Found this looking at compressors for my truck. Looks to be a sd709 with c171 brackets.



Unfortunately its used as a picture for remanded compressors and I'm sure that's not the one you would get.

As a comparison here is a c171



And this is the sd709



Notice the front plate of the compressor behind the clutch.

Anyone ever find one of these "hybrid" compressors in the real world?

 

I do not believe that it is a hybrid compressor. More then likely the SD unit and the C171 in the pics are produced by the same aftermarket offshore company. Knock off AC compressors.

 

The first 2 are indeed C-171 and a remanufactured variant, I have had both on my truck and they are both interchangeable, the 3rd is an SD-709 although it may not be a Sanden but a knock off, Sanden are proud of their compressors and rightly so, you can interchange the head to many different hose configurations.

I have come to the conclusion that probably most reman C-171's are junk, I have bought them from Oreillys, seized out of the box.

I had recently converted my 1991 from a C-171 to a Sanden SD-709 and built all custom hoses by brazing on fittings and using quality Aeroquip barrier hose and so far it is working fine.

Also BTW the correct SD-709 has the suction/ discharge ports on the back of the head.

Jim