Help picking a compressor

[rdm757]

Looking to replace the compressor on my 2001 Dodge Ram 2500. I see two options here on ACKits and one is over $100 more than the other. Just curious what the difference is. Possibly one is OEM and the cheaper is after market? Anyone have experience with these two compressors specifically regarding reliability and longevity? I’ve not been having great luck with cheap after market parts and have been leaning more towards going OEM when possible. In this case though, I don’t even know if the more expensive option is OEM. Any info/advice would be appreciated!

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[Tim]

-Am is an Import knock-off. Non-AM is Brown box OEM. See same failure rates with either. The best result is just doing the repair correctly. Both have the same warranty.

[rdm757]

Ok, thank you both for the info. I just haven’t had the best luck with aftermarket lately, especially those manufactured in China. My factory heater core lasted 250,000 miles, the aftermarket replacement- 50,000. Factory water pump - 270,000; aftermarket replacement - 40,000. Water pump is really easy to change on my truck so no big deal there, but pulling the dash out again after only 50,000 to change the heater core, that stings!

Just curious, what kind of numbers (mileage wise) are you typically seeing for compressor lifetime with a properly installed system? Is 100-150k a realistic expectation?

[Tim]

About 25 miles, when the compressor is filled with a flush agent, sealer, or a gallon of oil. In this industry, you hear all the time it's defective. Most of the time, it's faulty because the person doing the work fails to do it properly or it's too much effort to repair it correctly. The good news is this model does not shed debris. But a remove and replace will still have the issue of how much oil.

We supply products that are not old stock like many eBay sellers do. They come with a warranty that is back very well by our suppliers. I honestly see the same failure rates between the import and the OEM. Especially with these being the Sanden or Sanden knock-off.

[rdm757]

About 25 miles, when the compressor is filled with a flush agent, sealer, or a gallon of oil. In this industry, you hear all the time it's defective. Most of the time, it's faulty because the person doing the work fails to do it properly or it's too much effort to repair it correctly. The good news is this model does not shed debris. But a remove and replace will still have the issue of how much oil.

We supply products that are not old stock like many eBay sellers do. They come with a warranty that is back very well by our suppliers. I honestly see the same failure rates between the import and the OEM. Especially with these being the Sanden or Sanden knock-off.

Well, I definitely plan to do it right, not cut any corners, etc. This will end up being a total replacement. The background info is this - ac is actually still working fine. Evap and condenser are both original, 21 years old and 320k miles. Compressor is a Sanden with a little over 100k on it. As mentioned, the heater core is leaking and overall airflow is not what it once was due to 21 years of dust/dirt etc. in there clogging things up.

So I made the decision that while I was already in there to replace the heater core and opening the a/c system to do it, I’d proactively replace the evap. Now I’m thinking that with 100k on the compressor, it might just make sense to do it all including the condenser. So it would end up being a full system replacement making it much easier to get it all right. Big question is just which compressor, but if you say the -AM has similar reliability and won’t shed debris if it does fail, this seems like a no brainer to me.

[Tim]

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