2000 Honda Civic A/C
 

My A/C stopped working 3 years ago. At the time I was in college and didn't have enough money to get it repair. I brought it to the Honda Dealership and this is what they told me 3 years ago:

Now that I have a full time job I took it to Pepboys because I have a coupon for a free A/C inspection + 15% A/C repairs (anyone can get this coupon online until 6/31/2011). They told me I need to replace the A/C compressor PKG and Blower Motor. This comes to a total of 1,096 W/ tax. With the coupon it ends up being around $900.00.

Heres the deal, my car has 150,000 miles on it, I would like to keep it for another 3 years as Im heading back to graduate school and will continue being a broke college student. Im worried about what the Honda Dealership said about the contamination in the system. I dont want to shell out 900 dollars to just have it break again. Im also concerned about the mileage on the vehicle. Its a Honda but even Hondas start having problems at 150,000 miles.

Should I spend my entire savings and buy a new Honda Civic or take the chance and get the A/C repaired and put my money towards my education?

Blower motor? That was not in the dealer's diagnosis. Are they talking about the condenser fan? Disconnect the compressor wire, put in a new fuse start engine press A/C button and see if the condenser fan motor comes on.

If nothing happens that could be because there is no pressure in the lines. Look for a hole blown out of the side of the compressor, they often do that when they fail. If that happened, you should consider contamination and replace the condenser as well.

Can you turn the front plate of the compressor by hand? The pulley may be seized but if the compressor itself isn't seized, contaminiation should not be an issue. Clutch failure alone you can put on a clutch set (about a $120 part) and hope the rest of the compressor lasts for a while.

I noticed that too. I did replace the fuses under the hood of the car and they instantly blew out like the Honda Dealership stated in my quote. If I dont get the blower motor replace it would take around $120 (because of my 15% coupon) off my Pepboys quote. They aren't talking about the condensor fan, they put the blower motor as costing 75 dollars and the labor as 75.

I put in some new fuses and they instantly blew, which backs up Hondas diagnosis about the clutch failure. One thing I remember about when I brought it to Honda is they showed me a belt that broke. They said it was because of the compressor locking up. Before the belt broke off my car wasnt starting at all... It was extremely strange, but after they took it off my car has run perfect for the past three years.

About the clutch failure. Is this something I could do myself or is a mechanic necessary? My mechanic skills are novice.

The blower motor is the one that blows air out through the vents inside the car. If it doesn't work, that's an entirely different situation than the compressor, etc. It should work now for heating or vent air.

The compressor clutch is a bit of an advanced job using specialized tools like snap ring pliers and a gear puller. This is more for the experienced DIY mechanic. Most shops will not do it, they'd rather replace the whole compressor and have a warranty on the whole unit from their supplier.

Is the compressor located at the front driver side area of the car? Kind of at the bottom near the power steering fluid container? thats where the belt must have broken from because I see the polleys and no belt. I tried moving thr pulley and had no luck but theres something that turns on the side of the pulley area, it rotates freely. I also turned on the A/C and the pulley didnt roate, but the one in the back did.

Does the pulley in the back provide the force that roates the pulley of the compressor?

Im not sure if I need the blower motor or not, Im hoping I dont and its just as the Honda Dealership says, the clutch locked up which causes the fuse to blow which stops the blower motor from functioning.

However when I do turn on the A/C no air at all comes through the vents, and it makes a loud noise.

The blower motor has a different fuse. The 15 amp fuse under the hood is only for the compressor and the condenser fan (the condenser is the radiator-like part beside the radiator that dissipates heat from the A/C system).

As you hear a loud noise from the blower, something is happening, but the motor is probably bad. The blower motor would come on whenever you turn the fan switch on. It doesn't matter if the A/C button is pressed or not.

Yes the compressor is mounted on the bottom front of the engine. It has its own belt. The belt goes from the engine over an idler pulley at the top (nearest the power steering pump) which just spins while providing tension on the belt. So that pulley spins freely, which is good. The motive force for the compressor comes from the big pulley on the bottom of the engine (crank pulley) with the other belts on it. When the compressor clutch / pulley seizes the compressor belt will usually break and fall off into the road.

Any advise on how much the repair should be? Do you personally think it would be worth fixing with the amount of mileage on the car?

$900.00 seems like a lot, and thats with the coupon. People sell Compressors on ebay for $150.00 think I could buy that and take it to a small garage and have them put it on?

well unless you have any other major mechanical or electrical issue (i.e. have you changed your timing belt yet), you're more likely to have the car totaled in an accident than by major failure.

Would you consider not repairing the A/C especially in light of your future graduate studies? Hopefully you will not be spending a lot of time in the car while studying right?

In my opinion $900 is a huge amt of money considering your future plans. I would hesitate on my 98 which has almost as many miles as yours.

I'm not 100% sure that it will even fix your problem if it's been 3 yrs since your a/c last worked. having read some recent a/c threads, you could be in for a longer road than you'd want.

Of course, the decision is all up to you. I would not trust a local garage guy unless he specializes in hondas and has done numerous a/c repairs. It's more tricky than the standard repair in my book.

Im strongly considering just buying a clutch and the tools and just attempting to do it myself.