360 A/C Compressor Woes - Alternate Source?

Hey all, my mechanic replaced my slightly leaky original A/C compressor that worked for a rebuilt one I found for $600 + $300 core instead of the $3000 new unit. First time I used the A/C a month later it didn't work at all, brought it back to the shop and they said it leaked refrigerant all over, dye everywhere.

So now I'm a bit stuck - the rebuilt compressor is under warranty and they will replace it, but I have to shell out $500 (again) for labor to replace it, plus shipping there and back, and have the car down for almost 3 weeks (5 days cross country each way plus 5 days to rebuild it again), but I don't really trust the rebuilder since they obviously couldn't get this thing to work in my car even once in the first place.

Is there another source for this Delphi compressor or cross reference? I don't want to spend $500 every time I have to try a new compressor. Will one from any F136 based motor work like from a Maserati? Would rather just get a new one at this point but $3k for a compressor is excessive.

*I actually have an engine from a long-ago wrecked Maserati QP sitting in my garage for some reason haha, bad idea to grab the compressor off that?*

 

No affiliation but this?: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000843367135.html

 

Waiting for answers from the experts on this. But, A/C compressors are sorta generic. What ever fits should work. Since you do not work on your car, and must rely on repair shops, you are stuck.

 

is a bit too generic. I suspect that not so good.

 

There are several places that rebuild them and generally they are fine. I am familiar with Compressor International here in CA and Polar Bear. Both do good work but I am sure there are others that do good work too. If you used one of the better known shops to do the rebuild I wouldn't get to worried. Just get it replaced, test for leaks before completely buttoning things up, and off you go. NOTE: tensioning the belts wrong can rapidly accelerate the compressor failure.

 

Thanks for the info - this was from Compressor International actually so it's good to hear they are "legit". They have been very good to deal with I'm just frustrated since we have cross country 5 days shipping in between. I can do the work myself just haven't had a lot of time recently thus the repair shop being involved - maybe I'll just see if I can get the replacement sent to me first so that the car doesn't have to be out of service for 3 weeks.

 

Good idea. Since it is a warranty they may well do that. Worst case you post the core charge and they refund it when you return your faulty unit.

 

Most times the only point of leakage is at the front shaft seal. Not really a tough job once the compressor is out of the car and you remove the clutch. Shouldn't be too tough to do yourself. If you inspect the seal you most times can collect a brand and part number off of it. It's probably one that is used on a lot of applications. I once found a seal for my Swedish made Pullmax machine. It was marked National with a number. Even though it was a metric size, with the number and manufacturer it was easily sourced.

Good luck, not the time of year to be without A/C

 

Here is another one mentioned here on Fchat http://www.compressor-intl.com/index.html

 

Be sure to change the filter too.

 

Yes already did that when we did the compressor the first time - not sure if it have ever been replaced which is probably why the original compressor was starting to leak

 

Most good techs can now rebuild the compressors. The kits are available.

 

I ordered one from here. I'm waiting until the next belt service to have it installed, so I can't comment on the quality.

https://www.coolairparts.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=4229

 

Saw this too but from what I could tell they seemed like they were made in China... don't want to blow the compressor and get metal shards in the coolant lines.

 

Update - I'm just getting Compressor International to ship in a replacement compressor first and I'm going to try to replace it myself and have a friend use his refrigerant machine to refill it. I'll let ya'll know how it goes, hopefully it will save another $500 bill and that way if it doesn't work again I'll just pop it out myself too so I won't be as mad about the extra labor $$ for a non-working compressor lol! Thanks all.

 

It's installed now and working. I didn't see any markings on it to identify the manufacturer or country of origin. My mechanic said that a couple of holes had to be tapped, I don't know which ones.

 

It didn't blow but it did seize. It worked fine for a few weeks until one day I ran the car to redline through the first four gears. The engine bay filled with blue smoke. The belt was burned / broken and the compressor frozen. The original is off being rebuilt now.

 

Eek that sounds rough. Where are you getting yours rebuilt?

 

I'm curious if the folks that left their AC on while driving the car hard had more problems with their AC's than people who left their AC off. Personally, if I'm going to run the car past 5k RPM's (which is always), I leave the AC off. Just seems that running this conventional hardware bit to 5k+ RPM's is asking to destroy it. Consider the same part (or at least the same technology) is used on regular cars and lasts for decades.

 

I'm pretty sure but not 100% that our cars have an AC cutoff switch at full throttle like most other modern cars.

 

It was rebuilt by Polar Bear in Ft Lauderdale. It's working fine so far.

 

FLY360, the 360 I just bought blows hot air. Do you have any advice on how I should start troubleshooting? See if it holds coolant?

 

Mine has had many leaks in the 11 years I've owned it so that's where I'd start. My compressor had a slow leak for years that required adding refrigerant every 6 months or so. I've also had a few o-rings fail. Other than the failure of the aftermarket compressor all my problems have been leaks.

 

So can anyone post the actual Delphi part number for the ferrari 360 ac compressor !!