Hey guys,

My A/C compressor siezed up a while back, making this terrible shriek and killing my engine. I took it in to a shop, and after looking it over they said the compressor, orifice (i think he called it that), collector, drier, condenser, and evaporator need to be replaced. That sounds like the entire friggin system to me. Do they really need to replace the whole thing just because the compressor is fooked?

If just the compressor seized, then that's probably all they should replace - the dryer needs to go unless the system never vented to air (well - even then, if the system has been sitting idle for a long time - like years - it might be a good idea to replace that) - no idea why they want to replace the condensor and evaporator - that makes no sense, unless when the compressor died it filled the whole system with little pieces of metal or something... I say get a second opinion.

If the compressor seized, it most likely contaminated the system. You should replace the drier and the orifice/expansion valve. The rest of the system needs to be flushed, and an inline filter should be installed to prevent debris from entering the new compressor should anything be missed during flushing. Replacing the condensor and evaporator is a protective measure since there are so many passages that debris can hide in, but it is usually not cost effective. They may just be unwilling to warranty the new compressor if the other components aren't changed.

Rich