AC Stopped Working.. $2,739.62 later were good..

[SpoolBus]

So thought I would share, had the ol' AC compressor explosion, compressor throwing metal throughout the system.
1- AH Compressor $1,1160
1- Q Drier $245
1- Restrictor $38.76
2- A Washer $38.76
1- Spacer $2.36
2- C Washer $4.24
2- C Washer $8.40
18- 134A Ref $21.60
2- Clip $4.68
2- Clamp $2.12

Parts= $1,515.62
Labor= $1,224

3 hour system flush to get the metal out of the system.

Total= $2,839.62 (after $100 deductible)

So pushing through the problem areas within less than 1 yr ownership (control arms replaced, VC gaskets replaced, power steering replaced, AC replaced, valley pan gasket replaced x2, glove box, arm rest, window regulators, failed passenger pre cat, new coils)

BTW the AC repair took 11 days..Woot woot...love hate relationship.

[A4 Quattro]

I had the same issue with the AC compressor, but quite the difference in the repair cost/time. I had mine done in just a couple hours, and it was a mere $1800. I don't have the price breakdown with me, I'll update this later with it after I grab it.

[Blackstallion]

Haven't had my AC working on one of my b6's for years. Thats a hefty bill, yikes! Just so you know JHM has AC compressor on sale for around 7 bills if i recall

Glad she's back up and blowing cold air! Im not looking forward for whenever i take care of my AC.

[RPMtech147]

I did it for $400 myself. Wasnt too bad. About 7 hours total. Why did it take 11 days

[gcoy]

Wow, That sure seems steep... but living in Atlanta, I'm sure AC is priceless...

[SpoolBus]

Yeah 93ish temps in the worst traffic in the SE = bad.

Price was steep but done by Audi and covered for 12 months no question.
Also surprisingly my 3rd party paid all of it (I only paid the $100 deductible).
I also had a 2014 A4 S-Line for the 11 days so wasn't so bad (supposedly the machine to flush the system broke, ha machine working on my broken machine broke..just bad luck I guess)

[Jsmooth65]

No condenser replacement? Odd....

[s4ski]

Holy cow that's pricey. I'm going to stop using AC, don't really need it anyway and I don't want that bill. Just need to run it now and then to keep the hoses from getting brittle.

[TarlCabot]

it is drive shaft driven by the main chain... so it runs continuously, although at a lower pressure when in eco mode

[event]

Well, that's not very cool.

[cheetah993]

Well, that's not very cool.

Haha I see what you did there.

[devilbones]

Yeah 93ish temps in the worst traffic in the SE = bad.

Price was steep but done by Audi and covered for 12 months no question.
Also surprisingly my 3rd party paid all of it (I only paid the $100 deductible).
I also had a 2014 A4 S-Line for the 11 days so wasn't so bad (supposedly the machine to flush the system broke, ha machine working on my broken machine broke..just bad luck I guess)

Which company do you use?

[cheetah993]

Well, that's not very cool.

Haha I see what you did there.

[2004B6S4]

I did it for $400 myself. Wasnt too bad. About 7 hours total. Why did it take 11 days

Hey man glad to hear from someone that diy'd this job!! This is my 2nd summer without a/c in AZ so it sucks big time, I know TX is bad too. I've had the temp gauge in my car showing as much as 120F before when I was driving without a/c! But I gotta love how cool it looks to be driving such a nice car that has such a big problem not getting fixed. lol to be honest I could've taken it to a mechanic right away but I would rather do it myself, I've just been really busy and unable to find any good answers to a couple questions I have about diying the job.

I wasn't sure it was even possible to diy because I read somewhere that it requires a special Audi tool to fill the new refrigerant and oil? Were you able to evac and fill the system with the typical vacuum pump and a/c manifold gauge setup? If so that is great news to me! That's the main thing I've been trying to find out and there's no diy specific to our cars, maybe if I can get some good advice from you I'll write up a diy...

Also I'm not sure how to flush it all out without using the special Audi tools that they use in the elsa manual, how did you flush the system?

[Axel-]

This is my 3rd summer without AC. But I'm in Canada so tolerable :)

[masaraksh]

This is my 3rd summer without AC. But I'm in Canada so tolerable :)

Yeah, I don't have working AC either. But with an '04 B6 with 186k miles, no way in hell I'm gonna bother shelling out 3k to fix it.

I don't know if anything is broken or if an 'AC recharge' can would fix it. I asked a friend to recharge it but he said the can exploded and he gave up.

[BCsniper]

...You and me both Axel. I've had no A/C in hot-ass Georgia for the last 3 years

[SpoolBus]

Which company do you use?

Old Republic, was brokered by SafeCo

They have not been the easiest to deal with but this claim was flawless, Audi was even surprised they didn't send an inspector out, just paid.
Cost me $100 deductible

[LJH]

That is within $100 of what it cost me to have done 3 years ago....but living in Fairfield County does not help.....I do 99.9% of the work myself but I know nothing about AC systems and did not want to personally risk taking out the new compressor if I did not do the job correctly so off she went to the garage. Our S4 is not our DD'er and gets used for mostly family vacations and road trips, having no AC on the highway is not something we could live with.

I will say ever since the compressor was done the AC blows as cold as a '70's GM car.....for you youngons that means it is COLD....LOL.

Cheers,
Jim

[98champ]

I'd love to do this with a $100 deductible, but at the price they paid all said and done I'll continue to sweat in traffic for the 3rd straight summer and more to come...

