damon

Wow! I have not spent a dime on my AC system in my 1994 LS400 & my Fathers 90 is now going to get it's 3rd.

He is at 236,000 or so. Good news is I seem to have found a good deal on a 10PA20C. If the deal is real a new compressor will be $425.00.

Is this part of the story to good to be true?

Kansas

That seems like a good price. The cheapest remanufactured Nippondenso compressor for a 90 I could find just now with a quick search was $444.95.

The compressor on the 93-up LS400 is much more reliable than on the 90 LS. I was on my third A/C compressor when I sold my 90 LS in 2003 after driving it 13 1/2 years and 183,000 miles.

If not done already, your Dad might want to have his A/C converted from R12 to R134a. The conversion worked very well in my 90 LS when I had my A/C compressor replaced for the third time in around 2000 - plenty of cooling power after the conversion.

avalon42

iTrader: (1)

+1 What Kansas said.

Also, when you say your dad replaced his AC system 3x, was it the complete system or just the compressor? If it is not the whole system, there may be a problem with contamination that leads to the long-term deterioration.

Sixdown

I know for a fact that my A/C never blows cold, but will a bad compressor show up on error codes?

I checked my system for any error codes using this tutorial: http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/air/accodes.html

No error codes showed up at all. It was 00 the entire time, which means it's all normal.

Bill Dowd

my 1990 has 200,000 and the orginal compressor and the sight glass is still full I learned a secret about making compressors last from one of the nippodenso people told me always turn on your air in the winter a least twice a week and you can still have the heater on also try and not to turn on the compressor going 70 miles an hour on the highway when it has been turned off for a couple of months a lot of time the oil has seperated from the freon and this causes compressor failure always when you can turn on the air in town at low rpms. This way you don't shock the compressor on old lexus's

Neofate

iTrader: (1)

Dead on the money here -- I've read about this, before I got my LS actually.

Not a bad idea while your doing the job -- But not necessary of course.

Neofate

iTrader: (1)

Nope,.. no codes from the AC compressor still turning but not blowing cold =/

*The ac system can show an error, but it is somewhat limited in how 'smart' it is compared to other systems*

damon

We replaced the clutch on his current compressor & still no joy.
Thanks for the tip on the switch to R-134. BTW, I was under the impression that there is very little difference between a 90-92 & 93-94.

LS models from 1990-2000 use a Nippondenso 10PA20C (6 groove clutch) as do many vehicles??

python

iTrader: (4)

when replacing the ac compressor u must change the reciever drier!...it voids the warranty otherwise, most compressors are warrantied for 1 year......make sure u have the system checked before having work done to it

Kansas

There are a huge number of differences between the Series I (90-92) and the Series II (93-94). Regarding the HVAC system, 1993 was the first model year that had a HEPA air filtration system. In other markets, the HEPA system was an option that cost $thousands$ qnd it was a surprise that it was included as standard on U.S. models. But by 1993 the base price of an LS400 had risen to $47,030 from the only $35,000 base price that was in effect when I bought an LS400 in early 1990. Also, the 1993 LS400 was the first year to use R134a.

The A/C compressor on my 1990 LS400 failed for the first time during the summer of 1990. I remember the day well since it was hot and we were on the way to a wedding (they have since divorced!) dressed in formal attire.

The A/C compressor in my 90 may have been the first compressor failure handled by the local Lexus dealer. One of the dealer staff members told me that a van load of Japanese speaking Lexus employees came to the dealership for the sole purpose of taking the compressor away. My car was out of commission for a couple of weeks and I was told that the replacement compressor that was finally installed was of an improved design.

As python said, the dryer requires replacement too. There are a few other miscellaneous parts in the R134a conversion kit. I had my 90 converted to R134 by a pro so I don't know what all was involved. I only remember that the total cost of the conversion was well over $1000 in around 2000.

damon

Fairly certain that all of the AC work was been done by the foremost non-Dealer Lexus Repair place in Dallas / Plano.

They were by no means just replacing the compressor & shoving it out the door. Healthy bills & parts list came with all AC repair efforts.

The new (yep, brand new & not reman) arrived today.

Repair list & prices as performed at 130,000K

883205003084 A/C Compressor (re-man) $825.00
8847150010 Drier $74.01.00
8871150030 Discharge Hose $174.52
8871250010 Suction Hose $99.38
F1CZ19D644A Pop Off Valve $8.25
Freon R12 Freon $118.75
8884014010 R12 A/C O-Rings $ 5.89
1569250020 Oil Filter Housing $ 1.30

Neofate

iTrader: (1)

Kansas I didn't realize there were a huge number of differences in 90-92 and 93-94. Would you point me to this information? Or list it to the best of your knowledge if you don't know the resource? You can PM if you don't want to disrupt this thread, or start a new thread pointing to the resource.

I'd be very interested in knowing what was improved upon between the year 90 and 94.

Thanks,

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

http://www.lexls.com/info/lsgenerations.html

SW07ES

Bill Dowd is right. By following a few simple rules the compressor (even on a '90-92 model) will last many hundreds of thousands of miles.

1) Run the compressor for a few minutes once a week during the winter.

2) When first turning on the compressor after several days of not using the AC, activate the compressor only at idling speed.

3) Periodically make sure the sight glass indicates the system is full (but not overfull) of refrigerant.
Compressor oil circulates with the refrigerant, so if the refrigerant level gets low, the compressor will not receive good lubrication.

damon

Not sure of my original source for this:

Preventing "Black Death" in a 10PA20C

1) The 10PA20C compressor has been known to fail. Change out the drier/O-rings and fill it up with 1.75lbs of R-134a and 8.5oz of POE 100 oil,

The factory underfills the compressor with 6 oz of oil, but Denso AC compressors DO NOT tolerate low oil conditions at all.

2) If “Black Death” has hit the system, EVERY line/hose needs to be flushed out by force, the condenser and evaporator might need to replaced, and the compressor/drier/expansion valve must be changed out.

3) An Inline Filter to prevent problem #2
http://www.auto-air-compressor.com/filter.htm
Filters to 10 microns