Looking for some advice regarding my AC compressor. The car is a relatively low mileage (53k) '93 Touring so R12 and Denso system. The original r12 finally all leaked out last year and looked to be right around the compressor. Figuring the original O-rings were the cause, I decided to just refresh the whole system so I've been going through replacing the O-rings, expansion valve and drier.

I had the local auto A/C shop (AAPAK) rebuild the lines and decided to pressure test the compressor while I was there. Turns out they say the compressor is leaking from the purge valve, one of the main body seals and the front shaft seal. They also say they don't rebuild these compressors.

Looking for a new compressor, Mazda motorsports shows this part FD01-61-450 for $226 but NLA. I've seen some on ebay for $400 that look right and haven't heard back from Ray. Are there any other options for rebuilding or any new ones available? I'm somewhat skeptical about buying another used one, since those would probably have higher mileage and may still leak.

My girlfriend probably won't ride in the car without A/C and I don't want to go to Sevenstock alone, plz help!

 

Do it like a man. Ditch the GF !!! Jk
im on the same boat. And about to buy this new compressor
https://www.discountacparts.com/buyn...or/60-01478_NC

 

^nice find! If available, that outlet looks like a very good source for A/C components; including drier, expansion valve, etc. Appears that the condenser is the only item unavailable (listed as "out of stock").

A/C components

Gonna add the following very useful link (Thanks Dale!) for those in a similar boat as me of being fairly clueless about getting the A/C working "cool" again. Good info when getting started to tackle this problem...

Dale's writeup on a/c components & compatibility

 

I don't know a lot about compressor availalbility, the good thing is the MANA and Denso compressors are the same.

It could be worth rolling the dice on a used one from someone, but if it's bad that's labor cost that you are out.

I would probably call Ray Crowe up and get some advice from his end. There's quite a few on Ebay that I've seen. May also be worth googling around to see if there's a shop that offers rebuilds on compressors - send them yours and have them go through it. Our compressor is a pretty standard compressor, there's nothing magic about it.

Dale

 

They used this same compressor on a number of different cars from the same era so there is no reason it can't be had reasonably priced reman and maybe even new.

I replacement mine due to noise a few years back and I also wanted a genuine mazda new compressor, but availability at MSMS was poor as you found.

What I ended up using was a remanufactured Evergard 57366 / VT18366 A/C Compressor. Four seasons also does a reman for it.

It was $40... shipped. The prices have gone up, but they're still under $100. https://www.ebay.com/itm/REMAN-FOUR-...itleDesc=0%7C0

Edit: the original link to ebay compressor was fixed because that was the wrong compressor.

 

Can't come close to the prices mentioned above, but our A/C system was overhauled with a new Denso compressor by the fellow below. He has been in this business for lotsa years. He does (or did) have access to new compressors specified by Mazda's parts manual, and provided one for us. He also has a huge supply of R-12 Freon. You might want to call him if you have trouble finding the correct part(s) to fit your FD's A/C system.

Steve's D&S Auto Air
1638 Placentia Ave. #B
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
(949) 645-7802
(714) 835-3666

 

Thanks everyone, Dale's writeup definitely helped. I'll give the reman compressor a go and report back. I am going to Costa Mesa this weekend so I may give them a call as well!

 

I bought the cheap reman on ebay, looks like it has been sitting a while but im gonna give it a go. been slowly losing refrigerant r134a usually refill once a year for summer, compressor has been pretty noisy as of late. after taking the clutch off there is dye in there, so the shaft seals were going anyway for sure it looks like. so time to give this one a try!

 

Still going through and refreshing the A/C system. Replacing the denso expansion valve, it does look a bit different than the original but everything fit. Can anyone confirm this is the correct part?

 

how hard was it to remove the evaporator? I bought a new exp valve for mine as well, but didn't put it in as performance seems fine with the old one.

 

Removal is pretty straight forward, just removing a few small things to get access and undoing the pipes.

 

in order to remove the evaporator does the whole dashboard need to be removed?

 

Just the glovebox

 

That's the same one that I used when I went through my system. Haven't ran the system yet, but it holds a vacuum.

 

The name escapes me now but I called a shop here in Midlothian, TX that says they can rebuild the Denso. If I had a spare I'd send one but I don't savor taking it out and leaving the car down for weeks on a maybe.

 

Good news everyone! Used the aftermarket reman compressor on ebay that was ~$50 and the denso drier and expansion valve from rock auto. Replaced all the orings, put 134a quick connect adapters and had the rubber hoses rebuilt.

Charged it with almost 2x12oz cans of R12. It was really hot in the garage when I was charging, around 105F so pressures were high but was getting 68-70 degrees out of the vent so I'm pretty happy with that.

 

Nice work. If you end up having any leaks down the road look at your 134 quick connect adapters - mine were junk and good quality sets are hard to find. I ended up eliminating the adapters and just charging with the classic R12 fittings and new schrader valves because the adapters just kept leaking.

I charged mine with Envirosafe ES-12 using a manifold set. I've been running that in my E28 and FD for years with pretty good results.

 

24 oz. of R12 is a little short of capacity for a R12 system, 26.5 -30 oz. is recommended spec. Also, the system takes about 4-5 oz. of oil. If everything is replaced, I would add some new oil other than the little that comes mixed with the cans of R12. There is a previously sold 4 oz. can of 2 oz. R12 and 2 oz. oil that you can still find on Ebay. Two of those would get up to 28 oz. of R12 and 4 new oz. of oil. You are not supposed to over oil, although the evaporator tends to pool extra oil, but you cannot under oil, which will prematurely kill your compressor.
Mike,

 

Denso R12 is .6kg or 21.2oz, not sure where you're getting that range from.

 

The range of 26.5-30.0 oz. is directly from the Technical Data (TD) section of the official Mazda Shop manual for a R12 system. Mine is a USDM 94' manual. It could be different for a R12 USDM 93' or any JDM model. Also, there is a sticker under the hood that that tells you the type of system that came with your car, the type of refrigerant used, and the capacity. If you changed any of these replaced parts with different parts then this potentially would not be accurate for the replacements.
Mike

 

Interesting that it gives that range, my hood sticker says .6kg and the body electrical manual was the same. I'll see how it feels driving it around, it's hard to go by the H/L pressures they list when it's 150 degrees outside here.

 

You need to look at your delta between the temperature in the car and the temperature out of the vent. Ideally, it should be around 15 degrees if your system is working well. So your 68-70 degree vent air would be ok if your cabin temp was around 83-85 degrees. It would be poor if you already cooled down the interior in the cabin to a lower temp. Since you are in Phoenix, you don't need to worry that much about humidity, but for me I have to have my existing coil air temp below 65 in order to remove the moisture in the air or dehumidify, also.
Mike

 

Remember, the delta is from the cabin temp, not the outside air temp.
Mike

 

I can’t seem to find the compressor listed above. My compressor seems to be leaking. I don’t know if it’s from the connections or if the compressor is bad but I’m trying to see if I can even replace the compressor if I need to. Does anyone know where I can get one now-a-days? I just see dye all over my compressor, might smoke test the system to track it down.

 

I bought a new compressor from ackits.com in the past year. It shows out of stock now but you might be able to call and see