Somehow, the compressor mount bracket/pulley assembly broke along with a mount on my compressor and it took the drivebelt along with it, so I have to replace them. I found a used bracket/pulley and a new delco compressor that fits 95-02 3.8s, both costing me around $185. When replacing my old compressor with a brand new one, can I just recharge the system with 134a like I did with my old compressor or is there more to it than that (adding more oil into the system, etc)? Ive never had to replace a compressor before so this is why I ask. I don't want to mess anything up. It was blowing nice and cool before this happened.

 

i would get it charged at a dealer or shop. the ratio of oil to refrigerant needs to be right and they have the machine that measures it.

 

Technically, the correct way to do it would be to flush the system out to remove all oil, and then add the correct amount of oil and refrigerant. You would need to replace the accumulator and orifice tube also. (both of these are easy and relatively cheap - accumulator is ~$30 and orifice tube is ~$2)

You *might* be able to get away with just pre-filling the compressor with oil, the amount which should be given with the compressor. You have a little bit of leeway in the oil amount (slightly more oil than required wont hurt anything, but will reduce cooling capacity since the oil is replacing refrigerant and oil does not evaporate and condense, and does not transfer heat like refrigerant does).

Either way, you MUST, MUST MUST MUST replace the accumulator and vacuum the system down!! Since yours is open to the environment, it's saturated with water and cannot remove moisture from your refrigerant. Any moisture will combine with the PAG oil and form acids which rot your system parts from the inside. Again its an easy fix - don't skimp out. And you might as well replace the orifice tube too.

You can rent vacuum pumps from most auto parts stores for free, and they are usually very easy to use.

 

Thats what I needed to know. Thank you very much. However, it won't hurt my cooling system if I keep the same accumulator and orifice tube on for awhile as long as I dont turn the a/c on correct? The old compressor is still connected (it is very loose, but still connected) and the cooling system has not been exposed to the enviroment, and when I change out the compressor and mount it will be on a dry day of course. I need to get my car running asap and dont really need the a/c right now since it is starting to get cool out now here in Atlanta.