AC Compressor Recommendations

Anyone bought an aftermarket AC Compressor for a 2nd gen Tacoma 4.0L that has been pretty reliable? Are the ones from Autozone and O'Reilly, Napa Auto Parts any good? I need one ASAP since it's a three day weekend and I'll be spending time replacing it.

 

We've had decent luck with Napa compressors but I think they are all made by Four Seasons in china.

If the system is contaminated with metal you will need to replace the condenser, expansion valve screen, possibly expansion valve and flush the lines & evaporator good.


No matter which one you get save the Lock Sensor off the old compressor, the aftermarket ones aren't known to be particularly reliable if they work at all out of the box.

 

@Dm93 - do you know why the compressors on let's say Autozone is way more expensive than the one from Rock Auto when they look like they are the same. For example Four Seasons 68677 AC Compressor on Rock Auto is $198.79 and on Autozone it's $474.99. Are they even the exact same? Both says NEW.

 

Don't know but rock auto is often significantly cheaper than parts stores, just know that if you have an issue it can be challenging to deal with warranty and often you have to pay the shipping. Also it's very difficult if not impossible to talk to an actual person as most of their stuff is automated and they have no official contact info.
Not saying they are bad to order from but keep those things in mind.

 

@Dm93 - thank you. I feel you have a wealth of knowledge about these trucks. Thanks for taking the time to answer all my questions and have a great rest of your day.

 

Delphi was the Toyota OEM compressor builder. Denso compressors for our trucks are rebadged Delphi. I think Rock Auto sells the Delphi compressors.
At one time in the past they didn't offer them for sale.

 

@Dm93 - do I need to use washer seals from Toyota or any washer seal should work as long as it's the same size?

 

You can use any of the same size, GPD, UAC, and Four Seasons make kits that should have all the necessary seals and O-Rings.

 

Ok, thanks. My brother is bringing a washer seal kit he got from Amazon. Hopefully those work because this AC job has to be completed this weekend.

 

Good luck, remember what I said about if it has metal contamination or you will be doing again in short order.

Also be very careful with the plastic clamps that hold the lines together at the expansion valve if you take them off, they are very easy to break and aren't easy to get.

 

I’ve dealt with rock auto when I had 2 compressors from them go bad within a year. That was on my Chevy truck. They warrantied the first, then refunded me after the second. Like Dm93 said, only drawback is having to ship it back & wait for replacement. Can’t remember if I paid shipping or not.