For the most part my A/c runs fine while I am driving, with the exception of initially when I turn it on the rpm jumps a little bit. However when the car is stopped or in park at idle the engine seems like it's running harder. The other side to it is that it also raises the engine temp when the car is at idle with the a/c on.

I had the a/c system checked out and it was low on refrigerant, but there were no leaks and the compressor is running fine. (That was the 1st shop)

The second place I took it to, told me that it might be the a/c fan itself causing the issue and that I may have a thermostat issue as well.


My question is how hard is the a/c fan to replace and how complicated is it to get to the thermostat and replace it.

This is for a 2002 Cavalier. 2.2 Ecotec-L61

First question is do you have solid mounts? If so this is normal and to be expected.
A/C puts a decent load on the engine and on a 4 cylinder at idle this becomes apparent at idle. This will also contribute to the higher temps an engine at work while just sitting there without air going thru the radiator like when your driving will raise temps. Most of this sounds normal to me..

To answer your other questions J's only have one fan and the thermostat isn't to hard to replace much easier if you have a 5 speed.

sounds to me like you found two shops that have no business working on cars.

the only reason your car would be low on r-134 is because there's a leak.

there is no a/c fan, there is the cooling fan, but neither that nor the thermostat would cause a rough idle.



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What you're describing sounds to me like typical a/c operation on these cars. When you turn on the A/C the clutch engages and puts a load on the engine, yes it will warm up faster and run hotter with the a/c on than with it off.
The a/c compressor puts a pretty big load on these engines. I hardly use it for that reason.

I agree....

Now try it with the added strain of a supercharger lol.