AC compressor

[Rhinkel]

Putting the final touches on my 70 280 sl and now I'm at the ac unit. The car sat idle for 20 years before I began digging in a year ago. I removed the under dash unit, cleaned out the box and relined it, had the blower motor re wired, replaced the expansion valve and drier, all the hoses looked good so I left them. Unit is reassembled and ready to be charged. I took it to a very good auto ac guy that has done many of these and he warned me not to charge the system until I replace the compressor. He stated that after 20 years idle, the compressor will have corrosion inside and within a month, the seals will be leaking all the Freon. He quoted a price to replace the compressor and it was quite high- the lobor especially. Is this replacement job just a royal pain? It's something I'm thinking I could do. Would you suggest updating to the rotary style? Thanks for the input.

[Rick]

The original compressor was the short top York.   It may or maynot have a corrosion issue.  Very likely not.  The front seal does get old on Yorks and would need replacement, which is not a difficult job.  But--   The York was considered a great compressor in its day. Today, it is not so great compared to the Sanden Rotary. The York takes a lot of power to turn and has a vibration issue which is why the bracket was built the way it was with the heavy metal and multiple attach points.    If you want a smooth running compressor that will be trouble free, replace it with the Sanden rotary.   There are adapter plates which will allow you to mount a Sanden on the same York bracket.   The 1075 fan belts might be a bit too long because the Sanden has a smaller diameter clutch pulley.  You may need to go to a shorter belt, possibly in the 1060 range.   The adjuster on the factory bracket really does not provide a lot of range for adjustment.  Do check the idler pulley bearing.  It is a double bearing and easy to replace while working on the compressor.

You should consider hose replacement.   Use crimped fitting hoses.  The hoses do get old and can leak or blow out.   Hose replacment is not expensive or all that difficult.

[Rhinkel]

Thanks Rick, I made a judgement call based on the condition of the hoses. They had been replaced 20 plus years ago but the car was run very little after. I would hate to drop the dash unit and replace under the dash again..I do have crimped hoses now so I'll take a chance on those. Dropping the compressor out is not too difficult for the typical back yard mechanic with no lift that works on his back?

[Shvegel]

Taking the bracket off the engine can be a pain but swapping the compressor without removing the bracket is just nuts and bolts. 

[Rhinkel]

Thank you! I think I'll go in and give it a try.... any helpful suggestions or sequences? Anything to be careful of?