David Pruitt

Hey all! I have a 99 civic, and the AC recently went out. When I took it into the shop, they told me that the "AC compressor shaft is stripped". They recommended doing a full AC job with a new condenser due to the age of the car - quoted me at $1180 for the AC kit + $142 to flush the AC system + $138 to recharge the system ($1460 total).

I've been planning on buying a new car for some time now, so I didn't spring for the $1460 of repairs. Meanwhile, as I have been shopping for a new car, I was curious to see if I could still repair the AC for cheaper.

To give a brief history of the car (primarily its AC system):
- I purchased it used in 2009
- The AC went out in 2010. At that time, pretty much the whole system got replaced: AC compressor, dryer, expansion valve, high & low hoses, system was flushed and recharged
- The AC wasn't working too well in 2015, turns out it needed a new condenser fan assembly. Quick and easy repair.

Knowing all of the above, I questioned whether they really needed to do a "full AC job" - why not just replace the compressor? I can find the compressor online for $367.90 (hopefully the following link works):

http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/...R+%28SANDEN%29

So my question is this: do you think it would be okay just to replace the compressor + flush and recharge the system? Is there any reason to replace any of the other parts or do any other repair work?

Thanks for any suggestions!

ezone

You can ALWAYS find cheaper. You can get what you pay for too.

"While it's unwise to pay too much, it's also unwise to pay too little."


That statement really doesn't make sense to me. What exactly went wrong here? Can you verify what you were told?

Second opinions can be quite valuable.


Aftermarket parts, or genuine Honda dealer parts?

David Pruitt

Yes I know you can always find cheaper, and you get what you pay for. That wasn't really the point of my post though, haha. The point was, based on their assessment, does it sound like they would need to replace so much of the AC system or would it work to simply replace the compressor, and therefore spend less money?

And yes, I was confused about the "compressor shaft" being stripped as well. I am not a car guy, so I always go out onto the internet and research this stuff whenever something comes up - and the ONLY thing that ever comes up with regard to a "compressor shaft" on the internet is something to do with replacing shaft seals. But that's all the info they gave me. I could try taking it to another place and get another opinion.

ezone

Depends on the failure.

Neither of us know exactly what was found, and what you said they said didn't make sense to me. Yet.