A/C Clutch shot! One word HELP!

[93nighthawk]

I was driving in town today and with the A/C going full blast. All of the sudden all that was coming out was hot air. Great, please just be low on Freon. Should I have such luck, no, checked, pressure is good. Looked under the car and the clutch is not kicking on when the A/C is on. Also there is a fresh spray of oil along the serpentine path on the hood and on the battery.

What am I looking at cost of parts & labor? What can I do by myself? I am skilled and it looks like it would just bolt off. I am planning on converting it over to 134A.

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

Eric

 

[fricker66]

Well, not much help other than I had the same experience last year on my 89. Part is $180 from Ford, couldn't find it any cheaper last year. Local mechanic's labor was over $100 with an hourly rate around $40 here in St. Louis. I think the total bill was around $325. Not cheap. I know there's plenty of guys on here who have replaced the clutch on their own. It all depends on the tools/machines you have available. It can be done but the highest cost will be the part itself.

 

[notstock]

93nighthawk:

What am I looking at cost of parts & labor? What can I do by myself? I am skilled and it looks like it would just bolt off. I am planning on converting it over to 134A.

Eric,

I'd check your clutch gap first. It should be between 0.021-0.036 inch. See the image below:

http://kurtmetros.com/junk/compressorclutch.jpg

You measure the gap with a feeler guage between the clutch hub and the clutch pulley. If it's out of spec, it could be that you're clutch hub is getting worn. In the picture you will see two shims between the hub and pulley. One is thicker than the other...what you can do is loosen the bolt holding the clutch hub in place, remove the belt, remove the alternator, and remove the bolts that hold the compressor in place. You can move the unit around without disconnecting the coolant lines. Take off the hub and remove one or two of the shims - do the math - take whatever you speced at and remvoe either the thin or thick washer to get back into specs. As the clutch wears it gets further from the magnetic field coil and then it won't engage. Another more expensive fix is to replace the clutch hub.

If the clutch is within specs, then you've got another problem.

Good luck...

Kurt

 

[Chriz]

I had the same problem than i went to www.shotimes.com and they told me that i had to re-gap it...Well i did that, cost me about 10 cents and now is working awesome..Try it ull be surprised!!!

 

[sdpatt]

If you are seeing oil at the clutch, that means the compressor shaft seal has failed and you probably need a new compressor. Sorry.

 

[Slo-Sho]

Yes, a new or reman compressor is in order. Let us know how it turns out.

 

[93nighthawk]

Any idea what the part#'s are for the clutch & compressor? And has anyone that has had this done had any mechanics refuse to work on it because it is a SHO? The A/C system looks identical to a 3.8 SLO. Is this incorrect?

Eric

 

[93nighthawk]

UPDATE:

First, I am not having fun with this car. Go out to start it this morning and nothing. Great Starter went kaput. Why does stuff like this happen while traveling and not right next to my garage! Luckily right now I am visiting my father-in-law who happens to have his own repair shop. We drug it in and took a look. Thankfully just one of the connections came loose on the starter. He tightened it and it is good to go.

Back to the A/C, it is not the compressor, While under checking the starter, he checked the compressor and it moves freely, no grinding, no bearing noise. So either the clutch went or it just needs reshimed. Which reminds me, what do you use for shims? Just washers? And where do you check with the feeler? Do you need to pull it apart first? The oily **** I saw on the hood and stuff is gone, which leads me to believe it was just water from the rain I drove through. I checked out shotimes.com

If I did not have to go to a wedding today I would pull it apart today. I guess it is tomorrow’s project.

Thanks,

Eric

 

[sdpatt]

The compressor shaft turning freely only indicates that the compressor's internals are okay. But that's not what I said had failed. I said that if you had oil all over the A/C clutch then the compressor's shaft seal had failed and the oil and refrigerant are therefore leaking out of the system through the seal. The oil gets on the metal-to-metal clutch and prevents it from catching properly. This is only one scenario from your first description. We can only go from the information that you provide. Did your dad-in-law check for the source of the oil?

Scott

 

[93nighthawk]

Update 2:

Did not get a chance to get to it yesterday w/ way too much family stuff going on. Thursday's project.

Sorry for the mis-info SDPATT. It was not oil but water and road grime (we have been having some rain showers lately). Oil does not fully dry out in a day. That is why I am assuming it is not leaking and I have driven the car sense (after cleaning the path) and there have been no more crud. So A: The clutch died or B: The clutch needs reshimed. I am leaning towards B sense I checked the gap and it was out of tolerance (and I don't want to shell out $$ for a new clutch wink ). knock on wood, taking out the small shim will fix it.

Eric

<small>[ June 11, 2002, 12:33 AM: Message edited by: 93nighthawk ]</small>

 

[ShoMotion93]

I did the clutch on my '93 2 years ago and you can re-shim it IF the hub is not not cooked (mine was)if your compressor is ok (An A/C guy said mine was shot)a company called Everco (a Moog Co.)has a clutch kit p/n A7651 cost me $150 at a Parts Plus.
BTW the A/C place quoted me $800 for a rebuilt compressor and A/C service. The only problem now is the neighbors call the kids inside when they see my car in front of the garage with the hood up! Good luck, life sucks W/O air squint