[Shotimes] A/C clutch noises

[Zach Leahy]

Hmm, that sounds bad.  If you toasted the compressor you will have
other problems too.  In general the compressor chews itself up
metal-on-metal on the internals and creates nice netal bits that have
now been pumped about you A/C system.

been there, done that, bad thing.

I ended up with a new compressor and some new lines and parts and a
recharge.  I think that was about the last time anyone ever worked on
my car.... 6 years ago.  The refrigerant promptly leaked out, and then
I got pissed at them becasue the had to fix a problem and were going
to charge me to re-charge the system.  Needless to say they didnt.  It
eventually leaked out again, so I switched to an r-12 replacement and
did it myself.  It has been nice for about 4 years now, but I really
don't use it all that often, i tend to drive with the windows open
more casue I like the "outdoor feeling"...

You may be able to get away with just a replaced compressor (if that
is what has gone bad) but I would make sure everything is free of
metal bits before you trash another one.

Z

On Apr 7, 2005 8:27 AM, Peter Chase <pbc69stang@yahoo.com> wrote:
> In my continuing A/C saga, I hooked up the harness to the A/C clutch yesterday after work and the clutch kicked in with no noises and I'm pretty sure it was working because I could hear the rpm's drop when the I turned the temp on the EATC down.  No cold air though, because I'm pretty sure it needs a recharge. However, on the way to work this morning, I heard a bad belt squeal which lasted for a few seconds, which at first I thought was due to the rainy conditions. However, when the squeal came back, I started noticing rubber smoke coming from under the hood so I shut the climate control off and the squealing stopped.  So now that I have what seems like a frozen A/C compressor, anyone have an extra lying around?
> Pete
> 
> Leigh Smith <leighsm@comcast.net> wrote:
> 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"
> 
> To: "SHOlist"
> 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
> > Yahoo! Small Business - Try our new resources site!
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