Automotive Air Conditioning Information Forum

"The most I saw looked like super fine glitter that you see during a typical motor oil change"
Now we are getting somewhere.....not good, not good at all

tbirdtbird wrote: ↑Thu Jul 15, 2021 2:57 pm "The most I saw looked like super fine glitter that you see during a typical motor oil change"
Now we are getting somewhere.....not good, not good at all

Can you elaborate? What should i be looking for/at?

There shouldn't be any glitter in there, it can only come from a compressor.
Now you have had 3 comps in there. The third one seized. What was the issue with the first two.
We now do not know if the glitter was from which compressor. Any time metal particles are free in the system threatens the reliability of the next comp to be bolted on. The insides of an AC system should be as clean as an operating room. Was there ever any discoloration to the oil

" because the TXV really pinched down the amount of air/flush I was able to move through there."
This suggests that you did not really get as good a flush as you hoped, you really can't flush thru a TXV

tbirdtbird wrote: ↑Thu Jul 15, 2021 4:42 pm Now you have had 3 comps in there. The third one seized. What was the issue with the first two.

I'm actually on the 4th compressor. The first two failures were both clutch related. When I was replacing the clutch on the original Honda compressor, I snapped the shaft at the threads replacing the nut. Impact gun, very expensive mistake. The second one came from Autozone and the clutch coil crapped out after a year. I went with a new compressor (#3) because the Chinese one was only slightly more expensive than the OEM clutch kit. (I still have #2 sitting on my shelf. It's probably good, but needs a clutch kit.) #3 seized and now I'm on to #4 and went with the Denso because I'm tired to dicking around with cheap compressors.

We now do not know if the glitter was from which compressor. Any time metal particles are free in the system threatens the reliability of the next comp to be bolted on. The insides of an AC system should be as clean as an operating room. Was there ever any discoloration to the oil

Unless there was some wear with 1 and 2 that never resulted in failure, I'm pretty sure the glitter is from #3. No discoloration of oil.

" because the TXV really pinched down the amount of air/flush I was able to move through there."
This suggests that you did not really get as good a flush as you hoped, you really can't flush thru a TXV

Agreed. Are you suggesting this is the cause of my current predicament? Even after a vac, fill, vac and refill? And if so, are you thinking the issue is with debris in the TXV, or residual flush chemical?

I think it could be part of your problem.
I have a lot of MVAC and residential experience, but do not have the level of expertise that the 4 mods and Detroit have.
Right now I would wait for them to get back on here and weigh in.
MVAC is actually much harder than resi/commercial/deepfreeze

Take a temperature reading of the condenser inlet and outlet pipe, not tube or fins, they are much cooler than the pipe.

FWIW there is a discussion of MOP here (maximum operating pressure)
It is not clear to me how widely used this is in MVAC
https://www.achrnews.com/articles/85886 ... g-pressure

OK, guys, I'm starting from scratch again tomorrow. I'm going to flush everything, replace the txv and filter bag, vacuum with fresh vacuum pump oil, use a brand new bottle of pag and see what I get. I have a couple of questions. Is there a drain plug on the Denso compressor? And how do I ensure I get all of the old oil and flush out of the compressor? Anything else I missed?

Scrolls are easy to drain, remove it, prop it up so the suction port is facing down, let it drain wobble it around at different tilts, turn it over by hand a bit, do same thing with discharge port. You might consider running some clean pag through to wash metal out, and if you can warm up the compressor and oil things will flow faster. I've never seen a Denso scroll pulley driven, didn't know that was even a thing, seems like Sanden would have been the OEM version?

Harry Seaward wrote: ↑Fri Jul 16, 2021 8:58 am And how do I ensure I get all of the old oil and flush out of the compressor? Anything else I missed?

I avoid introducing into a compressor any kind of A/C flushing solvent. Instead, I use the appropriate oil, just as suggested earlier. Procedure is to drain and measure what comes out. If none drains out, put in three or four ounces or whatever the spec'd amount is, rotate the shaft by hand 10 or 12 revolutions, then drain it again. Repeat the drain-fill-rotate-drain procedure a few times. Then on the last one, drain it, fill it to the spec'd amount, and seal the ports well if not installing the compressor right away.