96 DX A/C quit working suddenly - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

PatrickGSR94 · 07-06-2011, 08:13 PM

We left today in my mom's 2007 Camry V6 XLE on a road trip, and my mom was going to drive my wife's 96 Corolla DX while we were gone. She was driving it today and said the A/C suddenly started blowing hot air.

My father in law looked at it and said the belt is still okay, and the fans still come on when A/C is turned on. However the compressor doesn't start going when you turn A/C on. I'm hoping since it was just a sudden thing that maybe it's just a fuse that's out or something. I wouldn't think there's any leaking refrigerant since this was sudden, and the A/C was working VERY well up until this afternoon.

Could it be the entire compressor that needs replacing? If the compressor was failing wouldn't it be more of a gradual thing (gradually less and less cool air)? I'm crossing fingers this isn't the case because we really can't afford to replace it. Hoping for some sort of simple, easy fix. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Bitter · 07-06-2011, 08:16 PM

could be alot of things, you need to check and diagnose. Need to know if the system has refrigerant, if the pressure switches are working, if the fuses are good, relays good, power getting to the compressor clutch, etc.

Suprawillis · 07-09-2011, 05:25 PM

If the compressor and pulley no not engage when you hit the AC button, then check for a fuse first. If the fuse is okay, then you can start messing around with the compressor clutch. The compressor clutch is the pulley that is activated magnetically to the inside of the compressor when it is powered.

You can try the ghetto rig like I did last summer. Between the pulley and the actual compressor, there are washers inside the one 10mm bolt that holds the pulley to the compressor. These washers act as spacers and separate the rotation of the pulley with the compressor. Now last summer I removed the washers so there was full contact between the pulley/clutch and the compressor. So I had 24/7 AC. I then found that the one wire that powers the comrpessor was loose. It is located under the alternator.

-So remove the passenger front wheel.
-Remove under plastics so you have access to the AC compressor.
-Check and make sure you don't have any loose connections with the wire located under the alternator.
-Remove the one 10mm bolt holding the pulley/clutch to the compressor and try removing one washer. There may be two. Turn on AC button and see if that was enough to make the pulley/clutch grab onto the compressor.
If you have trouble removing the 10mm bolt because it rotates with the compressor, you can hold it still with an oil filter wrench.
-You can do the ghetto mod and have full time AC this summer and remove the washers altogether. Just re-install them when the cold weather returns.
-And check freon levels or refill with any kits you can get from autozone.

PatrickGSR94 · 07-10-2011, 11:04 PM

Hey all, just got back from vacation this evening and took a look at the car. A quick visual inspection of the compressor shows something VERY out of the ordinary. It looks like plastic somewhere inside the clutch/pulley melted and sprayed out all around. I thought it was grease at first until I touched it and could break off the little plastic bits.

What could be going on here?

I did have the alternator off last weekend, and I think a connector going to the compressor, but I got it all back together and A/C worked great up until this past Wednesday afternoon when it suddenly stopped blowing cold air.

Anyone ever seen anything like this?

Bitter · 07-11-2011, 07:17 AM

yea, clutch got hot and the coil melted for whatever reason. I'd suggest just replacing the AC compressor as a whole.

blb · 07-11-2011, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bitter

yea, clutch got hot and the coil melted for whatever reason. I'd suggest just replacing the AC compressor as a whole.

I agree.

Make sure you pull a vacuum on the system before refilling with refrigerant.

PatrickGSR94 · 07-11-2011, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blb

I agree.

Make sure you pull a vacuum on the system before refilling with refrigerant.

Yeah, I'll probably buy this complete kit with new compressor, drier, relief valve, o-rings, and oil. I'll have a shop discharge the system, I'll replace the parts, then take the car back to them and have them recharge the system.

This is the kit I'm planning to get:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1993-...Q5fAccessories

PatrickGSR94 · 07-11-2011, 11:24 AM

Are there any Corolla DIY's on A/C compressor replacement out there? The Haynes book has ZERO information on any sort of A/C component replacement. I think I can stumble my way through it by referring to my 94 Integra factory Helms repair manual (most systems on both cars are very similar) but if there's something specific to Corollas, it would help.

Bitter · 07-11-2011, 06:47 PM

looks good, except the TXV (expansion valve) I think is located on the ac core inside the dash so I don't think you'll be changing that...well you will be if there's any metal inside the AC lines when you pull it off.

PatrickGSR94 · 07-11-2011, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bitter

looks good, except the TXV (expansion valve) I think is located on the ac core inside the dash so I don't think you'll be changing that...well you will be if there's any metal inside the AC lines when you pull it off.

Yeah I plan on pulling the evaporator and replacing the valve, along with flushing all the lines.

I'm just hoping the condenser is still in okay shape and not clogged up with a bunch of junk, because I already don't have the funds for this job much less replacing the condenser. Not to mention I REALLY don't want to mess with having to drain and remove the radiator and put all that stuff back in.

Bitter · 07-11-2011, 08:33 PM

:p just come buy my old Geo, AC blows ice cold.

Honestly, if you pull the compressor and there is no metal slurry or chunks I think you'll be fine replacing the compressor and dryer.

PatrickGSR94 · 07-13-2011, 10:29 PM

Well I'm on my way to having it all fixed up. My parts have shipped and will be here on Monday. I checked with AutoZone and they do rent an A/C manifold gauge set and vacuum pump, so I'll be good to go with charging the system after everything is installed.

I went ahead and removed the compressor this evening and a couple of the A/C lines. I did cover the openings of lines still in the car, although it probably won't matter as I plan to flush everything out.

Anyway, when the compressor dropped down to the floor, a couple piles of black dust fell out of it. I remember seeing a small pile of black dust on the floor under the crank pulley area of the engine that appeared a couple of months ago. I now know that was likely the first signs of this compressor going out.

Here's the piles of dust from tonight. A similar pile has been on the floor a couple of months now, right below where the compressor sits on the engine:

Closeup of compressor showing the back side of the clutch and pulley. Yuck. I could barely even turn the outer portion of the pulley at all, which of course should normally just freewheel.

From what I could tell, the insides of the lines look VERY clean. I'm still going to flush everything, though, and of course pull a vacuum on everything. Even the o-rings still feel like they're in good shape, but I'll be replacing those, too. I'll probably go ahead and replace all the o-rings in the entire system.

I hate that I'm having to spend the money on this stuff, but I'm very relieved that I can fix it all myself and it looks like it won't be too difficult at all, really. As always, proper tools makes everything easier.

Bitter · 07-13-2011, 10:36 PM

you could have replaced just the compressor and seals and have been fine.

PatrickGSR94 · 07-13-2011, 11:36 PM

... but wouldn't have a warranty. The kit that I bought specifies that the drier and expansion valve absolutely must be replaced in order to maintain warranty on the compressor. This stuff is 15 years old, I'm not going to risk putting a new compressor on with an old desiccant drier/filter unit.

PatrickGSR94 · 07-18-2011, 04:01 PM

Got the parts today, bought a 25 oz. bottle of pour-in flush solvent from NAPA ($35 bucks!!!) and a new AC belt since I cut the old one off last week. I'll buy the actual R134a later when I rent the recharge equipment.

I also received a new air blow gun that I saw being used in this video, the Typhoon air gun:

You Tube

What I'm tossing around now is whether to replace the condenser or not. Will I be able to tell by pulling the lines off the condenser and looking inside if it needs to be replaced or not? I just worry that if I don't something could be in there that destroys this brand new stuff I'm about to put on.