a/c compressor died....

[b-rad]

so its 90 above and the ac compressor in the yukon i just traded for died on me. was making alot of noise (ticking) so i turn it off till i got home. tried it when i got home, it tried to come on but stalled the engine. let the engine cool down for a bit and tried it again just to be stupid, now it won't even try to come on. should i even bother taking it to someone to check if the refrigerant is low? counting on getting a new compressor and after a bit of searching it looks like the yukons are different from trucks ( i have the rear a/c) and gm used 3 or 4 or 10 different kinds of compressors...

[GasGuzzler]

Looks like your research is correct. Good job. What year Tahoe? Bet it's an 03....? There was an internal manufacturing defect that allowed liquid freon into the high side of the compressor hammering the guts 'til they came apart. Many times they slam so hard the belt flops and the AC tensioner hits the trans cooler lines. Hope it's not cashed 'cause it would have filled the front orifice with trash as well as the screen in the rear expansion valve.....thus requiring a lot more tear down to get both systems running. While you're at it, make sure the fan clutch (if still equipped) is OK too as excessive high side pressures will sometimes blow those up too....

[b-rad]

its an 01 yukon. i just tried pushing on one of valves in the lines with a pen to see if there is freon in there, NOTHING came out...

[GasGuzzler]

If the orifice screen is blocked with trash the rear expansion valve screen most likely will be too. If you have the specific compressor failure I described above, most likely both are stopped up. Also, due to excess high side pressure, it is likely the compressor blow off opened and expelled the freon. The expansion valve replacement requires removal of the rear unit (side panel, heater hoses and AC pipes underneath behind wheel, unplug wiring, lift from vehicle, split halves of case). The only type of system flush I would recommend is with the rear expansion valve bypasses, no orifice, and by a qualified tech using an ACR2000 or better machine. Doing it the right way has the front line cut to install an inline filter....a place for future leaks. Most debris will be caught in the two screens but catastrophic failures can clog the condenser. Instead of the machine flush and all that goes with it, some people unhook both line to the condenser and use a mixture of PAG oil and brake clean with compressed air to flush it but you must remove ALL traces of brake clean.

[b-rad]

sounds like fun....not. have one last question, is there anyway to identify which compressor i have or should i phone the dealer? just looked on ebay they have compressor kits w/ accumulator, oil, orifice tube for 150 bucks, so i'd just need expansion valve and a filter

[GasGuzzler]

Prolly a Delco. PM your VIN and I'll look it up. Dang ole AC problems...

Biggest diff is if you have the manifold hose as one piece or two...