2002 Trailblazer A/C clutch?

[eightshot627]

Having ac problems. The end of summer it wasn't working well. It quit at the beginning of a 4 hour drive last Monday. I did a bunch of reading and bought a set of hf guages. It worked ok on a cool morning but quit when it got hot. With the guages the pressure is nearly equal. The compressor wouldn't turn on. I tried jumpering the relay to get it to come on without any luck. Upon a closer look I saw the clutch move just may be 1/32. When I put the relay back in it does the same.

Any test for a weak clutch or did I just do that?

Thanks,
Walt

 

[triz]

Any black sticky goo anywhere in the engine bay?

 

[eightshot627]

Tons I just replaced my power steering pressure hose. It would be hard to tell there was something coming from the compressor.

 

[Texan]

This is a tough subject. If you explore/search threads on the AC clutch,
you will find that it is possible to remove/adjust shims on the clutch to
decrease the clearance of the clutch and extend the life of it. Not a simple
solution, but easier than replacing the compressor. When you see the
plate move, give it a boost with a stick and see if it moves on in.
Be careful when messing around with this system.

 

[triz]

Had black goo from one side to the other in the engine bay. My AC was working sporadically. Turned out my pulley on the AC started freezing up. Eventually it seized completely and snapped my belt.

 

[Mounce]

This is a tough subject. If you explore/search threads on the AC clutch,
you will find that it is possible to remove/adjust shims on the clutch to
decrease the clearance of the clutch and extend the life of it. Not a simple
solution, but easier than replacing the compressor. When you see the
plate move, give it a boost with a stick and see if it moves on in.
Be careful when messing around with this system.

Isn't the clutch replaceable if need be?

 

[Sparky]

Yes and no. You cannot find just a replacement clutch and pulley (at least not that I could find when I searched for one for mine). At first my AC pulley bearing was making a racket, so I tore it down (fun) to swap just the bearing. Found the whole clutch and pulley were roasted as well, although funny enough it still worked. Don't know how, it looked terrible. Anyway, I ended up buying an entire used compressor from a local junkyard for 80 bucks, yanking the pulley and clutch, put my new bearing on that pulley, and put those on my truck in place of my originals.

I really find it so stupid that you can't get just the clutch and pulley for the compressor as a new part!

 

[meerschm]

You can get a clutch kit.


http://stores.ebay.com/airpartsinc/

800-223-7167

is where I got mine. call em up and they post a kit for your car.

was around $70 a couple years ago.

 

[eightshot627]

I was away on travel so I hadn't been able to work on it but plenty of time to read. The OS had a post about removing clutch shims so I gave that a try this morning and pulled 1 shim. So of course it's 55 degrees. It wasn't engaging before I removed the shim but did after. I'll see how long it lasts.

Walt

 

[c good]

Yup...air gap too big, and weak clutch coil assembly. The shim trick should work for awhile until the gap gets too big again for the weak coil assembly to capture it. I would order the clutch kit and have it waiting for when this happens. Glad you got it going for now. c good