A/C not working and compressor needs to be replaced. Help!

[taikex]

Hi everyone! I'm looking for advice from anyone that had A/C problems and have had to replace their compressor along with the receiver drier, and condenser. If you had to replace the compressor, was the condenser and drier necessary?

My B7 S4 is not blowing cold air and since I live in the Bay Area, I took it to 034motorsports to get it looked at. The diagnosis was debris had gotten into the compressor and possibly the rest of the system (I had confirmed with the team an audible buzzing/grinding noise coming from the compressor after they filled the car up with freon). Since there is no way of knowing what is in my system and because their vendor cannot guarantee a reverse flush of the system and compressor replacement will fix the issue, 034 cannot give me warranty for the repair.

034 did mention that a local VW dealership was able to guarantee warranty on a similar issue with a Toureg so I've scheduled an appointment with Rector Audi to see if their diagnosis might be different. But if that fails, I'm really left with two options:

Spend $3k to potentially fix the issue with a 50/50 chance of the repair working or sell the car. Not a big fan of the latter since I only have 80k miles on the car and I had just spent $$$ on the car, oh and... V8

I'm hoping someone on this forum might have had a similar issue or can provide additional advice on improving my chances for a fix. Thanks in advance!

[AllroadMass]

Hi everyone! I'm looking for advice from anyone that had A/C problems and have had to replace their compressor along with the receiver drier, and condenser. If you had to replace the compressor, was the condenser and drier necessary?

My B7 S4 is not blowing cold air and since I live in the Bay Area, I took it to 034motorsports to get it looked at. The diagnosis was debris had gotten into the compressor and possibly the rest of the system (I had confirmed with the team an audible buzzing/grinding noise coming from the compressor after they filled the car up with freon). Since there is no way of knowing what is in my system and because their vendor cannot guarantee a reverse flush of the system and compressor replacement will fix the issue, 034 cannot give me warranty for the repair.

034 did mention that a local VW dealership was able to guarantee warranty on a similar issue with a Toureg so I've scheduled an appointment with Rector Audi to see if their diagnosis might be different. But if that fails, I'm really left with two options:

Spend $3k to potentially fix the issue with a 50/50 chance of the repair working or sell the car. Not a big fan of the latter since I only have 80k miles on the car and I had just spent $$$ on the car, oh and... V8

I'm hoping someone on this forum might have had a similar issue or can provide additional advice on improving my chances for a fix. Thanks in advance!

You can fix it yourself if you're willing to do some work. I'm having a similar issue but I think I traced my down to the 0ring on the compressor and condenser (on the compressor side). I can take pictures of my front end which is currently open at the moment waiting on a few other parts while I have the front end off the car. It took me about 2 hours to get the bumper and radiator/condenser off the car.

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...k-on-and-no-AC

reman compressor will cost you about $300 - $600. Drier will run $75 and $375 for the condenser (all oem). Vacuum and recharge at the stealership should cost about $125 so you're around a $1k and you'll have a new A/C system.

[richB7S4]

I had my compressor replaced. Compressor failed. It is a must to replace your condensor and drier at the time, especially you mentioned of contaminants in the system. Good time to check and replace rubber seals and high pressure switch.

[BCsniper]

Spend $350 to get a new compressor and everything else and just get it all replaced. Just make sure they flush the lines again before they charge the system

www.discountacparts.com

[taikex]

You can fix it yourself if you're willing to do some work. I'm having a similar issue but I think I traced my down to the 0ring on the compressor and condenser (on the compressor side). I can take pictures of my front end which is currently open at the moment waiting on a few other parts while I have the front end off the car. It took me about 2 hours to get the bumper and radiator/condenser off the car.

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...k-on-and-no-AC

reman compressor will cost you about $300 - $600. Drier will run $75 and $375 for the condenser (all oem). Vacuum and recharge at the stealership should cost about $125 so you're around a $1k and you'll have a new A/C system.

Haha I'm unwilling to because I don't have much experience and I don't have the time either :(

I'm surprised it's so cheap? The guys at 034 quoted me at a much higher price. I'm looking forward to seeing what the dealership will quote me.

Did both of you do a reverse flush? And @richb7s4 how much did your repair cost?

Spend $350 to get a new compressor and everything else and just get it all replaced. Just make sure they flush the lines again before they charge the system

www.discountacparts.com

Are these parts on par with OEM quality?

[richB7S4]

I had jimmybones from this forum help me with the job. It is a major work. I went with nissens compressor at fcp euro. Conservatively, it was 6 to 8 man hour job. Job included replacing compressor, all seals, condensor, receiver/drier, motor mounts, lower oil pan reseal, coolant flush, a/c flush and vacuum check and vcg since it made it easy with the core support off. Depending on labor cost plan on at least 6 man hours.

[Concavitor]

Keep the car and let the $3000 of cool cash keep you cool

[AllroadMass]

Haha I'm unwilling to because I don't have much experience and I don't have the time either :(

I'm surprised it's so cheap? The guys at 034 quoted me at a much higher price. I'm looking forward to seeing what the dealership will quote me.

Did both of you do a reverse flush? And @richb7s4 how much did your repair cost?





Are these parts on par with OEM quality?

I'm sure you can find someone in your area willing to help. If you had an extra set of hands it would be a breeze! You can definitely do this yourself as long as you have some patience.


I had no AC for about 2 days and I've heard $3400 dollars quote at dealership and about $2k at an Indy shop so that's why I didn't mind digging in. I think they charge 2 hours to get to the front end of the engine, most of the coolant would technically drained out of the system but I'm sure they'll charge you for a coolant flush, Power steering flush because you have to disconnect it. Once that's done, you're have all the room in the world to do what ever you want. BTW, this is what it looks like before I degreased the heck out of it.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5...FdaN3dRTk9wM2M

I'm in the northeast and got a quote for $450 for valve cover gaskets. Each gasket kit came with valve cover gasket, Cam Plug, and valve Cover Seal that I bought at the dealership for $54 dollars each side. So a total of $108 dollars in parts and they're charging $350 in labor for a 2 hour job if you're working like a sloth. So I did them today while waiting on some other parts for the car.

I don't know how they can charge a few grand for wrenching but I think I might start a shop!

[taikex]

I'm sure you can find someone in your area willing to help. If you had an extra set of hands it would be a breeze! You can definitely do this yourself as long as you have some patience.


I had no AC for about 2 days and I've heard $3400 dollars quote at dealership and about $2k at an Indy shop so that's why I didn't mind digging in. I think they charge 2 hours to get to the front end of the engine, most of the coolant would technically drained out of the system but I'm sure they'll charge you for a coolant flush, Power steering flush because you have to disconnect it. Once that's done, you're have all the room in the world to do what ever you want. BTW, this is what it looks like before I degreased the heck out of it.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5...FdaN3dRTk9wM2M

I'm in the northeast and got a quote for $450 for valve cover gaskets. Each gasket kit came with valve cover gasket, Cam Plug, and valve Cover Seal that I bought at the dealership for $54 dollars each side. So a total of $108 dollars in parts and they're charging $350 in labor for a 2 hour job if you're working like a sloth. So I did them today while waiting on some other parts for the car.

I don't know how they can charge a few grand for wrenching but I think I might start a shop!

Yeah I believe they quoted me an 8 hour job for roughly $3k. Your mention of nissan jogged my memory a bit. The indy shop said that was the part they would be ordering... I guess california rates are just higher :(

You can make $$$ if you don't mind wrenching around in grease lol.