ac clutch replacement

[meerschm]

finally decided to get with the program and change my ac compressor clutch. I verified a couple weeks ago that in warm weather, it would work at first than quit, while still being commanded to operate.

decided to pull the fan and shroud to make room. that went well after a short burst with an air chisel on the fan clutch mount to the waterpump, and removing two bolts to allow the radiator to rock forward a bit. siphoned out enough dexcool from the radiator cap to not spill more than a drop.

held the clutch in with a set of chanellocks and pulled the single bolt holding the clutch in.

started cleaning out the rust looking for the first snap ring, and it started to rain. may get back to it later.

 

[meerschm]

View attachment 28735

plenty of room with the fan and shroud out of the way

View attachment 28736

clutch plate with nut and shim (looks like a little washer. thickness determines gap of clutch plate when not energized)

View attachment 28737
put the fan clutch in the back to get out of the way in case it rains again

View attachment 28738

first snap ring came out once I figured out where it was. a little mirror helped.

the two bolts I pulled to let the radiator rock a bit forward are above my hand, either side of the rubber bumper nib dohickey

 

[meerschm]

need a smaller puller to get the pulley and bearing off.

time for a trip to the store while it rains.

 

[jme2712]

Been waiting to see someone do this in detail. Keep up the good work.

 

[meerschm]

I View attachment 28746

After the first Snap ring is off, I used this puller to slide the pulley Bearing off the shaft.

( I borrowed this from my bud across the sreet)

View attachment 28747

Clutch removed.

I may take some better photos in a couple days.

Had a difficult time getting the snap ring back on. must be a trick I am missing. the guys in the you tube videos make it look easy.

no hurry, just put the tools inside and closed it up. battery still disconnected. company coming tomorrow.

I did not want to move the r134a plumbing if I do hot have to. I helped the neighbor change the clutch on his 09 Jeep wagoneer, and he pulled the bolts and tilted the compressor so we could see the snap ring. when he added r134a he blew a hose. could be the old hose did not like being bent 90 degrees, so I thought it would be smarter to leave it bolted in. (Turns out he has a son who runs a dealer service dept and said he would fix dad's Jeep AC. probably get new hoses, dryer and screen, anyway.)

 

[c good]

Great write up so far. Please keep us posted. Glad you found those clutch/field coil parts. c good

 

[meerschm]

There are plenty of other threads here and elsewhere on this, but i will keep posting.

sounds like the snap ring has a bevel which has to be placed so the flat (un-beveled side) is to the rear, away from the installer)

also, in my case, there was a good bit of corrosion on the compressor case. had to give the old coil a tap with a hammer to get it off. residual corrosion may be keeping the new coil from seating properly.

when I get the chance, I will clean up the surface. I used a sponge with attached scratchy pad and water, will move to something more abrasive.

 

[meerschm]

View attachment 28755

coil where it needs to be. you can see a tie-wrap ready to hold the wires. Managed to strip the little Philips screw so cut the old wires and will use the tie-wrap to hold wires out of the path of the pulley.

View attachment 28756

front of the compressor with coil, pulley and clutch removed
looks a little messed up. will clean this when I get more time to work on it.

View attachment 28757

new pulley and clutch with the old snap rings


View attachment 28760
View attachment 28761

look at these and tell me which side goes up.

there is a difference in the tabs for a reason. if I was smart enough to watch on the way out, it would have been a good idea.

 

[meerschm]

just a follow up. I decided the big tab goes on the right. first photo in previous post cleaned up the front with some mild abrasive ( I used a die grinder I have with some fine 3m 2 inch abrasive pads) just a touch or two, and cleaned up the snap ring a bit.

all went together the last try (when I quit) a bit of a learning curve looking with a mirror and verifying.
I sent an e-mail to the nice person at air parts inc, and asked if I was missing something. she said it was easy in the shop. i was not trying to do this on t he car, was I?

ha ha ha.


anyway, all back together. both snap rings replaced. (had to drop the plastic pan to get it after it tried to run away after my abuse with the snap ring pliers)

shimmed it to around .018 gap. seems to run ok

I did not get formal on the clutch plate torque, but just a mid level kind of like trim tight.

