A/C Compressor questions (1996)

[etex211]

My truck: '96 C3500 7.4

 

The A/C in my truck works fine when it has refrigerant in it. The problem is that it leaks. I only use this truck a few times per year to pull my camper, so I've been getting by by just adding some refrigerant to it just before every trip. However, I'd like to get it fixed.

 

We put the dye in the system, and found that both the compressor and the evaporator core are leaking.

 

I already know the evaporator core is a pain in the ass to replace, so I won't bother discussing that. My questions are about replacing the compressor.

 

The original compressor is the HT6, which from doing a lot of reading, I've discovered it a big pile of crap. The aftermarket has better solutions. This is where I get confused.

 

Sanden's 4440 compressor seems like the best solution. It's about $250 on Sanden's website.

 

I've also looked at compressors from Four Seasons, Murray (O'Reilly's), and Everco (Autozone). Judging from the part numbers and the pictures, these all appear to be the same thing, but I haven't been able to verify that. The part number is 88950. Most of these sell in the $180-$200 range.

 

I've also looked quite a bit at the offerings from a company called Tech Choice parts. They refer to Sanden on their website, but I don't their compressors are really made by Sanden. They've got several on the compressor page for this truck, a couple of them around $150 or even less:

 

http://www.techchoiceparts.com/categories/air-conditioning-and-heating/ac-compressor?page=1

 

I hope the above link works.

 

So my question is, what is the best compressor to buy for my truck. Right now, I am inclined to spend the money on the Sanden unit.

 

Thanks.

[etex211]

I made a couple of phone calls and checked...

 

The ACDelco evaporator core is manufactured in Taiwan.

 

The Four Seasons evaporator core is manufactured in China.

 

So I guess I need to ask myself if I believe the Taiwanese evaporator core is worth more than twice the price of the Chinese evaporator core. I am inclined to say no.

[etex211]

Just as I suspected, the link in the above post didn't work the way I wanted it to. You've got to enter the vehicle information in order to see the correct compressors.

[etex211]

Here is the best part of the entire story...

 

My wife is the comptroller over two new car dealerships. The service manager at one of those dealerships told me to just bring the truck to him, and he'd take care of getting all the work done at no expense to us. One of their hourly kids will be doing most of the labor, under the supervision of one of the seasoned mechanics.

 

My wife is really well liked by everybody in that service department. It pays to not be an a$$hole at work.

 

Here is the list of parts that will be replaced:

compressor

evaporator core

accumulator

orifice tube

heater core

blower motor

blower motor resistor

[Jsdirt]

I had a Sanden in my '72 El Camino running an under dash unit. That thing was indestructible. Was in a TXV system, so pretty much any time the car was running, that compressor was running too. Probably close to 100k miles worth of driving on that one - went back and forth from Phoenix to Livermore, CA several times, all over AZ, and then from CA to MA at 4k RPM for 12 hours per day. A few years of summer commuting in MA, then it sat parked for 5 straight years - charged the system up after pulling it out of the barn, and it still worked mint.

 

Not sure if they're built that good these days, but I hear there are alot of chinese clone Sandens out there for sale now - not sure how to tell what is what. I would imagine price would be a dead giveaway on that.

[bigsur]

Does anyone have any experience rebuilding the HT6, I've got a 99 Z71 Suburban that has a Delphi and its of course leaking from the belly. Gasket and Oring kits are anywhere from $8-26 with the orifice tube being about $1.50-$8. Saw a few YouTube videos and seems pretty straight forward with the correct tools and looks to be only about 5-6 parts that need to come apart to fix the belly leak. Thanks in advance!

[Doug_Scott]

Remember to replace receiver/dryer as well as the fixed orifice tube. Use refrigerant oil on the 'o' ring seals during assembly. Leave the receiver/dryer till the very end. Leave it sealed as long as you can before removing the shipping caps and attaching the lines. Run the vacuum pump right after closing the system up for 30 minutes minimum. Once it is done with the vacuum you should be showing near 30 inches of vacuum. It will be less that 30, but more than 29. Let it sit with vacuum pump shut off, and make sure the vacuum stays at the same pressure(actually lack of pressure).

[etex211]

I found a distributor 50 miles away that has the Sanden 4440 for $233. I'm going to pick that up in the morning.

 

I bought all the other parts I need at O'Reilly's today.

 

Thanks to everybody for the help.

[88m53453]

I would go with the Sanden, never had a problem in all the years of installations. My source has them at 216, so the factory price isn't too bad. Evap is cheap and isn't really that bad ;)

[Jsdirt]

10-4. Good luck!

[Doug_Scott]

I made a couple of phone calls and checked...

 

The ACDelco evaporator core is manufactured in Taiwan.

 

The Four Seasons evaporator core is manufactured in China.

 

So I guess I need to ask myself if I believe the Taiwanese evaporator core is worth more than twice the price of the Chinese evaporator core. I am inclined to say no.

 

Taiwan(ROC) is actually China. Don't know why they allow a state to impersonate a country though. The UN does not recognize ROC as being a member.

[Jsdirt]

I agree with you there. Can't get away from it these days. Quality is hard to find.

 

Lots of guys call Four Seasons, "Four SEIZE-ons" due to their sub-par (or what used to be) compressors, LOL. Guess there were lots of warranty claims at that company during the 12 to 134a conversion era.

[barry G]

the ht6 is just fine.

you'll find the miracle of tougher compressors is baked silicone on the shells (aluminum worships silicons) and poly seals, machined tolerances worth a nickel.

 

the ht6 is not even buyable as rebuilt, it is well known bad original.

 

they leak at the back cap is you have a normal one that failed.

You''ll also find aisa is the market for them (like most compressors). they know when they got it right, after knowing how bad it was...

the ht6 is in 20+ years.

 

the new ht6 does not resemble the old one exactly. The same thing happened to alternators and water pumps...

they only look the same today.

being where they leak, a long pull of vacuum is in order, it takes in on the low side, that ruins every other part of the a/c..

that is about the worst of the repair, doubting all the other parts.

 

I played the game and won. No doubts at all.

[etex211]

 

 

Not sure if they're built that good these days, but I hear there are alot of chinese clone Sandens out there for sale now - not sure how to tell what is what. I would imagine price would be a dead giveaway on that.

 

 

That's what I'm thinking. I was getting really confused by all of the different ways these compressors were described on the various websites. I finally decided the price is the giveaway. Like I said before, the 4440 on the Sanden website is $250. All of the "Sanden style" compressors I see are in the $125-$150 range. I believe I'll spend the extra hundred bucks and do it right the first time.

 

On the evaporator, can I do better than AC/Delco? I see a bunch of aftermarket evaporator cores in the $50-$80 range. An AC/Delco evaporator core on Rock Auto is about $150. On a job that difficult, I certainly want to put the best piece I can in there. Is AC/Delco the way to go?

 

Thanks for all the replies thus far.

[Jsdirt]

Lately it seems even Delco stuff is just marked-up chinese crap. Condensers are so flimsy these days you might as well just save the money and grab the el-cheapo one. Doubt the Delco will be any stronger. Just my opinion.

 

I usually buy compressors and condensers from http://www.ackits.com if they have what I need, even though shipping is spendy, since we're on opposite ends of the country. They're not immune from the chinese stuff either, but their customer service is top notch. They'll make it right if it's wrong. Never had any issues with their compressors.