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Was this a/c compressor murdered, or did it commit suicide?
This is a Sanden compressor from my 2000 Civic LX. It failed while my son was using the car. It was in use for about 7 years from when a shop replaced the system.
Re: Was this a/c compressor murdered, or did it commit suicide?
Does the unit still spin freely?
I'm trying to look at the bolt specifically, as I replace a lot of thermostat housings due to bolt hydrolock, which cracks the casting. That bolts looks appropriate for the hole, but given the crack occurred where the bolt was leaves me suspicious.
Myself, I would disassemble it to see if all the internal parts are still there. The wound looks like an ejection, which also makes me suspicious of a failed part jamming into the housing.
Re: Was this a/c compressor murdered, or did it commit suicide?
Nope, it's bound up and won't turn. I'll break out the Sawzall and slice into it when I get a chance. Gonna do the same with the dryer just to see the innards there, too.
Re: Was this a/c compressor murdered, or did it commit suicide?
Now that I've opened it up, it appears likely that some object, viz., a rock, hit the case, cracking it. Then the oil was forced out, causing the impellers to seize and shatter. The clump of broken metal then pushed a chunk of the case out at the cracked area. There were shards of metal around the first race of bearings, but once that one was removed, the other bearings to which the clutch attached moved freely.
Not, uh, good.
Reminds me of a dial telephone!
Split off the ring using a chisel at the two roll pin points. Then the eccentric comes out.
To remove the clutch plate, I immobilized it in the vise, then used a 14 mm on a breaker bar.
After removing a snap ring, I whacked the shaft to force out this race and eccentric.
These seals can be drifted out from the other side. Underneath is an internal snap ring. That's fun to get out!
Re: Was this a/c compressor murdered, or did it commit suicide?
The rotating scroll part of the compressor came apart. Part of this inner scroll is probably missing (fell off onto the road somewhere). Try to reassemble the scroll to see what part is missing. The damage clearly indicates internal failure, as the cause is bulged outward at the point of breakage.
Scroll compressors are not tolerant to improper installation or rebuilding. Excessive torque on the compressor mounting bolts may cause the scrolls to interfere during operation and cause excessive wear and in your case, severe damage. A over-pressure event can also easily damage this type of compressor.
Scroll compressors are used in many applications to reduce noise. They produce a more constant noise rather than a reciprocating noise.
I've seen damage like this on stationary A/C units due to slugging (liquid entering the compressor) causing similar, but contained destruction.
I praise you for posting images of this failure, too few on this forum take the time out of their day to provide the level of detail you have provided.
Re: Was this a/c compressor murdered, or did it commit suicide?
Yeah, great job with the detailed images. Looks like the bearings are perfectly intact. It would really be against the odds for something to jump up and strike that compressor to the point that it cracks the housing.
Re: Was this a/c compressor murdered, or did it commit suicide?
i agree internal failure, i have had several with similar internal damage but the case did not crack. one of them failed while idling, i would imagine if it had happened at higher speed it would have blown the case out as well.
Re: Was this a/c compressor murdered, or did it commit suicide?
I mentioned the possibility of the rock causing damage, because hitting a rock in the road destroyed the left front tire some time prior to the failure of the A/C. This all happened when #3 son was driving the car, and was living 600 miles away. SlowCivic, I'm not sure what I would learn by reassembling the scroll pieces. How would I interpret the location of a missing piece?
Last edited by fishnazi; Jul 21, 2015 at 11:27 AM.
Reason: clarifying question
Re: Was this a/c compressor murdered, or did it commit suicide?
The reason I asked you do that is there will be a piece missing most likely. By the look of it, a piece broke off, and worked down towards the compressor housing. The interference broke the housing by my estimation. You would also see heavy scoring on the intact scroll along the length that did break off.
Was this a/c compressor murdered, or did it commit suicide?
