AC compressor packed up at 170k+
 

Ugh, in the middle of working on my F10 replacing tension struts, brakes and (unexpectedly) CV boots, my wife announced the E53 AC stopped working.... I am waiting for the special pliers to put the clamps on the boots of the F10 (why does no parts store stock these?). So, today I checked and the compressor is seized solid, I took the belt off as the pulley looked wobbly, I don't need it to get worse if the AC belt gets thrown.

This is of course only months after the engine was out....... I had noticed that the AC compressor is in an impossibly tight spot right next to the frame rails. I found a thread on XO for an E53 with the N62 (RHD) where it took the owner 2 weeks to get the swap done. Is this of equal complexity on the M62 engine??

It may take me until July to get around to this job (college semester is over and both kids graduate tomorrow!! Don't need to fix this car immediately :-) but I wonder if anyone on here has done the AC compressor swap and how you did it?

I am contemplating: 1. remove frame stiffening plate, 2. draining the coolant and disconnecting the hoses front and back, 3. loosening the exhaust flanges, 4. disconnect steering shaft, 5. disconnect engine ground, 6. remove fan/shroud then drop the sub-frame and engine/trans a few inches to get at the bolts holding the compressor on.

An alternative might be to "just" drop the sub-frame on the right enough to get access to the bolts and work around the remaining obstacles?

Am I overthinking this? Open to hearing simpler ways of doing this!

From tis:

Attachment 84866


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Wow, TIS makes that look easy. Don’t think I didn’t download and save those instructions though. 170k on my OE compressor too, so it’s just a matter of time.

My SAP pump is gone, and it really opens up that front corner of the engine bay. May be worth considering yanking when you do the job.

AC compressor packed up at 1[emoji2[emoji2391]9[emoji2[emoji2391]9[emoji2391]]]0k+
 

You can use sap from five series or seven series. Really opens up the options for a bone yard find.

That looks way too simple TIS. But it seems worth a shot to start from the top and see how far I can get.
Now need to find a way to vacate the system first.

No need to evacuate the system, you'll be having it open to the atmosphere anyway and have to replace (at a minimum) the condenser, drier pack and oil after pulling a vacuum. These systems use the environmentally friendly R-134 not the harmful R-12 "according to why it was banned."

The N62 isn't exactly fun and easy but it was not that bad.



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Mine has the M54. The only difference is removing the coolant lower hose. Removing the hose gives room to move a compressor forward. I removed the fan and guard for extra room. I had mine replaced in less than an hour. Get a bolt to screw into the drier top hole. Use a pry bar to pop it up. W

Gone, as in coded out and removed. But, I appreciate the tipper. If we ever move back to CA I’ll likely need to put it back in and get it working. Or at least put it back in. I can’t recall how testing works out there, from the last time we live in CA. And plus, the X5 was brand new at that time. Are they just looking for all the right emissions parts, in the right places, or can they switch the SAP system on, test it, etc?

Trying to talk my wife into a couple-year move to Napa Valley. There are some real advantages to working out of SFO in my biz. Of course we’d be living under an expensive bridge abutment.

Thanks for the info
 

Will definitely try from the top first.

Not sure it is legal in the US to release R134. Reference this thread. https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...eplacement-DIY

AC compressor packed up at 1[emoji2[emoji2391]9[emoji2[emoji2391]9[emoji2391]]]0k+
 

R one thirty four a is typically what's in air duster cans so it's a kind of silly rule about venting. Yeah not great maybe if everybody did it but use yep or three duster cans and it's literally the same thing.

https://www.chemtronics.com/ultimate...erosol-dusters

Wow, never knew that. Learn something every day. I will be looking at the duster cans in a whole new light. I always thought they simply contained compressed air, guess not.

They would last for about six seconds.

Liquid gas evaporates and provides extended release.

The more interesting one is "green gas" used for air soft.

I noticed the fill port looked like butane refill so i was wondering if i could fill my airsoft gun with butane and use a flame to get a muzzle flare.

Turns out green gas is either propane or butane with a little oil added and sure enough a flame at the muzzle shot a flame about 6 inches!

It lasted only about 200 msec "pop" but when filming at 240 fps it came out awesome!

True, but unless the government pulls in next to you with an air sampler van I wouldn't sweat it..[emoji6]

This is just like when they switched to corn based plastic bags at the store so the bags would disintegrate in 2 years underground or 2 months of sun (UV) exposure all while saving trees and then told us it is just as harmful to the environment. [emoji849]



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For all practical purpose there is no decomposing that goes on in a landfill and it'll never be dug up so unless you plan to toss your bag on the side of a highway I'm not sure the point of a bag that decompresses other than when used for compost in which case I'd be much more comfortable using a bucket i dump and not adding lots of corn plastic to confuse the mix.

https://populationeducation.org/why-...lls-a-problem/

Even the amount of anaerobic decomposing is fairly limited. I've seen studies that show ten year old hot dogs that are clearly still hot dogs.

We want less decomposition in landfill than more. Decomposing in a landfill creates "greenhouse gas" and actual one not CO₂ which is literally plant food.

Totally off topic but we are back to paper bags here, at least as an option. I forgot how nice paper bags are, easier to pack, totally recyclable, less likely that you forgot them in the car or didn't bring enough ;) not full of germs, pet air,and who knows what that comes off the previous people's bags!

Or, now hear me out....

