I had my 2001 Blazer at the garage on Friday and the owner told me that my compressor is starting to sound like it is failing. It is making a metal noise. Best way to describe it is if you had 2 pieces of sheet metal and rubbed them together real fast. He said most likely the noise would get louder before completely failing but he wanted to give me a heads up. He said it would cost about $1200 for the repair. He did not give me a detailed estimate so I do not know what that includes but it seems very high. I started pricing out compressors and looks like they cost $200. Besides recharging the system it looks like this shouldn't be a difficult job. Any reason that I shouldn't do this myself? Thanks guys!

 

If it makes the noise even with the A/C off, it could be something as simple as the air gap for the clutch is too close. If that's the case, it can be adjusted. If it's the bearing in the pulley, it can be replaced without replacing the entire compressor. Replacing the compressor is about an hour job at the most. To replace the compressor, the refrigerant must be discharged. EPA law requires that the refrigerant must be recovered which requires special equipment, so does recharging after the compressor replacement.

 

Thanks for the info I really appreciate it. If it is the compressor the garage says it's $500 just for the part. Rockauto shows $200. Any big difference between the factory and aftermarket?

 

A lot of the parts on these Blazers need AC Delco or Delphi parts, A/C compressor is one of the exceptions.

If you're replacing the compressor, get a Sanden. Direct bolt on, plug & play. Totally different design, noticeably quieter, and they don't leak. Far superior compressor than the OEM, (Harrison HT6).




This is the Harrison HT6, original equipment:




If it's not leaking now, it will shortly. Eventually they all leak
at the seam in the center of the case, and they're noisy.

 

Thanks again for your response. So the selections I have to choose from below, some have clutches and some don't. Looks like the Sanden does not. Is it smart to replace the clutch when replacing the compressor?

https://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,c...,parttype,6628

 

It would be a good decision to install a new clutch on the new compressor. You don't want to go through all of that work to have the clutch fail shortly after.

 

This one comes complete with the pulley and clutch: https://www.rockauto.com/catalog/mor...290&cc=1371440

All of the other ones have the same design as the Harrison HT6, and the Sanden is cheaper! No brainer as far as I'm concerned.

 

Awesome, thank you cap! Didn't realize it came with the pulley and clutch. Thanks again!!