A/C Shot - Should I Permanently Remove The Compressor??

I dont have alot of experience with this but I think you can get away with just unhooking all electrical connectors from the compressor, that way it wont ever come on, it wont hurt anything and it will be cheeper than having to maybe buy the other pulley to bypass the routing of the belt

"mburgess via CarKB.com wrote: "So the shop says I need a new evaporator assembly and it'll cost over *** $1400*** It's my third vehicle, so I'm thinking of just going without A/C. It's a 96 Grand Caravan w/3.3L engine, 82k miles Would I save mileage if I permanently removed the compressor, or is there any other reason why I *should* remove it (like it'll burn out/seize or something if it's never used)? How many mpg improvement would I expect? Any ill side affects of removing it? Can I just get a smaller belt and bypass the compressor (i.e., leave the compressor where it is), or will I have to remove it and put in some sort of pulley to keep the geometry of the belt similar?"

Not sure what the labor charge is but the evaporator is about 325 dollars. Drier will need to be changed and it runs around 47 dollars. Not sure what else he is changing but 1400 dollars seems like a lot of labor charge added with the parts. Here is a rough estimate of what parts may cost not including freon. Not all these parts need to be changed. Evaporator 325 dollars Drier 47 dollars New suction hose 70 dollars New liquid hose 92 dollars New Compressor 385 dollars complete New expansion valve 46 dollars New condenser 160 dollars

I get a second estimate or tackle the job yourself. Since the evaporator has leaked out the freon, you could change it and the drier yourself then pay him to pull vacuum and recharge it with some oil and freon.

Sarge

If you have no freon in the system the compressor will not engage therefore you will not need to unhook/dissable or remove anything. Gas mileage is reduced when there is a load on the engine if the comprssor is working..... there is no load!!!.leave it alone if you dont want to fix it

Glenn Beasley Chrysler Tech

3rd. vehicle? I would do salvage yard parts and new R134a and do it yourself. That would be a lot cheaper than $1,400 and it would probably work. I just bought a radiator for my son's 2000 Dakota from these folks and it looks new. Price was $119 shipped. I am very impressed with these folks. snipped-for-privacy@FlagAuto.com

If you have any questions please call KC or Gabe at

1-800-352-8737

I will go back for more.

Don't bother removing it. Just unplug the wires to the airconditioning clutch. That will stop the airconditioner from rotating and should save wasting power.

If there is no freon in the system it wont turn on, you dont need to unhook it

.snip

Thanks for all the advice - I'll try getting a second quote, otherwise leave as is. For those that asked, apparently most of the labor is taking the dash out to get at it - a lot of work.

Mike