[SlickFix]

Also surprisingly my 3rd party paid all of it (I only paid the $100 deductible).

How much did you pay for the original extended warranty? When I bought one with my first Audi(99.5 A4) I paid about $2,000. But that warranty paid off in spades to the tune of at least $6,000 over the years.

[event]

...You and me both Axel. I've had no A/C in hot-ass Georgia for the last 3 years

I remember not having A/C in one of my previous cars in Texas... baby powder and towels were my friends... My condolences.

[viridia]

Hey man glad to hear from someone that diy'd this job!! This is my 2nd summer without a/c in AZ so it sucks big time, I know TX is bad too. I've had the temp gauge in my car showing as much as 120F before when I was driving without a/c! But I gotta love how cool it looks to be driving such a nice car that has such a big problem not getting fixed. lol to be honest I could've taken it to a mechanic right away but I would rather do it myself, I've just been really busy and unable to find any good answers to a couple questions I have about diying the job.

I wasn't sure it was even possible to diy because I read somewhere that it requires a special Audi tool to fill the new refrigerant and oil? Were you able to evac and fill the system with the typical vacuum pump and a/c manifold gauge setup? If so that is great news to me! That's the main thing I've been trying to find out and there's no diy specific to our cars, maybe if I can get some good advice from you I'll write up a diy...

Also I'm not sure how to flush it all out without using the special Audi tools that they use in the elsa manual, how did you flush the system?

I did mine about a month ago and can offer some insight here. Yes, it's a normal recharging procedure with manifold gauges and vacuum pump. The Harbor Freight set works great.

The orifice valve's mesh screen was caked with metal on my car, so I purchased a good used compressor. Car needs to be in service position to install a new compressor. Also, the water pump and left engine mount/bracket need to be removed. Filled compressor with a couple ounces of PAG and turned over by hand before installing.

Used a $50 eBay flush gun, air compressor, and acetone to flush the lines. Installed new o-rings, receiver drier, and orifice valve and buttoned it back up. Can't remember exactly what the charge is, somewhere between 12 and 20 oz (says on the underhood sticker though).

[SpoolBus]

How much did you pay for the original extended warranty? When I bought one with my first Audi(99.5 A4) I paid about $2,000. But that warranty paid off in spades to the tune of at least $6,000 over the years.

The warranty was $4,400 for coverage on everything for 4 years/110,000 miles. After I paid they cut it to 2 years/110,000 and refunded me 1,500ish but kept the coverage the same.
When they found out it was a B6 S4 they must have said "Hail NO"

With this service they have paid out roughly $4,300 total so far.

Agreed on the cold as hell AC now..it'll freezer burn exposed skin!

[TarlCabot]

The warranty was $4,400 for coverage on everything for 4 years/110,000 miles. After I paid they cut it to 2 years/110,000 and refunded me 1,500ish but kept the coverage the same.
When they found out it was a B6 S4 they must have said "Hail NO"

With this service they have paid out roughly $4,300 total so far.

Agreed on the cold as hell AC now..it'll freezer burn exposed skin!

Nice... get that warranty to pay for everything it will now... lol

[2004B6S4]

I did mine about a month ago and can offer some insight here. Yes, it's a normal recharging procedure with manifold gauges and vacuum pump. The Harbor Freight set works great.

The orifice valve's mesh screen was caked with metal on my car, so I purchased a good used compressor. Car needs to be in service position to install a new compressor. Also, the water pump and left engine mount/bracket need to be removed. Filled compressor with a couple ounces of PAG and turned over by hand before installing.

Used a $50 eBay flush gun, air compressor, and acetone to flush the lines. Installed new o-rings, receiver drier, and orifice valve and buttoned it back up. Can't remember exactly what the charge is, somewhere between 12 and 20 oz (says on the underhood sticker though).

Awesome, thank you a lot for that info! I'm gonna start ordering all the parts and tools I'll need now.

I usually prefer to go with genuine parts for nearly everything, I'm pretty sure GAP loves me by now... or if I can find the same part from the same manufacturer but without the Audi box for a little cheaper I'll go with that, which I believe is what JHM has. But with the compressor I'm not sure I can stomach the enormous price difference between the GAP/JHM parts and the cheaper aftermarket brands at rockauto, I think the compressor alone is like a 3-4 hundred dollar difference iirc.
Does anyone have any experience with a cheap new compressor that they can recommend? I don't think I want to risk a used one since it may not last long, considering the amount of labor and cost in redoing the job if it were to go out on me again right away

[JesseB7]

Check out r&y compressors out of Miami. They have remanufactured compressors for around 250$. Just put one on my car and it works fine. Also when I did the job I removed the front support and left the water pump on and removed the drivers side sub frame and motor mount.

[Squatteee]

good info here. thx

my ac is gonna need some work. blahhh... sometimes doesn't coolnow hearing rattling noises. goes away everytime i turn off the ac

[sluggyjunx]

I did mine about a month ago

I'm about to do mine in my B6 S4. Just ordered all the parts. Please say a blessing for me! I will hopefully have some sort of writeup, but it depends on how much time I have.

- B

[Ritt]

Wow, I was going to say skip it... but I see you live in ATL so this is a must.

[brandonrsx]

Check ebay they have brand new ones for 335.00 just bought mine.

[blaelock]

My AC compressor broke in my S4 and it was the last straw for me. Dealer quoted around $3,000 for the repair and the prices for the compressors elsewhere were quite expensive. And the labor for this job is quite involved. I ended up driving the car to Phoenix w/ no AC and trading it for my current M3.