Dear Jim,

I'm having a problem with the air conditioning in my 1993 Ford Taurus (V6, 3.8L, automatic).

The A/C compressor went bad about 18 months ago, so I replaced it myself (along with the receiver/dryer and the orifice filter) and flushed the whole system.

About a year later, the new compressor went bad, so I replaced the same parts and flushed again. The third compressor ended up breaking after only six months.

Could this be an electrical problem?

-- Barry Toma

Yeah, bro, that's too often to be replacing the A/C compressor, even with pretty heavy use. But this doesn't sound electrical, it sounds like a flow problem.

I've seen this pattern before, and you're going to have to go through and replace these things once again -- compressor, receiver/dryer, orifice filter -- and flush the system thoroughly.

This time, however, go ahead and replace the A/C condenser unit as well.

It's hard to say exactly why your first compressor broke, but when those things go, they tend to come apart and lose pieces that sneak through the system and end up lodging in the A/C condenser. These don't have to be big pieces, either. The condenser sits in front of the radiator and contains tubes thinner than the width of a pen.

It's likely that particles from that first broken compressor are responsible for clogging them up, and I'm betting that flushing the condenser still didn't get rid of all that lodged debris.

That means decreased flow, which means increased back-pressure in the system.

When you installed the second compressor, it had to deal with the increased pressure from that clog, which made it much harder for the compressor to turn, eventually forcing it to stop and freeze up completely. Most likely it came apart too, further clogging those condenser tubes and making things even worse for the third compressor.

Anyway, it's not always necessary to replace the A/C condenser unit when you replace a compressor. But you've tried twice to flush this one out, bro -- that's a good indication this one is due for a change.

Chances are, compressor No. 4 will live a long life once this is done.

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Buffalo Jim, owner of Allstate Auto & Marine Repair in Las Vegas, writes a weekly column. Send your automotive questions to him at buffalojim@lasvegasniftynickel.com. If Jim picks your question to answer in Nuts & Bolts, you'll also be the proud recipient of a deck of official Buffalo Jim playing cards, presented in a classy, tin box bearing his hairy image.