The air on the Bonneville struggles to get cool in Arizona. I have vacuumed the system and replaced the freon and no change.

At 191,000 miles and 12 years old, I sense the a/c system is tired. I have decided to replace the compressor, receiver/drier/ accumulator, orifice tube (possibly with the GM server climate $45 at rockauto). I may also replace the A/C lines.

Since I am doing all of the above- should i go ahead and replace the condenser for another $123 (Delphi- RockAuto).


Any thoughts would be appreciated!

I don't see a reason to unless most of the fins have been bent or the core leaks. Save some money and just flush it. I'm not sure how the 2000+ B-villes are setup with the evaporator, but with the 92-99 series, it clogs up with dirt and pine needles and needs to be flushed with a hose occasionally.

Or, a much more expensive route would be, is to move to NY like I told you to a month ago.

"Or, a much more expensive route would be, is to move to NY like I told you to a month ago."

I put in for the NYU BrockPort Army job. The selection will be made end of August. We shall see.

Did you tell your wife yet about the wine tours?

I say that you may as well. It is the front line, and has seen 191k miles worth of rocks, sand, and other junk.

I have heard good things about the variable orifice valves (I think that is what they are called).

i would imagine its clogged with crap, but you dont need to replace it unless its leaking, just clean it with simple green from the back to the front. like mike said you have to do that every couple years around here, but the wife usually complains about the temp needle creeping up first and i have to clean them both. most times a bunch of pollen and crap comes out



i didnt know they had those variable ones for cars, they are mostly for efficiency at lower loads. cars are just running 100 percent all the time but with the sun loads and that most times you need it.

I recently changed out my ac compressor/accumulator/metering device as the compressor shaft seal went. Had compressor oil all over that side of the motor.
When I pulled the metering device I saw it was clogged, I used to put sealant in the try to stop the slow leaking, apparently over the years I put too much in. All I can figure is that the blockage on the screen of the metering device was sealant that found a small 'hole'.
After seeing the clogged screen I thought about flushing the entire system, read up on various manufacturer'* recommendations and decided that only the condenser would be appropriate to flush. The compressor never broke down or burned, there was no garbage in the system due to a failed compressor. My backflushing did not bring out much if any debris but I feel better that I did it.
NOTE: I broke the condenser circuit at the top connection, flushed from the tube that connects to the accumulator. The kit I bought had a lot of seals with it, but...there was no seal for the top connection to the condenser I had to spend $6 for that at a dealership. If your kit does not have the correct style seal don't waste time/money, get one. If you don't chances are your system won't seal, I tried a seal I thought was right - it wasn't.
I did make sure the tube and seat where the metering device installs was clean of all debris used a Q-tip there, be careful don't leave any fibers.
Then it was a matter of pulling it down, ensuring oil was added to the system and the system recharged. Held it pulled down for a little over an hour, added the extra time to ensure the condenser was truly dry.
Hope this helps.

Nate,

Nice write-up. I want to clarify, when you refer to metering device you are referring to the A/C Orifice Tube ?

Yes, the metering device meters or governs the amount of refrigerant (R-134 here) that goes through it. Too little and the cooling is minimal, too much and there might not be enough 'room' for it to 'expand' (change into a gas state which is the refrigeration) also affecting the amount of cooling. This could also affect the compressor.
Expansion devices can also be referred to as: orifice, a small hole that is a fixed size; expansion valve, a valve that normally has a variable variable sized orifice; capillary tube, a thin tube the length of which limits the amount of refrigerant that is allowed to travel through it - fixed and common in refrigerators.
In every case it is the expansion of the liquid refrigerant to a gas that causes the cooling as heat from the environment is 'consumed' in the process.

Me just learned something. Props to Nate!