J_Phil

ok guys, heres the deal. i have no ac because of a leaking condenser with one of the suspected culprits being a rock hitting it. now i've been reading around and apparently this is not very uncommon. so my question is will an aftermarket condenser stand up to rocks any better than honda/acura's? btw i havent gone on any gravel roads or anything like that so chances are whatever rock if any that hit it could not be THAT big.

TexasHonda

Condensors are inherently fragile for best heat transfer. You could install a wire grid (1/4" open mesh) to protect lower condensor.

Most cars have this risk and I've driven 100's of thousands of miles w/o this happening. You were "unlucky".

Be sure to add a little (1 oz) of PAG to replace lost oil and a new receiver/drier before vacuuming/recharging.

good luck

J_Phil

noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! thank you for clearing that up, but still... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Simba91102

OE versus aftermarket is probably just a function of how much money you're willing to spend. We replaced the one in my wife's 07 because the bottom rusted out. Aftermarket was about half the cost, so we went for it. I suppose the only way to compare will be to wait and see if the replacement lasts as long as the OE one (which I don't think was that long). Oh, and the one in my 05 is still going strong. I agree that it does seem awfully exposed, being wide open to the elements through the lower grill. But, it was designed that way, so I guess it's supposed to last.

Vtec_Sheikhani

I put an aftermarket condensor on my sisters 05 and no issues yet A/C is working flawlessly and the condensor looks A OK to me