Evacuate the R134 into a paper bag.[emoji848][emoji1787]

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i love it


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Using plastic straws!

Awesome


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Paper straws are more environmental friendly. :bmw:

I've been trying to find this video for a long time and just realized i can search by type and is slow motion.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/01ap...WyAQS3uoFuKhQg

Listen how realistic at 1/8 speed!

Done, removed AC compressor and replaced, cold air again.
 

Finally got around to this, to my surprise this can actually be done completely from the top. The key for me was removing the fan and shroud, then the compressor can be taken out forward and turning toward the middle of the engine bay. I did not drain the coolant or remove the lower radiator hose. Much simpler than I was anticipating but plenty fiddly to remove and install the compressor bolts. Remember folks, this is what I did, not saying you should :-). A few pics below.

I purchased a used Denso compressor, same spec as my original. Furthermore:
Two cans of AC pro AC flush & cleaner
All 7 O-rings. RealOEM part # were correct for my application, '03 4.4 V8.
New desiccant tube.
Bottle of PAG46 AC oil (the specified oil for the Denso compressor).
A 6mm hex key cut short to get to lower pipe on the compressor.
One 12mm bolt to pull the desiccant tube, used an old suspension bolt about 80mm long.
Compressed air and a shop vac certainly helped.
You also need R134a, one can (340grams) and a bit as well as a vacuum pump to fill the system once the compressor is installed.

Took off the splash shield from under the car, not strictly necessary but it helps removing the AC belt tensioner and routing the main belt (I had previously removed the AC belt when the failure first occured). Also removed the frame stiffener plate to get at the rear bolt but after the fact I can attest that the rear bolt is easier to get to from the top if your hands fit back there. The rear bolt can be seen from above and I used a short flat 12/13mm wrench though a regular wrench might fit.

I got the rear bolt out from below, the bottom bolt from below, poking in from the wheel well with a long extension. The top bolt can be seen once you get the air box and secondary air pipe out of the way. The two AC lines attached to the compressor can be easily removed once all three bolts are out. Some of the wiring living there is best moved out of the way as well. I removed all four AC lines from the car and flushed them collecting the flush liquid, nothing much of note came out of the lines making me less worried about the compressor failure. Installed the new O-rings using a bit of the PAG46 oil before installing the lines.

Then the desiccant tube removal was next. The brackets holding the radiator have to be removed and the radiator pack can be tilted back just enough to get access to the desiccant tube. A pressure warning sticker hides the torx cap above the desiccant tube. A clip needs to be removed and then a 12mm bolt can be used to pull the desiccant tube. It resisted my best attempts at removal quite a bit...... When I got it out, the bottom 40mm had split leaving that piece behind as well as the desiccant balls. A piece of 3/4" pipe and the shop vac fortunately got these pieces out after a few attempts. At that point I ran the flush through the condenser in a number of cycles alternating top and bottom port on the passenger side, each time following up the flush with compressed air while vacuuming the pipe on the driver's side simultaneously. After repeating this process about five times I did not see any more debris or dirt coming out when applying compressed air to the AC line connections. I assumed this process removes all the AC oil from the condenser as well. I drained the oil from the compressor to reset the count.

Reinstalled the compressor leaving the AC lines off at first, then cut the hex key short to allow tightening the lower AC line. Very little space between the bolt and the frame rail there. It might be possible to put the lower AC line on before installing the compressor but that leaves too many pieces to be juggled all at once IMO. (The top and rear bolts have to in the compressor before moving it in to position and they have a tendency to fall out....) After a few minutes of choice terminology I got everything lined up and got the top bolt hand tight. Next the rear bolt has to be turned enough to be hand tight as well. I was able to put the bottom bolt working from the top and once everything was in place snugged it all up. A second pair of hands might have helped at this stage but it can be done by one person as well.

I added the required oil to the compressor, drew a vacuum which thankfully held, then started the car with AC at full tilt. When the first can was mostly in, the compressor had engaged already and cool air started to appear. Obviously a new compressor would have been the preferred route but this option saved me some money and allowed me to understand the complexities of this repair before putting expensive parts to the test. I realize that I might not get 175k miles out of this compressor but if I need to do it again it will be much quicker and worry me less.


The pics: 1. Here is the compressor on its way back in, 2. The wrench on the rear bolt, tight but doable from above, 3. A view on lower bolt from under car, an extension can get to it from below frame rail.

Nice work. Wow the transmission oil cooler is on the same side? 3.0i have them on the opposite side.

Did you install a new pressure switch? Mine failed causing the aux not to turn on. Eventually, engine cooling turned it on. Once the fan was on, A/C cooling was no issue. After installing a new switch, the AUX fan kicks on almost immediately. It's nice to have A/C down to <42F

Agreed, and thanks for the great write up. I’m at 175k on mine and assume this job is in the not too distant future. Compressors routinely show up on clearance on FCP and I’ve been thinking of grabbing one.

Where is the dryer in the system?

The drier is on the condenser left side. Go here to the 6:00 mark.. The cover cap needs to come off first. Screw in a proper size bolt into the drier. Use a long lever and pry up on bolt.

Good point, I will get one and install it when I get back home. (Right now I’m on the road for a few weeks and the E53 is taking a break :)). The day after I finished the repair the aux fan didn’t come on until I started to check the pressures again and restarted the engine a few times. I have not got a full charge yet either, passenger side is nos as cold as driver. Overall I’m pleased with that I could get this far being very new to working on the AC system.