I have a 2000 Nissan Altima with 140000 miles and in excellent condition, my only problem is the air conditioning. It runs great in the morning when not hot out and great in the evening when its not hot, during the day when the sun is high and hot out it just blows cold air. I have had this problem for over a year and have taken it to one of your 5 star mechanics in my area. He has replaced the compressor and several other items and I still have the same problem. Now he is telling me term that I have never heard before called “BLACK DEATH”, that it is a type of sludge that builds up in the AC radiator and it can’t be removed and that the AC radiator should be replaced, but the thing is he can not promise me that this will solve the problem. Has anybody else ever had this problem and what have they done about it or what is the answer, I have been with this mechanic for at least 9 years and have spent a pile of money with him on my other vehicle. I can’t afford to go to another mechanic and start all over paying him for the same problem, Like I say what is the answer.
Black Death is a very real problem and if he replaced the compressor without replacing the accumulator, or filter, and failed to flush the system out before installing the new compressor then he made a pretty serious mistake.
You might go over your receipts and note if there’s a charge for an accumalator or filter and for flush chemicals.
It’s difficult to be specific on the cause because of unknown details about what was done previously, how he arrived at the current Black Death diagnosis, system pressures, and so on.
The crud is from bad compressor. It flows into condenser next. Sounds like condenser was not replaced. Somes cars it is cheap, $100 or so. Some cars it is $275. Depends on model and where you source part. The entire system needs to be flushed when you change compressor due to internal failure. SOME compressors fail due to bad shaft seals which MAY not put crud into system. Sometimes you can luck out and change compressor and not have system contamination issues.
was the car made b4 or after 4/00 the condesor is about $110.00 just hard to find ? i think everone in on the ball.