Cruiser AC Issues

[mscaho]

I have a 2004 Cruiser and the air blows warm at idle, driving down the road it blows a little cooler. I took it to a shop and they checked the system and said it was low on freon. They tried to charge it and it would just blow out, I think it was a pressure release valve, or maybe overflow-I dont remember. So then they then tell me my AC cooling fan is seized up and it will be $350 for the fan and 2.2 hours to replace it.
The total will be $684 out the door, I guess the extra is for recharging the system.
I am no mechanic so I was hoping someone on here could me if all this sounds right.
Thanks.

[CREWZIN]

WELCOME to the forum.

It sounds a bit high, but with labor charges these days, nothing surprises me.

A few of us have had the fan burn out. Chrysler does want a couple hundred for the fan/housing (all in one) but you can get them cheaper if you search around, especially on eBay, probably around $100. Here's one from eBay for $87 and $15 shipping:

eBay Motors: RADIATOR FAN SHROUD chrysler PT CRUISER 01-05 assembly (item 330145552114 end time Jul-16-07 10:23:29 PDT)

If your mechanically inclinded, you can change it yourself in about 2 hours (or less). No special tools required). You do have to drain the radiator, and take out/off a bunch of parts. If you don't want to tackle the job, then you'll have to pay labor prices to somebody, but it'll be a lot cheaper at a garage rather than a dealer.

[mscaho]

Thanks for the reply, it is actually not the radiaor fan that is seized up, it is the air conditioner condessor cooling fan, I am having a hard time finding much info on it.

[CREWZIN]

Do you mean the Compressor cooling fan, as I don't know of a Condenser cooling fan.

A re-manufactured Compressor from NAPA will run about $360. Here's a link to that:

http://www.napaonline.com/masterpage...Clutch+-+Remfd

You'll have to loose (re-capture by law) all the coolant, labor to replace part and refill the whole system. It might be a little high because of the dealer hourly charge, but it is a lot of work and you have to have the right equipment.

The only thing you'll save is the difference between hourly charges between the dealer and outside mechanic. We have a place here called ICE COLD AIR with a standard $45 an hour and they specialize in air conditioning system (as the name implies). If your job is 3 hours and your dealer charges $90, you can save about $135 in labor charges from an outside mechanic .....if you know one that you can trust.

Also, I might add, that the dealer probably won't use a re-manufactured part, so you'll be paying a lot more for a new Compressor, So maybe the dealer price isn't that bad after all.

[mscaho]

Thanks you are probably right on the part, the mechanaic just called it an AC cooling fan, and the price is about the same. No wonder I could not find any info on it