[Shotimes] A/C clutch noises

[Leigh Smith]

Pete;
The A/C clutch actually operates on metal to metal contact, there is no
clutch material per see. However the metal wears away with age, hence the
gap becoming too large. At some point the electro-magnet coil cannot engage
the clutch. Also at some point the steel bolts or rivits that hold the
assembly together start scraping against the other surface. Hence the loud
1-2 sec squealing or scraping noise you hear, everytime the clutch cycles
on. There are three solutions to the irritating noise: One is a new clutch
asembly, at about $100-130, and that would last the longest. I put one of
those on once and it out-lasted the compressor. You do ultimately need both
parts, but the part that wears the most is the outer piece that is the
easiest to get off (for once). It's only $35-40 or so. It worked as well as
#1, but might not last as long. The other or pulley piece is very difficult
to get off with the compressor still in the car. The third way is to grind
down the rivit ends on the outer piece with a dremel tool to give you
1/16-1/8 in clearance to eliminate the squealing. It's easy to get at and
the Cost is $free. Life expectancy is unknown, but I've currently got 30k on
that same fix. It works as well as either of the first 2 methods. On either
repair you should re-shim the clutch gap to fix or prevent the
non-engagement issue. And even after 380k in SHO's I've never had to change
the coil.
Lee

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Peter Chase" <pbc69stang@yahoo.com>
To: "SHOlist" <shotimes@autox.team.net>
Sent: Wednesday, April 06, 2005 11:42 AM
Subject: [Shotimes] A/C clutch noises


> When I first picked up my 92 in december, when I went to test out the A/C,
when the clutch tried to engage, there was a bad metal on metal scraping
sound coming from the clutch. So, in order to get the car home, I just
unplugged the clutch from the harness and it hasn't made a peep since. The
PO said he had re-shimmed the clutch so is it possible that he simply left
the tolerances a little too tight and that a proper re-shim would make make
it work right?
> Pete
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