Hi guys. I'm trouble shooting my ac but I have questions about how the clutch functions. I pulled the relay and watched an inner band engaged and disengage with the pulley with a grinding sound. However there is another inner mechanism that is not engaging and spins freely independent of the pulley and other portion that engages when activated.

I'm assuming this is not functioning properly but I'm unsure if I can replace the clutch itself or rebuild it somehow.

 

I should also note that with gauges I have equal pressure about 60psi static and when I start the car and turn ac on the gauges don't move. However as I noted something in the clutch is engaging but just doesnt seem to be engaging properly and when I put my screwdriver on the clutch it is magnetized. Leading me to think that the something in the clutch isn't engaging.

Also when I depressed the valve on the high side nothing but air vented and the valve is leaking, I'm replacing the entire high side portion of the piping tomorrow, and then I'm going to attempt to charge it up. But it would even hold a vacuum today so I didn't want to waste the freon.

Again my question about the operation of the clutch still stands however. Are there 3 separate parts to the clutch or is something very wrong?

 

The order of parts is clutch, pulley, coil magnet, compressor. The clutch is one part and it attaches to the spline of the compressor.

Sounds like you have two problems that may or may not be related.

There is a 10mm bolt holding the clutch on the compressor. Remove the bolt and pull off the clutch to see if it comes off in one piece or in pieces. You can also check to see if the compressor is seized by just turning the clutch plate. The pulley is held in by a c-clip and won't fall off if you only remove the 10mm bolt.

The system not holding a vacuum means you have a leak somewhere. Common sources of leaks are the valves or o-rings. A damaged component can also cause a leak.

In my opinion, you should replace all the o-rings in the system and any damaged parts before you recharge. It's more work, but I suggest doing an a/c repair once then not worry about it for years.

 

Will do. I'll get on this today. Thanks for the reply.

 

At the bone Yard and so far after depressing the high side valve is continues to leak on the ones in the yard. So is this a common fail point or due to lack of pressure in the system the high side valve doesn't seal?????

Any help with this would be great.

 

The "valve cores" on the ac system are a common area of leaks. You can get new "cores" from almost any parts store, there is a special tool where you can remove the old one(s) and install the new one(s). You might as well replace both of the ones on the high and low side ports.

 

Thank you for that, will be on the hunt for that now.

Also my clutch was definitely in two pieces. After looking at bone Yard units none of them looked nearly as worn as mine. Itdo like the inner and outer is completely separatedifferent. If I can swap the clutch and valves and it holds vacuum I'm gonna charge it add dye and see what it does. May get a few more years out of it.

 

Hey guys, Im struggling to separate the clutch from the compressor. The 10mm screw is out but nothing is separating I tried prying but I dont want to bend anything.....any tips?

 

This is getting frustrating. I now have the valve cores and the tool, took a while to get them ordered from advance. But, now I removed the high side valve core and it wont go back in. I tried the new valve which is identical to the old valve and its like its too big. The old valve that I removed also wont go back in. I actually just broke the old valve off in the hole trying to see why it wouldnt go back in.....any ideas?

 

This post is from last night. Have you had any success, or are you still struggling?