you got to be kidding me


Just keep it clean please....

Golden Jubilee
Golden Jubilee

Posts: 5170

Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2012 9:28 pm

Location: Lyman, IA

Post Fri Oct 26, 2018 8:07 pm

you got to be kidding me

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Used-Frigidair ... 0039.m2059

I've got a larger pulley I bought a few year back, it was N.O.S and I could have bought 10 at that time an I guess I should have. The large pulley was used on ag and some buses that used the A-6.
Yeah the "numbers match" but the unit is locked up and the "numbers" are just on the sheetmetal can. You can swap that "can" to any A-6.
there are 3 sizes of single groove pulleys for the A-6 4 7/8", 5 something and 6 3/4", there was also a forward groove unit for the G series van and a double groove unit for Caddy and some Olds/Buick.

Golden Jubilee
Golden Jubilee

Posts: 8937

Joined: Thu Dec 27, 2012 12:45 pm

Location: Canada's left Coast

Post Sat Oct 27, 2018 2:09 pm

Re: you got to be kidding me

I understand why a person would like the venerable C6.I would question the reasons for wanting one in 2018. If the C6 is compatible with R134a there may be a good enough reason for keeping and running a C6. There has to be conversion kits to upgrade to a more modern AC compressor.
Some of the terms used in the OP may not be familiar to may readers.
http://elcamauto.net/ in Burnaby, BC, Canada, used to have dozens of the C6 compressors in stock. They will ship.
I would rather have tools I do not need than to need tools I do not have
Thinking risks being controversial and possibly being offensive

Golden Jubilee
Golden Jubilee

Posts: 5170

Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2012 9:28 pm

Location: Lyman, IA

Post Sat Oct 27, 2018 3:53 pm

Re: you got to be kidding me

At least in the US it is called a A-6 (axial 6 cyl compressor). and as far as I'm concerned there is no better compressor. 1st it is cast iron and steel with the only aluminum being the pistons. 2nd, it uses O ring, no gaskets anywhere. 3rd it is good to 40,000 BTU, far more than any of the cheap aluminum compressors, 4th it uses a face seal, so no shaft wear from the seal, 5th it uses pressure lubrication with a large sump and a gearotor oil pump. All "wearing" surfaces are steel or iron, unless you count the ring groove in the piston.
It is heavy and large, but there is a reason most high end mfg like Rolls and Bentley used them.
They have been out of production for near on 40 years, but still are being used and rebuilt.
The few weak points are limited number of pulleys, small clutch area, but other than that they will outlast anything on the market today.
I believe there are some places "cloneing" them as well. I just buy cores and go thru them myself.

Golden Jubilee
Golden Jubilee

Posts: 8937

Joined: Thu Dec 27, 2012 12:45 pm

Location: Canada's left Coast

Post Sat Oct 27, 2018 5:45 pm

Re: you got to be kidding me

Rolls Royce used what ever was available. My friend had a Rolls, until the electric wiring caught on fire and burned the RR to the driveway. He just pushed the Roller out of his attached garage with a minute to spare. He was able to save the Spirit of Ecstasy and the hubcaps. His RR had a Saginaw power steering pump and a GM TH400 automatic. His RR had the DELCO 88961863 flat pump.
BMW used the GM 700r4 in their "X" drive cars for some time. My sister has one of these 700r4s in her BM. Her BM has a Sanden compressor.
My Ram 2500 Cummins has a Saginaw power steering pump.
I had a Porsche with a A6 AC pump. The pump was to heavy for this application. Pulling mounting bolts/studs was a problem. The factory fix was replacing the A6 with a DELCO 88961863 flat compressor. The latest and greatest is the SANDEN made in Japan. I have it on my Ford, Vintage Air system. My Ram/Cummins has a Sanden; My daughter's Mazda and my son's Mercedes Diesel Grande Cherokee have this Sanden compressor.
I think most, if not all manufacturers are like hookers. What ever fits and make the best margin goes "under the hood". If the C6 was so reliable and cost effective to produce, it would be in production.
One of the nice repurpose features of the Old A6 was making them into an air compressor for the shop. This was possible because of the internal oil sump.

You say, "as far as I'm concerned". That is very limiting. You will slowly fade into automotive history. I have to wonder why a person, like yourself never became an instructor in a trade school. How nice it would have been to have someone, like you, who more often than not "gets it" and would be a great cross-over teacher as the automotive world transitions into higher voltages, quick fixes and designed obsolescence. Teaching a class of interested students is easier on a sore back and likely pays better.
I would rather have tools I do not need than to need tools I do not have
Thinking risks being controversial and possibly being offensive

Golden Jubilee
Golden Jubilee

Posts: 5170

Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2012 9:28 pm

Location: Lyman, IA

Post Sat Oct 27, 2018 6:48 pm

Re: you got to be kidding me

A/C compressors don't use oil control rings, so are not good air compressors, add to that they have no provision for cooling, as the return refrigerant in a properly operating system returns at close to freezing.
I've tossed more Sanden. Seltec and Tama (Diesel kiki) aluminum compressors then I care to count. They all copy the basic A-6 axial design. Some use an oil pump, most rely on splash lube. All use aluminum bores which wear out, and many newer compressor use a shaft seal that rides on the shaft. In short they are all deigned to be a single use, and thrown out in short order. They are ok, but if used in a high use application, like a road tractor, the A-6 is far better.

Golden Jubilee
Golden Jubilee

Posts: 5170

Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2012 9:28 pm

Location: Lyman, IA

Post Sun Oct 28, 2018 9:36 am

Re: you got to be kidding me

nikkinutshop wrote: If the C6 was so reliable and cost effective to produce, it would be in production.

What did it in was its size and weight. It had a run from the late 50's early '60's (where it replaced the short lived A-5) until the mid-80's when GM was downsizing everything trying to meet Cafe ratings.
I can't use one on my 3406 Cat because of the length. I might be able to squeeze it in if it swapped positions with the alternator, but that would mean I couldn't fit the Delco 25SI I prefer. As far as cost to produce, it would be low, one of the reasons it lasted so long.
The aluminum body compressors can be die cast so are cheap but can't last anywhere as near long. There are people cloning the A-6, just like they are the 25 si They still have a place because of their good engineering that means they have a very long life and are rebuildable at the end, something the cheap new stuff isn't.
we have gone from expecting things to last to a use it until it breaks, then throw away mentality. People are willing to accept needing a new compressor at 5 years/ 130,000 miles and don't stop to ask why.
The core units I buy off the .net only need freshening up, clean the bores and re-seal. If I get a real bad one, I save it for parts. If I bide my time, I can buy a complete core with clutch for less than a "refurbished" clutch, which just means they trued the surface with a belt sander!
The same hold true for alternators, true, you can buy new cheaper than rebuilt, but the slip-rings are so thin, that the wear out with the 1st set of brushes, where as I can buy a 25 Si and put new bearings in it and have it outlast the engine overhaul. I have 4 now, one for each truck and a spare ready should it be needed.
New and disposable isn't better than old and rebuildable. It may bring more profit for the mfg, but that is not my concern.
BTW the R-4 disaster that GM replaced the A-6 with (flat short and fat) is a prime example of what happens when bean counters rule over engineers. Its 4 cyl "Scotch Yoke" design was notoriously bad.

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