My son has (well, I lend my son a car) Honda accord LX 1999 Manual Trans, 2.3l
The AC started blowing only hot air (very hot, not just outside air) when turning the blower on . I thought was the heater valve that was not closing correctly. I Run the diagnostic using the air conditioning bottoms and it only blinked once which indicated a problem with the heater valve. I took it to the dealership to whom I explain my findings.

They looked at it and called me back saying the clutch was loose in the compressor and that they had to replace the compressor ($1,500) job
As the car is my son’s car, I decided that if I drove until I was 35 with no air conditioning, my son who is 19 could build some character and do the same…so I told the dealer to “put it back together” and charge me what ever the labor was for the diagnostic

I went and picked it today and at home started looking at the issue and noticed the following. The pressure plate of the clutch was loose, the center bolt was missing so that is why was loose. I cleaned the pressure plate (see picture) and it looks that the splines are fine
(before I forget the compressor is a Denso 10PA17C with six grooves) also to mentioned is the fact that it was evident nobody had taken anything apart so $90 for just noticing the compressor clutch was loose sounded expensive. Nevertheless, I will give the dealership guys the benefit of doubt on this. What sounds disappointing is that they just jumped to conclusion that a new compressor was needed. But enough of crying and lets get back to the issue at hand

I also looked at the heater valve and noticed the clamp of the heater cable was loose. This could have been the reason the valve was not closing correctly. I put the **** of the AC in Cool and made sure the air mix control cable was taking the valve arm all the way to close position. I run the blower with A/C OFF to see if it was still blowing hot air, and unfortunately it was. I measure the temp out of the side vents with my wife’s kitchen thermometer (don’t tell her) and I got 84 for today’s temperature and 102 when I put the thermometer in the vent. Even though when I turned the **** to heat the air came a lot hotter, I believe the difference between 81 and 102 means the valve is not closing completely. So once I fix the compressor I will have to probably replace the heater valve $24. so very inexpensive.

Going back to the compressor here is my question for the experts:
1) Being the splines in good condition, can I get a new center bolt, get some shims to make sure I have the correct clearance and put it back together?
2) what is the clearance for that clutch (is it 0.5+- 0.15 mm)
3) Is there any contamination that could have gone into the compressor through the clutch?
4) is there any oil needed in the clutch?
5)Can I just clean the pulley with a rag without taking the compressor appart and assemble the pressure plate?
6) suggestions or recommendations of next steps?

I added some pictures of the compressor with the pressure plate on but loose, the pressure plate after I cleaned it, the brand of the compressor and the compressor without the pressure plate which shows how the pulley is.
Thanks in advance

 

You should be able to replace the bolt and shims to fix it.

Nothing should have entered the a/c system, because the shaft seal is behind the clutch. That clutch system is a dry clutch, so no fluid will be necessary.

I don't know what the clutch gap should be on a 99. I think that you can download a 98-02 shop manual from the links in the Online Manuals thread in the DIY section.

 

That really annoys me about these dealerships. That is ridiculous. I wonder what they would have done if that had not been the problem, but you were actually gullible enough to pay them the $1500? Would they have admitted they were wrong, then tried to charge you the cost to fix what was really wrong?
That is classic dealership behavior. A lady in my office took her 2000 V6 to the dealer because the car went dead. They told her she needed a new transmission and told her it was going to be in the $3,000 range. She took it to a trusted mechanic and it was the alternator. Anyway...sorry to get off topic.

I did some research on the clutch gap but didn't turn up anything on the forum. It does appear that one of the sites under the Online Manuals thread in the DIY section may have a downloadable shop manual for 98-00 accords, but I can't open it because I am at work (it's around 250 MB).

 

Thank you for your response. Like an old saying "people are good, but if you keep an eye on them they are even better"
I guess the tech at the dealer saw the pressure plate loose and stoped there. Did not just move it and look at it (would have seen only bolt missing and splines in perfect condition) . probably thought that if the clutch was bad, it probably also screwed up the compressor and .....

Any way, I got the on line manual and there is where it talks about the clearence I quoted. I already ordered the bolt and shims and heat valve so will let you know what happened when I just screw the shim and the bolt on the clutch.

 

Good deal. Be sure to let us know!

 

I suspect you will have problems installing and tightening the bolt to retain the clutch plate. You are right up against the body frame member w/ little clearance to enage a ratchet (maybe a 1/4" ratchet will work), and combination wrench may not reach the bolt to tighten. If you install clutch plate there is no restraint to tighten the bolt (6mm bolt w/ 10mm head). If you enage the clutch (AC ON and have charge), the compressor pulley will lock to the plate and a/c belt will provide a modest amount of restraint. W/o the belt the plate will spin easily, driving the compressor, if you have good compressor. If compressor won't turn, it's bad.

If necessary, you can remove the power steering by disconnecting the suction hose and setting PS pump to rear of engine, and reomve the alternator (disconnect battery first!). W/ alt and PS out of the way, you can remove the compressor mounting bolts (leaving AC hoses intact) and gain enough access to install the compressor plate. However, you will still need a restraint tool (auto parts loaner tool) to hold the compressor plate, or use an air impact tool to install the 10mm bolt (not too tightly or you'll twist it off!).

good luck

 

mayojuaf,

How did this work out for you? I have the same situation where the bolt is missing and the pressure plate was hanging off. I'm having some trouble finding the proper bolt to put the plate back on. Where did you obtain/order your parts?

Thanks.

 

are you sure that bolt is missing ?? totally backed off ?? i have seen where they brake and a piece of bolt is still in the shaft,thus need a compressor ,,,,,,,,I hope that bolt just spun off......Also chk to make sure that the a/c clutch bearing is not noisy or loose and the the compressor shaft is not damaged ,,put the clutch gap at the bottom of the specs ( .014-.024 ) put it as close to .014 as possible

even if it needed a compressor $ 1500 is way , way too much

 

Missing bolt:

Can u tell me the size of the bolt and thread count pleaze