Engine replacement, now A/C is warm

I had my engine replaced last week and now my A/C is blowing cool out of the driver vent and warm out of all other vents. On start up the A/C makes a Darth Vader noise too. Can anyone explain this? Thanks!

 

They did something wrong / forgot something. Take it back.

 

They forgot to charge the system, and the noise is because the compressor is starved of oil, likely causing internal damage. I would ask for a new compressor, new desiccant, and a proper charge after an overnight leakdown test. That would be the proper repair. Anything short of this would lead to more headaches down the road.

 

blend door actuator problem?

Impacts air flow and can make noise.

 

As much as you are probably sick of dealing with them by now, yes, take it back to them.

 

It's only been a couple days. You think that short time could cause damage?

 

Very likely. You still have some residual refrigerant in the system since you have some cool air being felt but compressors do not like moisture or being low on lubricant which is dispersed by the refrigerant. The proper procedure to recover the old refrigerant and seal the system against moisture while the engine is replaced may not have been followed correctly.

 

Running anything without the proper lubricant can damage it in short order.

 

So are you on the didn’t charge it train or theres a leak train? Two different scenarios.
There would be no residual Freon left in the system to run the compressor off of a low pressure switch if they didn’t recharge it.
The majority of compressor oil stays within the compressor.

 

I’m saying “they didn’t charge it PROPERLY” based on the description. Whether it leaked out or not refilled in the first place is immaterial. The noise from the compressor is not a good sign for assuming adequate lubrication. The desiccant change is needed anytime the system is not closed off properly.

 

A/C systems have low pressure cutout switches so if the system was uncharged the compressor would not run at all.

 

True. One wonders how cool below ambient is the cool air from one side being reported without an actual vent temp.

 

I don't have a temp on the air, but if all vents were blowing the air that the driver side was I probably wouldn't have noticed. It's not ice cold like normal, but it's cold enough that I wouldn't have been alarmed. All other vents are blowing room temp air or warmer. I did switch to heat to see how that would work from the same vents and it got hot from all vents.

 

If it is making noise (what is a Darth Vader noise??) I would not run it. Get it back ASAP and let them fix it. Opening the A/C system is one of my biggest worries with the engine swap. It will never be as reliable as if left alone. I wonder if they are even replacing the filter/dryer like you are supposed to anytime the system is opened? I doubt it because I believe it is in or part of the condenser on these vehicles.

 

The first step here would be to check the pressures in the system and scan for any codes, and then go from there.

 

The only step here, is to take it back.