Rear a/c heat replacement 3388-gctid402864

[Guest]

Hi,

The compressor for the rear air/heat unit on my 1997 3388 gave out last week. I had a technician look at and was told it's locked up. I have no reason not to believe him, the way it was acting before it finally totally locked up had already led me to that conclusion. He comes recommended from dock mates and I have used him before.

My question is where to go from here. He is recommending replacing the entire unit, along with a new control panel, with a Cruisair unit. This would cost about $3200. The other option is to pull the old one out and just replace the compressor and reinstall. No warranty with this option. This second option would run about $2000.

The other option that I haven't priced yet would be for me to pull the unit , have him repair , and then re-install myself. I haven't been back to the boat yet to make a closer look at it, but I am wondering if anyone has ever r and r'ed one of these. It is the original unit by eccu-maxx(sp?). I picture there being inlet and outlet hoses for the raw water, power cables for the 120vac and a wiring harness for the control box, plus duct work connections.

My main question is: when all this is disconnected and it's unfastened from the boat will this whole unit just slide out of the opening for the air intake vent?

I would appreciate any advice or comments, Thanks

[Guest]

I had a compressor replaced on a 13,600 btu Mermaid replaced by a local on the Gulf coast for $1,200 your quote seems awful high. This was a 2 year old Mermaid unit and I had just bought this 3888 and then found out the warranty was NOT transferable (read the fine print) !

[Guest]

I pulled that A/C unit out of our 2001 3788 .. It comes out real easy ..20 mins max.. We are in SE Alaska so we need the storage space and still have one AC unit that has never been turned on up here lol .. I am not sure where you are or if they are the same unit ... but would look at selling you that unit .. say $1000 and you pay shipping from Kamloops BC .. The boat had 400 hrs on the engines when I pulled it so they dont have much time on them .. its an Marine Air Systems unit .