, new upper radiator hose. put the new rad cap i had in stock. now just have to wait for a hot day.


and once more for those reading, I ordered a rebuilt clutch from air parts inc on e-bay you call them or message, and they put up a custom e-bay auction.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chevy-Trail...A-C-Compressor-Clutch-Assembly-/161000018234?

click your way to the airpartsinc, and contact member to send a message from e-bay.

you can also call them AIR PARTS INC. 1133 N. Magnolia Ave Ocala, Florida 34475 Toll Free # 800-223-7167

no, I am not related in any way, but a few folks have been frustrated looking for parts.

 

[bspurloc]

There are plenty of other threads here and elsewhere on this, but i will keep posting.

sounds like the snap ring has a bevel which has to be placed so the flat (un-beveled side) is to the rear, away from the installer)

also, in my case, there was a good bit of corrosion on the compressor case. had to give the old coil a tap with a hammer to get it off. residual corrosion may be keeping the new coil from seating properly.

when I get the chance, I will clean up the surface. I used a sponge with attached scratchy pad and water, will move to something more abrasive.

I have a question...
I see the steps are remove bolt, remove snap ring, use pulley to get clutch/bearing off....
where in the steps is the 2nd snap ring?
I am planning to just change the Bearing, was wondering if that requires removal of the 2nd snap ring...
Also I was really pleased looking in from the front of the car at the exact opening u can see right into the shaft so maybe no mirror will be needed! I hope! picked up a shorter puller from Harbor Freight! they have a 3 set kit for $19. and got adjustable snap ring pliers for 3.99 and an assortment of mini snap ring pliers for 6.99. I love harbor freight! haha always have a huge variety of tools and very cheap

 

[jme2712]

Luckily I'm not having bearing issues, yet at least. I just need to close the gap, which looks like the easiest part. Now just to find the time to do it that's the hard part.

 

[gmcman]

Nice write up.

I have been toying with the idea of seeing if a smaller diameter pulley would work, and if so which one would work. I think this would help a lot of the "poor A/C at idle" issues. However if that's the case why wouldn't GM do that from the start? Seems that if you rev the motor up slightly the A/C gets much colder, question is.. what pulley would fit. Wouldn't take much smaller of a pulley, only need about 10-15% increase. Could also be a RPM limit for the compressor...

Just some ideas.

 

[meerschm]

I have a question...
I see the steps are remove bolt, remove snap ring, use pulley to get clutch/bearing off....
where in the steps is the 2nd snap ring?
I am planning to just change the Bearing, was wondering if that requires removal of the 2nd snap ring...
Also I was really pleased looking in from the front of the car at the exact opening u can see right into the shaft so maybe no mirror will be needed! I hope! picked up a shorter puller from Harbor Freight! they have a 3 set kit for $19. and got adjustable snap ring pliers for 3.99 and an assortment of mini snap ring pliers for 6.99. I love harbor freight! haha always have a huge variety of tools and very cheap

one snap ring holds the pulley on, and there is another one that holds the coil on.

as you might expect, it is a bit more difficult to access the second one, since it is deeper in the assembly.

if you are only removing the pulley, there shoudl be no need to disturb the second snap ring.

good luck!

 

[meerschm]

Nice write up.

I have been toying with the idea of seeing if a smaller diameter pulley would work, and if so which one would work. I think this would help a lot of the "poor A/C at idle" issues. However if that's the case why wouldn't GM do that from the start? Seems that if you rev the motor up slightly the A/C gets much colder, question is.. what pulley would fit. Wouldn't take much smaller of a pulley, only need about 10-15% increase. Could also be a RPM limit for the compressor...

Just some ideas.

would be quite a trick to change the diameter of the pulley. not a lot of room for a smaller compressor pulley, and it is integrated with the clutch plate. an a/c place might have some info on various pulley/clutch diameters which are fitted to these compressors.

smaller pulley would also increase load on the engine to turn the compressor, might make more of an impact to the dynamics of engine control. (just a thought. power steering also puts a good load on the engine, so perhaps this would not be a concern)

From what i have read, the poor ac at idle was more related to removing excess heat than from the refrigerant cycle.

now if you could find an effective e-fan which mounted on the front of the condenser coil and did not disturb normal air flow through the radiator, that might do something.

