RRflyer

I've got a 98 accord that is having ac problems.

AC will usually work just fine to start but after a while will just begin blowing ambient temperature air.

Took it to the shop and they pulled/measured the charge and it was correct so its not leaking.

Was told that it looked like the condensor was so badly rock chipped and bent that it wasn't allowing coolant to flow properly and it was freezing up.

Does this sound probable to anybody else?

I'm looking at replacing the ac condensor and drier. Hows this as far as difficulty? I've done the radiator and other similiar work before. I understand after I'm done I'll have to take it to a shop and have it vaccumed and recharged.

Would it be worth putting on a new compressor at the same time?

waciii

Don't you have to have the shop discharge and recharge the system on each end of the job (depending I guess on guess on where you live).

Personally, I'd just have a good shop do this that won't rip you off.

The explanation sounds reasonable to me.

hondamark35

you think you can post some pics of this beat up condensor you have?

i would think that if a condensor was so beat up as to restrict proper flow, that you would also see a pressure spike or over all high readings while testing it...

i don't think i'll be convinced that that's your only problem without seeing how bad the rock damage is..

RRflyer

i would but I'm out of town for the next week.

The condenser itself is pretty well beaten up. Car has 195000 miles of dirt roads and highways on it. Not to mention some front end carnage caused by my sister.

What else do you think might be a problem? Bad compressor as well?

Like I said before it will generally work fine for a while but after 15-20 minutes the coldness goes away and its just regular air coming out.

kjmoy

There is also A/C relay, pressure switch, etc which are relatively cheap to replace and could cause the problem you describe.

Mine is a 96 Accord EX 2.7L non-vtec. Had the same problem since last summer. For some reason, there is no A/C relay on my car. Two weeks ago I had my mechanic replaced the pressure switch and re-charge. Knock on wood, so far so good.

p.s. you can buy a pressure switch online for about $50 and a re-charge would cause about $100. Try tapping the pressure switch with a screw driver handle to see if the condition would improve (like blowing cold air longer).