legacycentral bbs

I bought a 93 L (non AWD) a year or so ago for my girlfriend. AC never worked and I decided to look into it this weekend. The good news is that the system holds vacuum just fine, and it had already been retro fitted to R134. So I added a little R134a and turned the AC on. The clutch engaged but there was absolutely no movement on my low pressure or high pressure readings. I was like hmmm. The I started smelling burning rubber and realized that the compressor pulley and belt were not spinning. Haha.

Anyways, so I need a new compressor. I'm currently fishing around the parts shed. But what I wanted was some advice on flushing the system. Should I get it flushed? Is this something I could do my self? If a compressor fails in this manner does it tend to put a bunch of metal shavings into the rest of the system?

Has anyone installed an inline filter?

I have the rest of the tools for working on the AC, just wondering about the flush. I could take it somewhere to have it flushed I guess. Or maybe I can buy something like this:

http://www.autoacsystems.com/_store/sto ... flush.html

People are going to recommend replacing the dryer and stuff. If you think about it like a home AC system you could pull the dryer and simply blow out everything with nitrogen. Then just run your vacuum and charger her up see how it goes!

Yeah, I was going to replace the dryer anyways. I just don't want to kill the replacement compressor. I get the impression that is a very common issue, mainly because people don't get the old crap out.

I've been through multiple compressors on my legacy (all used)......

Here's my recommendation. Once a compressor dies, or as it's dieing it sends junk into the system. All that really needs to be cleaned out.

I bought an AC flush setup, and really wasn't happy with it. I ended up just primarily using brake cleaner and compressed air. I did pull all the lines and components out of the car to flush.

If at all possible, I'd recommend doing that so you can get everything clean. If you can't, I'd suggest blowing all the junk to the old receiver drier, or to that point.

How did you use brake fluid to flush the system?

Wow....that was a major problem between my brain and hands

I used brake cleaner....NOT brake fluid

Ha, I was trying to figure that one out. And I was like, brake fluid absorbs water, so maybe it has something to do with that. Brake fluid is good at taking off paint!

Hey Josh would you happen to know if an a/c o-ring set exists from subaru parts? i'm moving forward with repair my a/c system next week.

There is a kit listed on Rockauto. Its about $17. I am assuming that it comes with most of the seals for our cars. I was thinking about getting it.

glennda5id, i saw that too. if an oem doesnt exist i'll order it from them

I don't know of an OEM kit.

I purchased a generic ac o-ring kit with different size o-rings, and used that when I redid my legacy.

Josh,

I read some of your posts on flushing the system. I am going to follow a similar procedure. Did you flush the condenser and the evaporator? I have read that that is not a good idea. Just curious what your thoughts are. Also, how much oil should I add to the system and where? I have heard 8 oz PAG 100 visc for 92+ Calsonic. Does some of that go in the evaporator and drier or all in the compressor?

Yes I flushed the evaporator & condensor. I flushed everything. I don't see how it would hurt them. They're just aluminum tubes. The condensor had flakes in it from the compressor's seizing. So I'd highly recommend doing that.

As for the oil amounts. It's not an exact science, but I'll go look through my manuals to see what it says. What year compressor are you using?

You will want to put most of the oil in the compressor, and some in the receiver/drier. Once things get going, it will move around.

There's a point after about 10 min of operating where the system stabalizes where a specified amount of oil will be in each component.

Shoot me an email to remind me to look in the books I have about the oil.