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A/c Compressor Question


splitslim

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Hi again,

Last weekend when I did some major work on my 91LS400, I had the serpentine belt off, the rad out, and a good view of my A/C compressor. with the belt off, I lightly spun the pulley on it and it made a wierd noise. It was like a bearing was loose behind the pulley (or some metal debris). My A/C is not working (well, it's not blowing cold air), could I have a broken compressor? My A/C light is not blinking, and I still haven't checked if my compressor spins when I turn it on (how would I do that, does it not always spin since it's connected to the main serp. belt?). Hopefully I just need a recharge.

Thanks,

SS

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It won't spin unless the a/c is on. Activated by a solenoid. Turn your a/c on and see if it spins. If not, there is a pressure switch for freon and it will not let it spin if the freon is depleted. If your bearings are bad it could have broken the seal inside the compressor and thus a loss of freon. Or a leak somewhere else. A dye during re-charge should let you know. Good luck.

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You need to hook up the gauge to get the low and high side reading. A good running a/c will have 30 psi on low and 190 psi on high side. If the system has a leak, I would take it to a shop and have them check out. You can't guess on a/c work.

JPI

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Well I turned on my A/C and the only thing spinning on the compressor was the pulley ( I guess in front of the pulley there is a disc that should be spinning?). I ran the diagnostic from the climate control unit, and it flashed 00 numerous times. Does this mean most likely I have a leak somewhere and my compressor is shut down due to the safety mechanism engaged when the refridgerant pressure is too low?

thanks,

SS

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  • 2 weeks later...
Well I turned on my A/C and the only thing spinning on the compressor was the pulley ( I guess in front of the pulley there is a disc that should be spinning?). I ran the diagnostic from the climate control unit, and it flashed 00 numerous times. Does this mean most likely I have a leak somewhere and my compressor is shut down due to the safety mechanism engaged when the refridgerant pressure is too low?

thanks,

SS

The disk in front of the compressor call the CLUTCH. The clutch will engage at a certain pressure. Once you are out of R12 there is no pressure.

JPI

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It is possible that your ac compressor is going bad. If the pressure reading is too high, it also means that your expansion valve is going bad as well. I know a dealer in FL that's selling OEM Lexus (not aftermarket) ac compressor + clutch + UPS shipping for about $250. As for expansion valve, you can search on eBay for it. The expansion valve is just a piece of metal, so it is okay to get one that's after market. I bought my expansion valve for my 94 LS400 for $15.

Let me know if you need to get them fixed, and I will let you know which dealer to call and everything.

Lexus dealer will charge you the max to get the compressor replaced for sure. It really depends on how sincere your Lexus dealer is. I don't trust my dealer, so I refuse to get my work done at their place.

By the way, you can get freon from AutoZone for cheap...really really cheap..

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  • 3 weeks later...

Would appreciate hearing info about your source for the compressor+ clutch. IS300 less than 4 years old, but with 59K Mi because my wife does real estate and we took a couple of vacations by car, and the dealer we've had provide service since day the car was new won't cut us a break at all. Quoting $1900 and won't budge. Thanks in advance for your help.

Chuck

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