A/C is Burning- Help!

[Michael Zerivitz]

Driving home last night in my '92 NSX w/ 59,000 miles, I heard a screeching sound from the right (passenger) side engine compartment. I turned the a/c off and it stopped. Turned it back on, and as soon as the compressor cut in, the screeching started again. At home, I popped the lid on the engine comaprtment and smelled a strong burning odor on the right side.

I had the car in for oil change on 7/31/03 at Courtesy Acura in Orlando. No problems noted.
What is wrong with my car???

 

[MarkB]

Sounds like an A/C clutch has gone bad. The same noise happened to me in my pre-Honda days.

 

[Larry Bastanza]

You have a siezed A/C compressor. This will require a complete flush of the A/C system and a new compressor and Reciever/Dryer. I would definately convert it to R134a if it is R12 now.

This is not that uncommon. I have a new compressor going into mine 1991 as we speak(35K miles). I was a little more fortunate, since mine gave me some warning, (got loud when engaged), so I stopped using it, and the compressor has not siezed yet.

If you are working on it yourself, I just got a rebuild from: http://www.compressor-intl.com/ It was $300 total with shipping, core charge, and new reciever/dryer. Unfortunately I cannot comment about long term quality, since it is not installed yet. They seem to be a large nation wide company, and there service was exactly what they stated. The unit was packaged well when I got it.

HTH,
LarryB

 

[D'Ecosse]

Resurrected this after a search - Larry, did you install this replacement compressor yet & what were the results - was that price including a core-exchange, I imagine? (How much is their core charge?) Or since you hadn't installed it at time or writing originally was their no core? Was clutch included in that price?
Do you have the part # 's info for the compressor-intl parts, or were they able to identify them readily for you?
Is it a reasonable option to install the compressor & dryer myself, then take it to a shop to have system pumped, flushed & re-charged in order to minimize the cost?
Sorry for the 20 questions!!!!!! Mine is making a kind of whiney/ humming noise and I'm pretty sure its probably on the way out.