AC Compressor replacement

D

dishe

Member
:
'07 Mazda 5 & '05 Mazda 3i
When my car refused to start, and it wasn't the battery or starter, I had it towed to my mechanic who informed me that my AC compressor was dead and siezed up (or something like that), which led to it preventing the engine from turning.

If he removes the belt, I can start it up and drive it home, but I won't have air. It gets hot here, so I'd like to replace it... but he's quoting me $600+ for the part!
I searched ebay for "AC compressor Mazda 3" and I find some for $150-200 taken out of junked cars. Is it worth trying to get one of those and having him install it? Help!
 
Also, I see some say "thru 11/04". Does that mean the compressor changed in dec 2004? How can I tell if my car was manufactured before dec 2004?
 
concept said:
You can buy the whole compressor kit at rockauto.com for $288.49. See the following link to view what is included in the kit:
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=5689839&cc=1434567&jnid=427&jpid=0

For that price, I'd get new, not a used one out of a junkyard. You can also call other shops to see if they would match the rockauto price + tell you what their labor charge would be.
Click to expand...

That's actually a remanufactured one, also out of a junkyard likely. But "remanufactured" implies that it was broken initially and they refurbished it. Is that really so much better than just getting a used one from a junkyard that never had anything wrong to begin with? Decent price either way.
 
Yes, it's like getting a remanufactured CV axel or starter, for example. The "structure" doesn't need to be new, only the wear parts. Back before the mid 80s, many people bought remanufactured carburetors, saving a nice chunk of change in the process.
 
concept said:
Yes, it's like getting a remanufactured CV axel or starter, for example. The "structure" doesn't need to be new, only the wear parts. Back before the mid 80s, many people bought remanufactured carburetors, saving a nice chunk of change in the process.
Click to expand...

So you're saying a reman is better than just used. Gotcha. My hesitation was that I once bought a "refurbished" Sony stereo head unit online years ago, and found it to be defective when I installed it. That's ok, it happens- Sent it back for a replacement, and it took 2 more replacements to finally get one that worked (one wouldn't power on, the other would spit out CDs, etc). It looked like someone was buying up liquidated returns and cleaning them up to sell as "refurbished", without properly repairing whatever was wrong with it in the first place.

Difference is, I can install a head unit myself so all I lost was some time. Here, I'm paying a mechanic to do the work. That means paying someone to remove/reinstall if I get a lemon. That's the part that makes me nervous!
 
A new kit by the same manufacturer is $69 more, so if you're worried, get that one. Both carry the same warranty - 2 years or 24,000 miles. I guess the extra amount isn't that bad, and Rock Auto would've pulled that manufacturer's products from their shelves long ago if customers were complaining about them. Here's the info page for the new version:

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=6387255&cc=1434567&jnid=406&jpid=2
 
concept said:
A new kit by the same manufacturer is $69 more, so if you're worried, get that one. Both carry the same warranty - 2 years or 24,000 miles. I guess the extra amount isn't that bad, and Rock Auto would've pulled that manufacturer's products from their shelves long ago if customers were complaining about them. Here's the info page for the new version:

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=6387255&cc=1434567&jnid=406&jpid=2
Click to expand...

There's a ton of these remanufactures on ebay for $100 less, all supposedly coming from the same facility in Michigan:
https://www.ebay.com (commissions earned)

I'm considering the rockauto version because you are telling me that their reputation means more, but either way I feel like I'm taking a gamble here. The way I see it, its worth it if the cost savings are significant enough, up to a certain point.

In other words, a reman for $150 vs another reman for $250 with a better name behind it... I can argue either side of that being better than a junkyard part for $100. But for another $69 on top of the $250, we're already veering far enough away from the junkyard price to still be risking paying more than once for the labor. That's my logic at least.
 
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Keno1542 said:
There is a big difference between re-manufactured and refurbished
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Please let us know what the difference is? Apple says their devices are refreshed but to the rest of us, it's refurbished. It's enough to cause one's head to spin.

As far as getting an A/C compressor from a bone yard, I would never do that. The labour cost is also a big concern. Bone yards don't guarantee their products for more than 6 months, if you're lucky. However, if you plan on ditching your Mazda in a short while or you can install the compressor yourself, then an auto wrecker is a good option.
 
Refurbished they typically only replace worn parts and clean up the parts. Re-manufactured they typically disassemble the whole part and replace anything that is serviceable, giving you basically a new part in an old shell. A re-manufactured compressor should be basically a new compressor if done by a reputable company.
 
Keno1542 said:
Refurbished they typically only replace worn parts and clean up the parts. Re-manufactured they typically disassemble the whole part and replace anything that is serviceable, giving you basically a new part in an old shell. A re-manufactured compressor should be basically a new compressor if done by a reputable company.
Click to expand...

Cool. That sounds promising. So that being said, I only have 2 more questions:
1) The ones on ebay are significantly cheaper (remanufactured compressors go for $150 on average), but only have a 12 month warranty. Is the RockAuto version for $100 more worth it because of the reputation of the store and additional year of warranty? I know this is subjective, I'm asking for opinions. I've had good luck with parts on ebay in the past (rear view mirror replacement, etc), but I understand that I might have just been lucky. I mean, I'd hate for this to only last one season. On the flip side, I don't mean to sound cheap but unlike other more important parts of the car, I can drive around without the AC compressor. If I can keep the repair costs low, it's a luxury very much worth fixing to me.

