Gents;
Have a 2007 Sonata with 206K miles. I'm retired now but when I was working I ran the auto hard.....120 miles every day rain (snow) or shine and did very little maintenance because I was so busy. The thing would not die so I kept it after I retired. I pamper it now.....the misses says if I treated her as well as my Hyundai we'd have a happy marriage! Anyway, within the last two months I've replaced the water pump, timing chain, alternator and most recently the starter. To be honest, the water pump and starter did not go bad but I replaced them out of fear. The alternator did go bad....it still charged the battery but the dash light was on and it would only charge at high rpm. A rebuilt replacement alternator took care of the light and charged the battery properly. My question to you knowledgeable gents is should I replace the ac compressor now before it goes kaput? We live in Florida now and I can tell you if you don't have ac you won't live for one day! Being the cheap guy that I am I figure if I replace the compressor before it goes bad then I won't have to do a major flush and replace the hoses and condenser. I should be able to do it for $250 tops. Of course that includes a rebuilt ....cheap ....compressor and a few other items like good o rings, can of flush and expansion valve. Of course the misses says not to fix it if it isn't broke. I admit the little Hyundai will freeze u even on the hottest day but I really believe those days r numbered. Should I replace it now and risk having to sleep on the couch because we're low on funds or wait and take the misses to red lobster and b ready to go to the ER with heat stroke when the inevitable happens? Thanks my friends.

 

Hi David,
BY this time, I'm sure you know ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Good "O" rings and a "Cheap" compressor don't make a good combination.
If all is OK why would you want a flush?

I would think, legally you are going to capture the refrigerant as we know, remove and install a reliable compressor with the correct oil, then evacuate the system and recharge it , right? Do you have the equip to do this? Of course the refrigerant leaked out so there was no need to capture what was not there
.If you are going to replace the compressor, I believe your vehicle probably has an orifice tube, consider replacing the orifice and (receiver/dryer) accumulator should be all you need to do. Getting involved with a condenser should not be necessary.There is a point where you approach , "The point of diminishing returns".
What are your thoughts on this so far?

 

Thanks Hanky. I can count on you for knowledgeable and accurate input. The only reason I would want to flush the system is to remove all of the old oil but since there is no combustion like a car engine, the old oil is most likely ok. There is a "kit" I can get on Ebay for $160 dollars. It includes a rebuilt compressor, orifice tube and expansion valve and oil. and I can get a set of O rings from Hyundai for 13 bucks. I'm skeptical though about the rebuilt. compressor, been reading horror stories...looks like it's hit r miss. . Might be able to do the switch for 250 bucks but not sure. I will need to take the car to a shop for a vacuum and refill which will cost about $100 or more. A ways back I replaced my daughter's ac compressor because her ac failed. I remember flushing it and replacing the orifice tube but nothing else. She never complained about the ac so it must have worked ok.... maybe I got lucky. I know ac systems are tricky to deal with but doable. Do you agree? Thanks again my friend.

 

Not knowing all the specifics of the compressor that failed, if it distributed contaminated foreign matter into the system, then a flush would be called for. . The majority of the time , I have found, if it just quit working without self destruction , compressor , orifice tube, and accumulator replacement usually provided reliable service.
You might have a reason after you open up the system and look at the cleanliness of the system, then make a determination what you would want to do.
The less time you leave the system open to the atmosphere, the better. Some procedures suggest you drain the oil from each component you are replacing and add that same quantity of new oil back in. Others will provide a suggested amount of refrigerant oil to be added depending on the component replaced. Replacement compressors most of the time as you probably saw , will come with the required quantity of oil already in them.
When you do add oil don't allow any liquid to get into the low side of the line going to the compressor. The compressor is intended to compress only gas , but not liquid.
If liquid gets in there it can destroy a new compressor..

 

Thanks, Hanky....The only reason I wanted to flush the system was to remove all the oil but seeing it's not diluted with the combustion process like the engine is, it should be fine. I found a compressor kit from Ebay for $160 dollars. It. consists of a rebuilt compressor, dryer tube, expansion valve, and o rings. I will look for a shop that will evacuate then vacuum and refill the system. I bet it costs more than the compressor kit though. I'm going to go ahead and buy the parts but not install them for a while. I don't drive much anymore because I dislike all the pickup trucks cutting in front of me but it's the way of the world I suppose. Thanks again my friend

 

Because everyone's circumstances are different, when possible I try to stay with OEM, dealership parts, for a few reasons.
Yes you might pay a little more, but you will usually get quality parts and the CORRECT parts. This is important because no one likes doing the job over and nobody likes returning wrong parts.
I understand you need to do as you can and that is fine as long as you get what you paid for. Hope you understand and get it all straightened out to your satisfaction.

 

I absolutely agree with you Hanky....OEM is the only way to go. Often, when I've gone the third party route the part either rusts quickly, doesn't fit exactly right or does not work at all. Once in a blue moon however, the part ends up being better quality than OEM and I save a boatload of money but that is the exception. I would love to go to Hundai and buy a new compressor but just don't have the funds What I am looking for is a Denso or other OEM type compressor that's been rebuilt buy a shop with a good record. I found one in south Florida that churns out quite a few rebuilt compressors with good reviews I discovered that by calling a shop and asking about a part, will quickly give you a flavor of what to expect...stay away from Detroit Axle for your rebuilt drivetrain parts needs! There's a huge rebuilding market for cheap guys like me and each shop has there own quality control and standards so you've got to do your homework. Although, not quite the crapshoot it once was I still have to keep my fingers crossed! Thanks again my friend