98 Amigo - My A/C has been making some noise for about 2 weeks but still cooling fairly decent. I figured it was at least time for a freon check. I took it to one shop the other day & the guy said he didn't think the compressor was going bad "yet" and it "should" be OK for a little while. But I swear it started sounding worse after I left there. He didn't do anything except kinda manually 'rev' it up so he could hear the noise.
I went back there today to get the machine hooked up to check the freon, etc but he didn't have anybody there & I didn't want to wait 2 hrs. Also he wanted about $90 just to do that.
I went to another shop I'd been to before & that guy checked it right away. He added 1/2lb freon & also told me the compressor shouldn't go out just yet. He charged me $50 & I got him to give me prices on compressor install just in case. I can get parts from NAPA because my daughter is outside sales, but he said it would be an all-day job & labor would be about $400. Not good news.
I go on my merry way thinking I have dodged a bullet at least for a little while. The A/C has never been real cold & it's 95 here today, so I didn't really expect to get a lot cooler. I made one stop for about an hour and then drove to a c-store to get some gas....and that's when the sh&T hit the fan.
When I started up & turned on the A/C, the compressor started making a horrible noise so I turned it off. I flipped it off & on a few brief times, hoping it would go away, but of course it didn't. So I had to drive back home 30min away w/ the windows down while I thought I would die of a heatstroke.
I called the guy who had just tested it, but he said they didn't do anything that would've made it go out faster. He actually told me if I could get right back up there w/ the parts, they'd stay all night fixing it. (This was about 3:00pm). OK sure buddy, I just happen to have $800 in my pocket & I bet NAPA just happens to have exactly what I need just sitting right there on the shelf.
It just seems too much of a nasty coincidence to me. Two people in one week both tell me it should be ok & then it goes out within an hour of adding freon.
So now I'm scrambling to find the cheapest parts possible & trying to figure out how the heck I'll pay for it, hopefully in the next few days. I can't even stand 30min in that thing w/o the A/C.
So far, vacation sucks.
I went back there today to get the machine hooked up to check the freon, etc but he didn't have anybody there & I didn't want to wait 2 hrs. Also he wanted about $90 just to do that.
I went to another shop I'd been to before & that guy checked it right away. He added 1/2lb freon & also told me the compressor shouldn't go out just yet. He charged me $50 & I got him to give me prices on compressor install just in case. I can get parts from NAPA because my daughter is outside sales, but he said it would be an all-day job & labor would be about $400. Not good news.
I go on my merry way thinking I have dodged a bullet at least for a little while. The A/C has never been real cold & it's 95 here today, so I didn't really expect to get a lot cooler. I made one stop for about an hour and then drove to a c-store to get some gas....and that's when the sh&T hit the fan.
When I started up & turned on the A/C, the compressor started making a horrible noise so I turned it off. I flipped it off & on a few brief times, hoping it would go away, but of course it didn't. So I had to drive back home 30min away w/ the windows down while I thought I would die of a heatstroke.
I called the guy who had just tested it, but he said they didn't do anything that would've made it go out faster. He actually told me if I could get right back up there w/ the parts, they'd stay all night fixing it. (This was about 3:00pm). OK sure buddy, I just happen to have $800 in my pocket & I bet NAPA just happens to have exactly what I need just sitting right there on the shelf.
It just seems too much of a nasty coincidence to me. Two people in one week both tell me it should be ok & then it goes out within an hour of adding freon.
So now I'm scrambling to find the cheapest parts possible & trying to figure out how the heck I'll pay for it, hopefully in the next few days. I can't even stand 30min in that thing w/o the A/C.
So far, vacation sucks.