ErikT

My AC compressor bearings are shot

I spent a few hours this weekend disassembling my compressor and expansion valve. I was able to confirm the terrible noise coming from under the hood was from shot bearings in the AC compressor.
I spent 2-3 hours getting the front end disassembled and the compressor removed and another 2-3 hours for the blower-motor. The receiver/dryer looked pretty simple so I didn't remove that yet. This took longer than it should have, for a few reasons...mainly due to the fact I've had this car for close to three years and the only time I turned a wrench on it was to replace brake pads & rotors. I'm far from an expert on these kind of things.

Here's a few tips I didn't see in the manual that may save you a little time. Read the shop manual for details:

1. Remove the Bumper and driver-side headlight, and radiator. While I spent a little time trying to determine if there was a way to remove it with the radiator in place, I wouldn't bother. It all has to come out.
2. I didn't remove the alternator or the condenser. Hopefully I didn't damage the condenser while removing the radiator.
3. PB blaster / liquid wrench. Don't forget to use some chemical assistance on the compressor bolts. Have metric box-end wrenches on hand...my flex extension wouldn't access the last bolt.
4. For changing the expansion valve, get under the dash and take the blower motor out in one piece. I started to take the blower motor out in two pieces (top and bottom)...which was difficult and time consuming...way too many tap screws and clips that are difficult to reach.
5. Disconnect the hard lines from their clips (in the engine bay) before you try to separate them from the expansion valve (under the dash). If the lines in the engine bay aren't loose where they meet the firewall, you can't free them from the expansion valve and evaporator.

Hopefully I can get everything reassembled tonight. If I made any mistakes or learn anything else, I'll update this post. I'm planning to take it for a leak test and evac / refill once it's back together.

ErikT

Finally got everything put back together.

I'd recommend taking a few pictures of the glove box area before and during disassembly. I'm glad I did...the brackets are kind of tricky and would be tough to figure out if I didn't have a few pictures. I definitely had a few issues where I had to move/remove the radiator a few times, mostly due to my own errors. I followed the manual and hopefully once I have the system evacuated and refilled everything works correctly.

ErikT

I called a handful of shops about doing an evac and refill on my system and the Honda dealership was actually the most resonable. $180, including the R134...which other shops said would be extra. They did notice one of the schrader valves was leaking, so they replaced it for $20. They also noticed my radiator fan wasn't coming on (only the AC auxillary fan was engaging. I wonder how long this has been happening, because the car has never run hot...either way, I'll be swapping in a new fan motor as soon as I get a free afternoon.

5 days later it's still blowing ice cold (thank goodness).

According to my service writer, flat-rate would have been 6 hours for a tech, but they usually do it in 3 hours. I'm still not sure if that would have included the expansion valve...which another shop told me would be 3 hours under flat-rate.

Would I choose to repair this again myself? On an EP3...likely...pretty sure I could cut the time down significantly. On another car? That all depends on how hard it is to access the compressor, etc. A full day of weekend wrenching is definitely worth it if it saves me $1k. If the bearings hadn't started to seize in the compressor I probably would have just gone sans-AC for a few months.