[Chirho1987]

Hey all. My ac started blowing warm air. I noticed the clutch on the compressor was no longer engaging. I took my car to multiple shops around town and all confirmed I had a faulty compressor. None of the shops want to change just the compressor. All of them want to replace the entire ac unit costing upwards of $3600.

Ive decided to do the compressor myself but I cannot find any helpful articles or videos to help in the process. Does anyone have any thing they can direct me towards to help the swap? Or does anyone have any advice on doing this themselves already?

Thanks for the help!

[spielnicht]

Sorry to hear that. I can shoot you the instructions, but know that it does require lowering the subframe - definitely not a DIY task.

I assume you've already tried taking the car to a reputable indy BMW shop?

[550iFreak]

Depends on how mechanically inclined you are, the tooling you have to perform the work and your comfortably able to.

Did you confirm yourself that the compressor is dead? Did you physically try to spin the compressor to see if it is locked up? Shops can just say “yup it is cooked” when it could be a simple leak and once you charge the system, it may kick on.

Because you have a bmw…… beware of the shops capable of hassling you over if it was something simple like that.

Now…. If it is locked up and you have a charge, then you have to replace it.

Now if it is locked up, most shops won’t touch it unless the whole system is changed out to prevent premature lockup since the metal shards had already contaminated your system such as your dryer, condenser and lines.

So….verify with yourself by trying to move the compressor and see if it has a charge.

Go from there.

[550iFreak]

And remember that if you decide to change out the compressor, most parts stores will sell it as is without warranty if they don’t have proof that the whole system was replaced in conjunction with the compressor.

Only way you can get away with this is if the compressor has external leaks and still able to function as normal if charged up. Then that’s the good time to replace JUST the compressor and evacuate the system.

[Chirho1987]

Originally Posted by 550iFreak

Depends on how mechanically inclined you are, the tooling you have to perform the work and your comfortably able to.

Did you confirm yourself that the compressor is dead? Did you physically try to spin the compressor to see if it is locked up? Shops can just say “yup it is cooked” when it could be a simple leak and once you charge the system, it may kick on.

Because you have a bmw…… beware of the shops capable of hassling you over if it was something simple like that.

Now…. If it is locked up and you have a charge, then you have to replace it.

Now if it is locked up, most shops won’t touch it unless the whole system is changed out to prevent premature lockup since the metal shards had already contaminated your system such as your dryer, condenser and lines.

So….verify with yourself by trying to move the compressor and see if it has a charge.

Go from there.

So when I turn on the ac in the cab, I can check under the hood and I notice the the ac compressor clutch never engages like it should. The drive belt just spins around it as if the ac is off. I was ablento get under the car and I can spin the outer part of the clutch freely. It does not seem seized. Honestly seems like it just crap out overall and didn't seize. The whole ac system is up to pressure and full of freon. There are no leaks at all.

[Chirho1987]

Originally Posted by spielnicht

Sorry to hear that. I can shoot you the instructions, but know that it does require lowering the subframe - definitely not a DIY task.

I assume you've already tried taking the car to a reputable indy BMW shop?

Any info or instructions you have, I'd appreciate the help. That sucks if no matter what, the sub frame needs to be dropped.

I have taken it multiple different bmw shops and indy shops. Everyone wants to change the whole system. No one will replace just the compressor. I can't afford the prices the quote me.

[Johnkwick]

Happened to me last month, magnetic clutch is broken and essentially run the compressor useless. The same thing has been happening 2 times in the last 2 years!

It turns out that the previous owner replaced with the wrong compressor. So please check it thoroughly before the indy installed the compressor for you.

Mine is F10 528 LCI 2015. Previous owner replaced the compressor with Denso DCP05095 (6SBU14A) or 64529223694. It's not rated for >200hp car, and based on my assumption it explains why the compressor's magnetic clutch was easily blown. (by the way I also need some technical explanations from any experts here what is the main difference between DCP05095 and 05096)

Replaced with the Denso DCP05096 (7SBU17A) or 64529216466, and I think it's my first time driving this car with a correct AC compressor. Now I noticed something different like now radiator fan is kicking for few secs when turning on the car (oil temp is within operating temperature, not cold start-up), and loud fan when AC is on (not something that terribly loud, just something unusual for my ears to have this phenomenon). Could it be water pump? No error in ISTA though for dying water pump, but will replace it soon for preventive maintenance.

It's an 1 hour job to replace the compressor tho. It is understandable that many shops in US prefer to replace the whole system because it's the safest way to ensure that nothing's left from the old compressor (metal debris in the event of internal rupture, etc) and probably to avoid warranty claim from a single part replacement where the fault is not entirely theirs.

Don't forget to double check the installed compressor, I believe it should be DCP05076 or 7SBU17C (rated for >400hp)