I was in Mcallen for 2.5 years. That's where I bought my durango right there on the border.

Yes hot. Very hot. I bought the truck for my German shepherd. Rear AC system worked wonders for him.

I second that!!! 85+Degree up to 101F weather almost year round!!.. been living for 13 years here in the RGV... so A/C is a must... I bought my durango with approx. 220k miles 5.9 4x4. and been fixing it little by little.. it still had the original upper ball joints! Runs like a champ.. but having that intermitent "No BUS" crap. I bought just for recreational purposes.. mudding and for the beach....How do I know I need to change my Water Pump.. ???

If you live in Spring Branch, isn't that Houston? (Southeast TX.) I can give you a number to the guy I use for A/C work, by Bush Airport, if you need it.

SJ02

You will know you need a water pump when your coolant pisses out the weep hole on the pump indicating the seal in the pump is done, generally from the bearings wearing out. They generally start leaking gradually so watch the driveway for antifreeze. If you happen to have the belt off you can wiggle the shaft on the pump if it seems there is slop in it as that usually means your pump is reaching the end of its life.

Ahhh I'm sorry (unless you like living there!) I will say padre island is a great place though. I've camped there on the beach quite a few times. Truck handles great in the sand.

Water pump will make noise or start leaking around the seal. Thankfully when they start to go you will know.

Yeah, heat sucks. Being from Pittsburgh I qualify anything over 75 as hot, so summers in SC are just plain miserable.

http://imageshack.com/a/img845/7483/pfvd.jpg

yeah ... is alright living down here... yeah I live like 20minutes from SPI.. and thanks for the tip on the water pump!!

No. That's Spring, TX. Spring Branch is just north of San Antonio. Not as hot as the RGV, but still toasty most of the year.

So is there any benefit in getting a Denso OEM compressor the next time I have it changed? Or is there something different about the one that came from the factory? I'm extremely ignorant in these matters.

Denso = OEM. If you can find one. Get it.

It's nearly worth paying the price tag because paying a shop to drain/fill the system twice isn't cheap at all. Doing it once for a 12yr old truck is acceptable. Doing it every two years is not.

Did you also replace the accumulator when you replaced the compressor? It's recommended whenever you open the system. The OEM on my "D" was a Sanden SD7H15. I replaced it with the Sanden Sanden SD7V15 rebuilt. It has a higher compression and coolant flow. If you have the rear AC this is the way to go. The H15 works if you only have the front AC....but the back AC adds a lot of volume and the V15 is better suited.

I also pull a vaccuum for over an hour to pull as much moisture out of the system as I can. The bearings went on my OEM compressor so I didnt have any crap "in" the system itself.
J