Re: A/C COMPRESSOR (86 5ks)

[Michael Muller <mullerm@engin.umich.edu>]

"About to 'Burn' In NC" wrote:
>
>Looking for an a/c air compressor for my 86 5000s.. Can
anyone help me out.
>      Sincerely,
>        About to ""Burn"""  In NC

I replaced mine (86 5ks) last summer with a remanufactured
unit from Adirondack Auto Brokers for about $200. I have the
AC Delco compressor, not the Nippondenso unit used in the
second half of '86. The new unit seems to work fine, so far,
although it is a bit noisy (the clutch rattles -annoying!).
Installation is fairly straightforward, see excellent
illustration in Bentley. I had the local garage drain and
refill the Freon, before and afterwards (cost: $100
-cheap!!!) I removed the front bumper to gain access and
visibilty to the area. I disconnected and unbolted the old
unit (the tough part -everything is all rusted/gunked
together), and reinstalled the new one. The only trick was
that while the original unit used all metric threads, the
remanufactured one had some non-standard english threads.
(non standard meaning instead of 10-32, it would be
something like 10-40 threads... roughly, I don't remember
the exact thread sizes -you get the idea). The drier is also
supposed to replaced, which I didn't.... this voids the
warranty. I may do this over the summer, as I have a leak in
the system somewhere, requiring another Freon drain. My
automotive experience: oil changes, once replaced carburetor
on '80 Olds. Total time: about ten hours, including time to
drain/fill Freon, and run to several hardware stores for
proper threaded screws. (I do tend to work slowly, though -I
tend to be particular, cleaning everything as I can, etc.
I'm kinda anal!)

Comment: a mechanic advised against buying a remanufactured
unit, as it is the aluminum housing that wears out. However,
this guy was fairly anti-Audi, and gave me an estimate of
"over $2000." That'll buy a lot of remanufactured
compressors!!!

Other opinions?

HTH
mike
86 5ks