Noisy AC compressor

[Honolulu]

Well first I will admit not to have done in-depth use of the search function, but...car is a 2002 325xi with about 97kmiles on it. auto trans, nice cold AC, but when the AC is on I get an "rrrrrrrrr" from the compressor. It ceases immediately when I turn off the AC. It's apparent that the compressor has got an issue, but the question is, if anyone's had this happen, how long a life might the compressor have left?

Well and truly I recognize that it could take a dump tomorrow, or it might last for months or.... longer. As long as the AC blows cold, I'll not be the one to discharge the system, remove/replace the compressor, and get a recharge. I see little to gain from that experience other than immediate lightening of the wallet.

I've previously replaced the compressor on the wife's Benz and aside from paying $500 for a rebuilt compressor that worked fine (plus a receiver-dryer), and gotten a free recharge (overcharge actually) from a well-meaning neighbor, the Benz was fine (after we released some pressure so the compressor didn't shut off after a few minutes). But that's another story, what I'm wondering about is whether someone on this list has endured/solved this matter previously on their E46.

TIA

[floydr]

To ensure maximum lifetime, you need to have someone evacuate the system, then recharge with the correct amount of refrigerant *AND* *OIL*. Shouldn't cost more than a couple hundred, but might well save the compressor.

If that doesn't fix it, not much you can do other than wait for it to fail. Unfortunately, if it does fail by seizing you're probably stuck by the side of the road waiting for a tow.

Many people forget that there's quite a bit of oil in the a/c system: when they have a leak they just recharge with refrigerant and forget the oil.