 

[djthumper]

Nice write up. I had to replace my bearing just before we transitioned over to this site. This should help cover most of what was in the old article.

 

[Sparky]

Nice write up.

I have been toying with the idea of seeing if a smaller diameter pulley would work, and if so which one would work. I think this would help a lot of the "poor A/C at idle" issues. However if that's the case why wouldn't GM do that from the start? Seems that if you rev the motor up slightly the A/C gets much colder, question is.. what pulley would fit. Wouldn't take much smaller of a pulley, only need about 10-15% increase. Could also be a RPM limit for the compressor...

Just some ideas.

reason for poor ac at idle is not compressor rpm so much as fan rpm. At idle the fan doesn't cool the condenser coil as well because it isn't spinning as fast. Revving slightly spins the fan faster.

 

[gmcman]

reason for poor ac at idle is not compressor rpm so much as fan rpm. At idle the fan doesn't cool the condenser coil as well because it isn't spinning as fast. Revving slightly spins the fan faster.

That is my take on it as well. However after speaking to my dad on this who has freon in his veins..lol, he stated the compressor speed plays a large role as well. I said he's half correct and poor airflow over the condenser is the larger player, he's not aware of all the fixes and TSB's on these platforms.....you should have been there for that discussion.

I think we're both correct and airflow like you stated is where it's at..hopefully a secondary fan would help. I think I may give it a shot and track down a low-draw, small diameter fan and see what happens. Relay it into the A/C switch and hope for the best.

 

[bspurloc]

reason for poor ac at idle is not compressor rpm so much as fan rpm. At idle the fan doesn't cool the condenser coil as well because it isn't spinning as fast. Revving slightly spins the fan faster.

Hrmmm...
I put twin electric fans in which turn on when the AC is turned on. They should move more air than the clutch fan at idle. cant test this till I replace the bearing as I have the Bypass belt installed now to buy me time to get the bearing without it exploding in the mean time.

 

[bspurloc]

one snap ring holds the pulley on, and there is another one that holds the coil on.

as you might expect, it is a bit more difficult to access the second one, since it is deeper in the assembly.

if you are only removing the pulley, there shoudl be no need to disturb the second snap ring.

good luck!

Thanks... as noted I have the bypass belt on so I can wait for the bearing to arrive and not worry about the original bearing exploding.

 

[Sparky]

Heh, you're playing it safer than I did. I drove around with my AC pulley bearing screaming for several months before I finally got annoyed enough by it

 

[bspurloc]

Heh, you're playing it safer than I did. I drove around with my AC pulley bearing screaming for several months before I finally got annoyed enough by it

I would guess because you didnt know you could use the bypass belt? if not why so stubborn!!!
I was forced too because it is my daughters car with a 2 year old. I was going to just leave the bypass belt and a wrench in her car in case it blew so me or whoever could replace it and get her on the way... but then I was thinking if it does blow it make burn out the compressor forcing a replacement which I want to avoid.
for anyone wondering belt 705K06 installed in this fashion (Pic Drawn by Roadie I believe)
View attachment 29242

 

[Sparky]

I would guess because you didnt know you could use the bypass belt? if not why so stubborn!!!

Nope... too cheap to buy an extra belt to use for a relatively short time

 

[Tiggerr]

I know this is an ancient thread, figured this time of year a bump was in order.. Could be useful.
Has anyone found another source for a clutch. Airparts inc. no longer sells these. Like to avoid using a boneyard compressor as a source. I have to do mine soon.

 

[BanditGTP]

I replaced mine last year and prior to doing so, I tried looking everywhere for a new unit or new parts for the compressor and even though I thought I had a few good leads, I kept running into a dead end. Like you found out Airparts no longer carries the parts. I eventually went the junk yard route. Even going the junk yard route wasn't a piece of cake because that one also seemed to have a bad clutch. I ended up taking out the shim altogether and it's been fine since last year.
Good luck.