R33 GTST Ac compressor died, don't know what to do

[Honeyboost]

 

Hi, so my series 1 r33 GTST's AC decided to die in California's hot summer. I've been finding replacement parts and its been a nightmare. I've been thinking of rebuilding the ac but I heard its pretty expensive and It's hard to find a place here in san Francisco. Does anyone here have experiences or alternative to fixing the compressor?

[White GTS-T]

Hey,

Sorry to hear, I'm not trying to be a dick, but do you know that it is a compressor failure, or are you just speculating because your A/C isn't working?

[Duncan]

I recently went through this with my w34 stagea and was unable to find new genuine or aftermarket options. I ended up taking a punt and buying 2 used ones off yahoo japan, and the first one I fit worked so I have a suspect spare.

I suspect AC compressors are going to become one of those impossible to find parts over the next few years until someone works out a non genuine alternative including mounting

[Honeyboost]

On 21/07/2021 at 1:37 AM, White GTS-T said:

Hey,

Sorry to hear, I'm not trying to be a dick, but do you know that it is a compressor failure, or are you just speculating because your A/C isn't working?

Well, the clutch is apparently not engaging at all and has a huge gap, it also does have an activating click when turning on the ac. But regardless the compressor needs to be changed anyways

[Honeyboost]

On 21/07/2021 at 1:47 AM, Duncan said:

I recently went through this with my w34 stagea and was unable to find new genuine or aftermarket options. I ended up taking a punt and buying 2 used ones off yahoo japan, and the first one I fit worked so I have a suspect spare.

I suspect AC compressors are going to become one of those impossible to find parts over the next few years until someone works out a non genuine alternative including mounting

Yahoo auction is actually a pretty good idea. do you know if stagea's compressor will fit the gtst? 

Edited July 21, 2021 by Honeyboost

[Duncan]

Possibly...there were differences across R33 air cons and I'm not sure what they were. Late R33 and Stagea are *apparently* the same.

The mounting is the same, the wiring is either the same or interchangeable (1 wire) but the fittings to the car can vary.  I'm sure others know better than me.

You can confirm the exact part# using your VIN through FAST or parts websites.

[GTSBoy]

Clutch <> compressor. Compressor could be fine. Probably is. The compressor and clutch are going to be common with other cars. Take it to an auto electrician, particularly one who also does air-con regassing etc.

And how can it be hard to find someone is San Fransisco to rebuild a compressor? I live in a backward city in a backward country where we all hang upside down from the ground, with a population of only a million or so people and I can probably come up with a list of 5 or 6 places that I would be able to get an air con compressor done. You have SF (pop 1M, LA (pop ~4M), the rest of California (~40M), every other city on the west coast, every city everywhere else in a country with 300 million people.

[Honeyboost]

On 21/07/2021 at 4:53 PM, GTSBoy said:

Clutch <> compressor. Compressor could be fine. Probably is. The compressor and clutch are going to be common with other cars. Take it to an auto electrician, particularly one who also does air-con regassing etc.

And how can it be hard to find someone is San Fransisco to rebuild a compressor? I live in a backward city in a backward country where we all hang upside down from the ground, with a population of only a million or so people and I can probably come up with a list of 5 or 6 places that I would be able to get an air con compressor done. You have SF (pop 1M, LA (pop ~4M), the rest of California (~40M), every other city on the west coast, every city everywhere else in a country with 300 million people.

you're right, I might've not looked hard enough, I will do that this weekend when i'm free of work

[Honeyboost]

Will do that Duncan, Thank you for your input

[White GTS-T]

It is possible the clutch isn't engaging because the air gap is too big. The clutch air gap is adjustable. The clutch air gap is determined by a stack of shims of varying thickness. You can change the air gap by changing/removing shims. You also need to be sure the clutch coil magnet is getting 12 volts when you turn your A/C on. And you need to put a set of manifold gauges on the system to see what it is doing. If the gauges indicate the static pressure in the system is okay, and you are getting 12 volts to the compressor and the clutch air gap is within specification, then and only then can you rule out the compressor while watching the gauges. Hope that helps