fff|ggg|camry_compressor_installation/P1040531|Alternator and Compressor|ggg|fff

On Friday, Northeast Autolabs finished up the process of installing the new compressor. The air conditioning works again, blowing nice, dry, cool air. Naturally, this would be the week that the temperatures start to drop… but at least it’s fixed!

Here are some things I have learned in the process of fixing the compressor:

• To remove or install the compressor, you must remove the drive belt. This is accomplished by moving the alternator, which is mounted on a pivoting arm, thus loosening the belt for removal.
• To move the alternator, simply loosen the pivot bolt, loosen the adjustment lock bolt, and turn the adjustment bolt. Tightening the adjustment bolt moves the alternator up and tightens the belt. Loosening the adjustment bolt moves the alternator down and loosens the belt.
• As tempting as it may be, it is not necessary to whack the alternator to get it to move down further.
• The compressor mounts to the engine block with three bolts. Two of these are fairly easy to get at, one not as easy.
• There is a plate attached to the old compressor that must be swapped over to the new compressor after the refrigerant has been evacuated.
• This cannot be done when the new compressor is already mounted. So if you went ahead and mounted the new compressor yourself, the auto repair shop will need to undo everything you did and redo it after they have recharged the system.
• Luckily, if you have the work done at Northeast Autolabs in Beverly, Massachusetts, they will do very efficient work and not charge too much for the repairs.

I am feeling pretty good about my current level of knowledge of car maintenance. I like knowing what exactly is going on under the hood, and I’m glad that I no longer feel the need to just nod and cough up the cash when a repair shop says “Your car needs to have this fixed” and “It’s going to cost this much”. Too many people are under the unfortunate impression that when a mechanic tells gives them a diagnosis and a cost estimate, they have no choice. If I had taken the Camry to the dealer, I could have paid well over $500 just for the factory new compressor they would install, not including labor and the cost of recharging the refrigerant. Instead, I bought a rebuilt compressor (which will be more than sufficient considering the age of my car) for $150, and paid $110 for the labor and refrigerant recharging services.

fff|ggg|camry_outside_shots/200205061717085_G|The Camry|ggg|fff

I enjoy driving. I like to get in the car, hit the road, and drive anywhere. Down to the corner store or across the country, it’s all good. As long as my car is working, that is. For you see, as much as I enjoy driving, I do not enjoy dealing with the mechanical side of owning a car.

When I first received the Camry from Pop-Pop (happy birthday!) in the spring of 2000, I would simply take it to the Toyota dealership and have them take care of all of the repairs. After a few years passed, it became readily apparent that they are overzealous in their estimation of needed repairs, and that they greatly overcharge for parts and labor.

The next step was to find a trustworthy local mechanic. I found a few good places in Beverly – Northeast Autolabs and Auto-Dyne, both within walking distance of our apartment. They charged less than Toyota, and were honest in their appraisals and estimates of the work that needed to be done. But even the local mechanic can be expensive, particularly if they’re installing factory-new parts.

Thankfully, my father-in-law Ken has stepped in within the past year or so to advise me on matters of auto repair, and in fact to do many of the repairs himself, as long as he has some free time and the necessary parts. Along the way, I’ve picked up a few bits of knowledge and have developed enough confidence to start fixing things on my own. What follows are some of my recent experiences and ‘adventures’ in auto repair.
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