DIY Compressor Swap and Charge 2014 Subaru Forester XT

I am NOT an expert, in fact this is the very first time I have ever done this. I’m posting this to show you that if I can do this, so can you. With some basic knowledge and skills, you can safely change the compressor in your garage.
I drive my car a lot. Bought it new in 2014, and it had almost 250k. Has worked flawlessly, until last week, when the defroster wouldn’t get cold. Uh oh. Put on AC only to find warm air blowing.
Inspection found the compressor not engaging. I do have some automotive knowledge, and after checking fuses and relays, unsuccessfully, I learned that low pressure will prevent the compressor from running.
I checked the low side Schrader valve, and there was almost no pressure in the system. Crap.
Bought a small can of 134a and some UV dye at the auto store. Had a cheap low side hose and gauge from when I had to add refrigerant to my wine cooler years ago but ordered a set of gauges I wanted anyway for my refrigerator, and a vacuum pump from China.
When those arrived, I Added the dye and refrigerant to the car and the compressor kicked on, so I let it recirculate for fifteen minutes.
The next morning the pressure was zero again and the UV dye revealed a large leak in the back of the compressor. Probably a seal.
So what to do? There are many aftermarket compressors for sale ranging from 175 to about 300 in price. I looked at Subaru OEM compressors and the cheapest one I could find on eBay was almost $700, and Subaru wanted more than that.
So bringing it to Subaru for repair was not going to happen. They would do it right but probably charge me $1500 or more.
I could have brought it to my very capable and honest mechanic- I’ve been using him for almost 30 years. I’m sure he would have installed an aftermarket for materials plus labor in the 600 range.
But I wanted to do this myself. Worst case I have to then bring it to my mechanic.
So it’s 2023. Gone are the days of driving to the salvage yard for parts. I went right to eBay, and found at least 20 oem compressors around the country ranging in price from 100 to about 200 depending on the mileage of the car they were removed from. I bought one of the more expensive ones from a car with 30k miles. It arrived 3 days later.
Got it through eBay, but the place was called Nationwide Auto Recycling. Top notch. Arrived quickly, they responded immediately to my question and have lots of these at various price points.
Anyway if you’re still reading, I replaced the part, pulled a vacuum and left it overnight- no leaks. bought some new gaskets for $2.00 from Subaru just to be safe, , recharged the system, and it’s been working ever since.
Extremely easy.
Yes, I spent money on the gauges, and vacuum pump, so the repair was not just the cost of the part, but now I own the gauges and vacuum and I will use them for other things.
Of course every situation is different, but the fact that I had no refrigerant at all in the system, and a large leak which I probably found a day or two after it started, made this easy.
Good luck if you try this. It was actually fairly fool proof.
Rich

[@Samlol23_drrich]

Sorry about the loud background music at a few points. It was unintentional

[@paulcolton5213]

I wish you would have showed how you put the oil in the compressor.Low pressure has a check valve in it and high side it won't flow in. So do you depress the check valve?

[@pricewatcher6634]

Or you could have replaced the 10 cent o rings between the compressor and the high line and saved a lot of money and time but you do you