor has sat in the yard. The longer it sits the more likelyhood of internal problems.

As to replacing it yourself , If you DO NOT have the proper equipment and or the EXPERT EXACT knowledge of the sytem and how to PROPERLY reapir it, You can cause more damage than you altready have.


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