Well, i am currently on my 4th A/C compressor for my 1988 329 GTS in the last two weeks. A month ago, i took my 328 in to have the A/C system looked at, they had to replace the York compressor and the A/C clutch. They purged the system and re-charged it with R-12. I got the car back Tuesday this week. I got on the highway and was driving for about 20 minutes, the A/C was working great, my hand was frozen on the stick shift, so i shut the A/C off. About 20 more minutes i was exiting the highway comming up to a stop light, when i slowed down, i have a bunch of white smoke billowing out from ym engine compartment, i immediately pulled over to check it. It was comming from between the firewall and the engine. I didn't hear anything and there was no puddle or drips under the car. So i continued on and then noticed the A/C was blowing warm air out now. So, the next morning i returned to the dealer Wednesday morning, they gave me a loaner car. They found that the head seal in the compressor blew out, so they replaced the compressor and re-tested the system and all the pressures. I then picked my car up again yesterday and on my way home, someone pulled up next to me and said there was smoke comming from my engine, I then turned the A/C on and it was comming out warm, even though when i left the dealer it was ice cold. ABout 5 miles later i pulled into my garage and shut the car off, i noticed the smoke and saw a bunch of melted rubber fragments all over the place, the belt disinigrated. I also noticed a loud hissing noise, like gas escaping. That went on for about 15 minutes. Of course i called the dealer back and told them, they were speechless and would call me tomorrow to talk more about it. They called me today and they will be ordering most all the stuff for the A/C system and i will be bringing them the car back next tueday morning. They were saying that possibley there is contamination in the system at some low point that is causing a blockage driving the pressure to exeed the max. and blowing out the compressor. Next tuesday they will tear the entire system down and check everything associated with the A/C system. Talk about a challange... Any other suggestions i could bring to them or has anyone else had this trouble before?? Thanks in advance.... Tod
Wonder if one of the other compressors destructed and left pieces in the system that got into the new one. If the belt is gone, it sounds like it locked up. The flaying belt could have possibly damaged a refrigerant hose although they seem to travel away from the belt. Too high a charge will damage a compressor. A clogged expansion valve will cause high pressure and can kill a compressor.
Thanks for the info, i will be sure to mention this to the dealer when i take the car back next tuesday for the fourth time on the A/C issue...
Hi Todd just a quick thought - Anyone disassemble compressor #1 to attempt to determine casuse of failure? Probably would reccomend (suspect they will) with this one? Carl
Did they replace the dryer? If not, they screwed up. ALWAYS replace the dryer when doing A/C work. It's a $60 part from NAPA (or $180 from Ferrari). They are the exact same parts but one comes in a yellow box with Horsie's on it, the other doesn't (even have the same manu. and part number on them). If you'd like to see a detailed explanation of the A/C system and how to fix/recharge it, go to the "other" site and check out the technical articles (not Tech Q/A).