2) How do I know which one will fit my car? This sounds like an obvious answer, but I'm confused by what I'm reading. Car-parts dot com and the ebay auctions imply that something about the mazda 3 changed in december 2004. So some compressors say "thru 11/04" and others "after 12/04". Since my car is an 05 model, the question of when it was manufactured needs to be asked since it could have been right before or after the update. But the one from Rockauto says this model is good for Mazda 3's from 2004 - 2009. How can that be??

I found a forum post somewhere about someone who bought a compressor from a 2007 and tried to put it in their 2005... he got it to work, but he needed to change the harness wiring to connect or something like that (maybe that's all that changed?). If I'm buying this for my mechanic to install, I want to make sure I get the right one that is ready to be installed properly.
 
This is just my opinion,
1) The seller in this case does not matter too much, as long as they get the product you paid for to you in a timely fashion. The more important aspect is to make sure the company doing the re-manufacturing is reputable and uses good quality parts. The only way the seller makes a difference in this case is the extra warranty you get with rockauto, which it would be up to you if it worth the extra money. With Ebays buyer protection and rockautos customer service being good, you should be covered either way if you receive a damaged part.
2)Usually you can find the build date of your car on one of the info labels in the door jamb and order the correct part accordingly. If in doubt I would contact the seller before ordering to confirm
 
Keno1542 said:
This is just my opinion,
1) The seller in this case does not matter too much, as long as they get the product you paid for to you in a timely fashion. The more important aspect is to make sure the company doing the re-manufacturing is reputable and uses good quality parts. The only way the seller makes a difference in this case is the extra warranty you get with rockauto, which it would be up to you if it worth the extra money. With Ebays buyer protection and rockautos customer service being good, you should be covered either way if you receive a damaged part.
2)Usually you can find the build date of your car on one of the info labels in the door jamb and order the correct part accordingly. If in doubt I would contact the seller before ordering to confirm
Click to expand...

Gotcha. I did contact the company selling AC compressors through RockAuto (4Seasons) this morning, and asked them if there were actually 2 different versions of this compressor. He said there's one that uses a speed pulley, and one that uses a normal one. He doesn't know which is which (I asked him which one would be the older model used through 11/04, and which would be the new one since 12/04). Apparently, he doesn't have that kind of information. Just that there are two kinds and this is the difference. So even if I can determine when mine was built using the VIN or door sticker, how do I make sure I'm getting the right version?
What's throwing me off is that the item on RockAuto states compatibility with Mazda 3's built from 2004-2009. How can that be if the pulley system changed on late model 05's? SO CONFUSED!
 
I'm sorry - I saw your member info and thought you were referring to a Mazda 5 (and were in the wrong forum section). The costs for your Mazda 3 for air compressor kits is the same but part numbers are different. Before you called the manufacturer, did you look up your car's part numbers?

You might want to contact a dealership parts department to:
a) see what they charge for a similar kit and
b) verify which pulley your engine uses by running your VIN number
 
concept said:
I'm sorry - I saw your member info and thought you were referring to a Mazda 5 (and were in the wrong forum section). The costs for your Mazda 3 for air compressor kits is the same but part numbers are different. Before you called the manufacturer, did you look up your car's part numbers?

You might want to contact a dealership parts department to:
a) see what they charge for a similar kit and
b) verify which pulley your engine uses by running your VIN number
Click to expand...

Ha- yes, I own both that M5 (my wife's car) which is what I signed up to this site to discuss initially. I bought a used 3i because I liked the 5 so much and I've been driving that for the past couple of years. I just added it to my member info to avoid future confusion- yes, I'm talking about a 2005 mazda 3i.
 
I would order the correct one according to your build date and what the particular seller claims is the correct one for your car. So, if you have a problem with having the wrong part, it is their mistake and they will be the ones who have to fix it - ie they will need to pay return shipping. I would just contact whoever you decide to purchase from prior to purchasing, they should be able to help you out more than anyone on this forum, seeing as they are trying to sell a product and should have that info.
 
Keno1542 said:
I would order the correct one according to your build date and what the particular seller claims is the correct one for your car. So, if you have a problem with having the wrong part, it is their mistake and they will be the ones who have to fix it - ie they will need to pay return shipping. I would just contact whoever you decide to purchase from prior to purchasing, they should be able to help you out more than anyone on this forum, seeing as they are trying to sell a product and should have that info.
Click to expand...

Here's the thing, I contacted 2 guys (one from ebay, one from RockAuto) and they both didn't seem to be aware of a differnece in 2005 model builds. In fact, the ebay guy said the compressor is compatible with 2004-2009, and the ebay guy said he say that there are two versions- one with a speed pulley and one with a regular pulley- but that it didn't have anything to do with my model year (I checked into that, apparently starting in 2007 they started using some with a speed pulley).
So they why is there a distinction in junkyards and other online databases? If the compressor really didn't change from 2004-2009, which do the used ones make such a stink about it?

The ebay seller is going to send me an installation guide or something to show me how it fits. I'm just concerned, however, that if it requires some extra work to install (maybe a wire harness change or something?) my mechanic will be less willing to do it. He was looking to swap out for an OEM part, exactly what is in there now (which is why the part was going to be so expensive). I'm not sure if I'd regret getting some sort of universal rebuilt model instead of one from my model setup. Or am I thinking too much into this?
 
Have you called the parts guy at the dealership. Perhaps he or she can straighten out this enigma?
 
I think you are over thinking it. Buy whatever the seller says is the correct one, that way if there is a problem, it is on their shoulders to get you the correct part. I would be looking for an oem equivalent to make it plug and play if it were my car, Rockauto parts should be plug and play.
 
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