My air conditioning compressor is gone on my 1996 Plymouth Breeze. The repair company previously put in a new water pump and serpentine belt. If this was done incorrectly, could that have led to the air conditioning compressor going bad?
No.
Call it a coincidence.
This is what the car repair facility told me. It might be my fault - I probably drove it longer than I should have when it started making noise.
This is very simple… no.
Do not listen to STAR, he has no knowledge of automotive A/C.
If any damage had been done to the A/C lines(such as breaking a line) during the water pump installation the A/C compressor would not even run due to the low pressure cutout switch.
GEEZ!! STAR… when are you going to get a clue and leave this board.
Every time you post I am going to flag you.
Maybe the water pump pulley was put on wrong, or maybe even the wrong pulley was put on the water pump, and is out of line with the other pulleys. That could put excess load on the compressor bearings and wear it out prematurely, as well as doing the same to all the other driven accessories. Id make sure all the pulleys are in line.
OK knucklehead.
The low pressure cutout is by the firewall, these lines are no where near the water pump. Plus they can not be bent easily at this location.
You have no idea what you are talking about. The compressor was not damaged by the water pump replacement.
Looks like Willey cleared some of the smoke out of here! All for the better.
I do not see the A/C problem being related to the water pump replacement. If my memory is correct (?) I think the water pump is behind a cover and is driven by the timing belt, whereas the air compressor is external.
The compressor is 12 years old and over time auto A/C compressors will lose some refrigerant. With the loss of refrigerant, oil is also lost. Eventually, the compressor will go unless the oil level is maintained.
If the A/C was working fine until this noise started, it’s also possible the noise could be in the compressor clutch assembly. If so, the clutch assembly is replaceable separately without going the new compressor route.
Just don’t quit with the space alien diagnostics, huh?
When the freon leaks out the compressor stops operating… period. That’s what the low pressure cutout switch is for, to protect the compressor.
You say “in your experience”… I’d would like to know what experience do you have in automotive A/C?
Thanks for all your responses. It helped make my decision easier.
I am having the car repaired without replacing the compressor, so I can drive it 9 months out of the year at least. But I will no longer use this repair facility after this action.
your original question of did the water pump replacement cause the ac to fail: no. crappy cooincidence yes, expensive yes, but not really related. however you got 12 years out of this one, so thats not TOO bad!
getting past the bickering in this post,
as far as I can see the only helpful response in this thread is to ensure the all the pulleys are lined up, (after an unknown mech may have pried on them to get the serpentine belt on/off.) since the ac compressor needs to stay there for proper alignment and routing and tension of the serpentine belt.
you CAN not repair the ac compressor, but you cant remove it (unless you can reroute the serpentine belt,) and keep the proper rotation of all the pumps, and flywheel in order.
when the ac compressor is installed, but not in use it simply spins freely since it has its own clutch to engage/disengage itself (sort of like another pulley in the system.) as long as the bearings in the compressor are fine it will be okay. IF the bearings are shot, then you will need a new one anyway, then that would have to be hooked up regardless.