Advice on accumulator/drier

[cvar]

Which brand of accumulator/drier would you suggest?

On Rockauto, the MOTORCRAFT #YF2203 is $102 (yikes!), but the other 2 manuf. are 8x cheaper! FOUR SEASONS = $17, and GPD = $14.

Is there a good reason for that? Does OEM brand make a difference here?

 

[4x4junkie]

I used a Four Seasons on mine... So far it's been fine (5 years now). I don't seem to remember them that cheap though (I thought it was something closer to $35 or so I paid at Rockauto for mine).

FWIW, the Four Seasons is Chinese (had I known this before I bought it I might've given the Motorcraft one more serious thought, hopefully it's not just luck that I haven't had any issues).

 

[adsm08]

IIRC the Motorcraft one will come with the low pressure sensor on it. That is the reason it costs so much more.

 

[cvar]

Thanks for your advice, guys. The existing sensor is fine, so I need just the drier itself. So it'll be the 4 seasons, then.

So nice to have A/C again, since I replaced the plugged orifice tube. I'd call that a successful experiment. I'm hoping the compressor itself can wait, since it still produces good pressure.

 

[adsm08]

Just my two cents, but I would start the truck up and let the A/C run for an hour or two, then replace the orifice again when you do the drier. If you can get one I'd put a "compressor saver" on at the same time. It's just a little screen that pops into the suction line at the compressor.

When we have a car where something failed and plugged the orifice but aren't confident we were able to flush the system well enough that's how we do it. It helps to filter some of the crap out of the system. It might mean getting away without replacing the compressor at all.

 

[cvar]

Hmm, an inline filter is a great idea. I will do so. Suction side? Um, my gut feel would've been to install it on the discharge side or in the liquid line ahead of the orifice? Is that a no-no? I'm guessing the few black shards are coming from the compressor, and after passing thru condenser are stuck at the OT. How do any shards ever get into the suction side? Or is the filter more about catching smaller particles instead?

Do you mean something like this? (or a cheaper one?)

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=83051

 

[4x4junkie]

You want to keep leftover junk in the system from entering the compressor (ruining it). The suction (intake) side of the compressor is where you install a filter to accomplish this.

If you have any suspicions about your compressor's health, then it would be prudent to replace it at the same time (using a filter on the new one).

If the orifice keeps plugging up, then you also need to replace your condenser (it's almost impossible to get all the debris from a failing or failed compressor out of a serpentine-flow condenser by flushing it)

 

[adsm08]

That's not the exact style, but it should work.

And yeah, condensers are getting hard to flush. Anymore I turn them on their side and fill them with solvent, then run compressed air though. I wish the shop would spring for a proper flush machine that hooks up in place of the compressor instead of the stupid pressure canister that we had until it broke.