Looking for a new/rebuilt A/C compressor for my 65 442. I see specialty houses selling them for $350-ish, and rock-auto for $180 (All AC Delco). Is there any difference in quality to justify this price difference? Anyone have any experience in purchasing one of these ?

Any help would be appreciated.

 

I have purchased remanufactured compressors from the local auto parts store, but the last time I bought a remanufactured one from a local shop that specializes in AC parts (AAPAC). No issues at all with any of them.

 

Reman anything is a crap-shoot. A6 compressors are getting quite old at this point, so remans have been rebuilt several times. Thankfully the failures I've had over the years tend to be the clutches or an outright sieze. The other failure case is the internals chew themselves to pieces and spray metal pieces through the system which is a big pain to clean out.
I've had AC Delco boxed rebuilds that failed out of the box. Power steering gear, in my case.
I do avoid Four Seasons at all costs.

The smaller US shops, like Old Air Products, will likely have better quality control on their units, but you pay for it.

For robustness, it's best to convert to a Sanden-style compressor with A6 adapters on it, like the Pro6Ten. The four seasons 58098 is an example of the generic rip-off of the pro6ten. Functionally identical, but the fit/finish/appearance of the pro6ten is nicer.

 

As mentioned, remanufactured parts are sometimes a gamble. However, I wouldn’t worry about a rebuilt A/6 compressor, those things are almost indestructible. I have seen a couple that were locked up due to no oil, after installing A/C oil and working the compressor shaft it freed up and worked fine. The problem is the front seal is designed to leak a little, the idea is the R-12 will carry oil with it as it leaks past the seal, keeping it lubricated. After being recharged a few times without replacing lost oil, it dries up and stops turning. Obviously, the designed refrigerant leak was long before the EPA or ozone layer concerns!

 

Whatever happened to that hole in the ozone layer? I haven't heard anything about it for at least a decade, and maybe even longer.

 

Supposedly as the result of the Montreal Protocol (which destined to reduce and/or eliminate CFC's) the hole has become the smallest ever recorded since its discovery. This year the polar vortex over the South Pole was unusually "wonky".

 

Wonky? Is that a technical term?