I have an 04 xA, which has been mostly a fantastic car. A few days ago, it started making a noise, something between a loud rattlesnake and nails dragging across a chalkboard. Took it into Toyota, who told me that the AC compressor is going and would need to be replaced. "Hey that's not so bad," I thought -- then they told me it would be $1470 to replace it with a refurbished compressor. (JAW DROPS A FEW FEET).

I probably use my AC less than a dozen times a year. I'd rather have the windows down usually. When I asked the people at Toyota if they could just disconnect the compressor or even remove it entirely, they said they COULD disconnect the belt, but "bad things might potentially happen"... tried to get them to clarify that and they basically said "stuff could get into the engine". Now I'm not the biggest gearhead in the world, but that doesn't really make sense to me.

So, a few questions:

-Is it just me, or is this a completely ridiculous price to replace an AC compressor?

- Does what they said with regard to disconnecting the belt for the compressor make any sense? Would it really hurt anything to do that / could debris get in somewhere bad?

- I've heard of people removing the compressor to make the car lighter. Has anyone here removed their compressor and left it off (for that or any other reason)?

It would be cool if someone with some experience replied, but I'm also open to wild ideas and crazy speculation from anybody. Thanks for reading & thanks for any replies.

 

im not sure what would happen running without the AC(although id like to know) but the price is completely outrageous. i know for a fact you can get em for as low as $450 and maybe up to $600 if u cant find any deals. my uncles wife had an echo were she had the same problem and it only came out to bout $500 rounded after tax and shipping. good luck

http://www.1airconditioning.com/addt...60-01965.html#

^look how cheap these are compared to 1500 dollars even the OEM

 

I'm not quite sure how the xa engine is setup, but if the ac has a different belt than the serp belt then just taking off the belt will be fine.. no damage done. if you want the compressor replaced take it to a sears or something, I had a nissan maxima one replaced there for about 600.

 

i replaced my compressor in my tc two years ago and a new was like 500 and 350 at a yard, take that price and add freon at retail price at the dealership plus a few hours of labor at 125-200 an dhour

 

Thanks for the feedback so far. I guess it sounds like they were ripping me off a little bit, but not to a huge degree when you count labor and everything. (I think the price they gave for the part itself was ~$550.) Guess I'll shop around a bit and see if there's anywhere reputable I can get a better deal, supposedly there's a couple good A/C repair places in the area.

Still would rather just disconnect the damn thing, if it won't hurt anything. Would love to hear from anyone who has more to say on that idea.

 

I personally took my A/C compressor, lines, and condenser out to make room for my intercooler piping on my turbo set up. If you do take it out, you just need to replace the belt with a belt from a 2001 Toyota Echo Without A/C.

It's very easy to remove, held in by four bolts, the belt, the electrical connector for the compressor, and the lines. Takes about an half an hour to remove the compressor with the car on jack stands. The lines and the condensor are a bit trickier to take out.

If memory serves me right I still have my compressor and condenser sitting in my shop, collecting dust with my AE86 parts.

 

Install either a salvage part or new clutch and starting up the engine only to find out the compressor shaft snaps off shortly afterward.. 1997 Sentra uses a barely strong enough compressor anyway. You can look for an auto repair cost to the site they called automd.