Replacement A/C Compressor

[mikc]

According to a posting under 'Climate Control' in Troubleshooting:

[MBA - 2001/7/8] The compressor itself is the same as a 91 to 92 Legend and a number of other late-model Hondas. The part that makes it an NSX compressor is the manifold which bolts on and can be swapped from your compressor to the new one. If you buy a rebuild, you will have to swap this manifold anyway. The Nippondenso part number is a 10PA17c. Be careful, the same number without the "A" is a 88 to 90 Legend and does NOT interchange.

However when I looked at replacing the A/C Compressor on my 1993 UK Spec NSX, the suppliers advised me as follows:

According to our details the Legend 91,92 is a 10PA20C
The NSX is a 10PA15C
You are stating that it is a 10PA17C

Can anyone sort out the confusion for me?

 

[NSXTech]

Originally posted by mikc:
According to a posting under 'Climate Control' in Troubleshooting:

[MBA - 2001/7/8] The compressor itself is the same as a 91 to 92 Legend and a number of other late-model Hondas. The part that makes it an NSX compressor is the manifold which bolts on and can be swapped from your compressor to the new one. If you buy a rebuild, you will have to swap this manifold anyway. The Nippondenso part number is a 10PA17c. Be careful, the same number without the "A" is a 88 to 90 Legend and does NOT interchange.

However when I looked at replacing the A/C Compressor on my 1993 UK Spec NSX, the suppliers advised me as follows:

According to our details the Legend 91,92 is a 10PA20C
The NSX is a 10PA15C
You are stating that it is a 10PA17C

Can anyone sort out the confusion for me?

The only difference in these part numbers is the displacement of the cylinders- 200 cc's for the 20c, 150 cc's for the 15c, etc.
This difference is important in a large car, but as long as the compressor you use is the same displacement or larger, you can interchange them. The only other calibrated part in the system is the expansion valve, and it works based on pressure actually 'seen', rather than anticipated so it adapts perfectly. In any regard, in the US, the Legend does not get the 20c untill 93, when it went to 134a- it needs all the help it can get. I wonder if the UK cars really got the bigger compressor earlier, or does the parts book err? The most common parts book errors I see are just that- a later or current number used for older models. If you have switched to 134a, you should use the 20c. If you are still using r12, use either compressor.

Keep Kool,
Mark Basch

 

[mikc]

To Mark Basch:

Thanks Mark - really appreciate the help

Mike Cowen