And the moment you've all been waiting for. Short answer, it works as it should.
Now for a more detailed look.
I took the fan shroud and fan out. Don't bitch about how difficult it is to remove. Just do it. Need the space to work. Can't really get to it from the bottom neither.
Removed the belt. The tensioner felt difficult to move and the bearing is noisy. Have to run to get another one later. And the idler pulley bearing is just too loose so might as well change that out too.
Put a piece of cardboard against the radiator to prevent damaging it.
Remove the nut and remove the outer clutch plate. It was pretty nasty. Just surprised at how much rust formed on it.
Inside there is the first circlip. Kinda can see it in the pic. Because I can't stick my head down there, I basically had to feel with the snap ring pliers to get them in the holes and open up the clip. After that, get the puller on it and pull it off. Recommend putting the nut back on to prevent damaging the threads. It resisted a little coming off but not too bad.
This is the inner clutch and bearing. The bearing was also pretty rough so it was just a matter of time before it also failed.
Removed the second circlip retaining the magnet. Again, had to feel my way with the pliers to get it off. Taking a picture first helps knowing the orientation.
The wires are retained by a clip held in place by a Philips screw which is almost impossible to get at on the side of the compressor. Even tried with a bit and 1/4" wrench but I couldn't get it off. I just cut the wires at the magnet. I used the puller again however it wasn't really necessary. Could have just pried it off after removing the clip.
Using some Scotchbright and small wire brush, cleaned up the compressor's shaft to make installation of the new clutch easier.
Noticed a difference with the wiring. The ground wire on the new magnet had an eyelet instead of the bullet connector on the original. I cut off the bullet connector from the original magnet and splice it onto the new one.
Install the new magnet. It's exactly like the old one so it slips on easily. There is a notch on it that corresponds to a hole in the compressor to ensure it's oriented properly and doesn't rotate. Getting the clip back on was challenging. Once I got it on the shaft but not quite in the slot to hold the magnet, I used a short screwdriver and hammer to push the clip into the slot. Go all around the clip to ensure it's completely seated. Then give the magnet a good tug to make sure it doesn't move.
For the wires, used the stumps of the old wiring on the clip to zip-tie them out of the way after connecting them.
Next, put on the new inner clutch after putting a light coat of grease on the shaft to help it slide on. Tapped it lightly until it was seated. Again it was the same deal with the circlip. until it was seated. Make sure the circlip is actually seated in its slot on the shaft. Cleaned the clutch face with some brake cleaner on a rag. DO NOT SPRAY BRAKE CLEANER ON THE CLUTCH DIRECTLY. It will destroy the bearing seals.
For the outer clutch, there are two shims included with the kit. One thinner than the other. They fit pretty tight on the shaft so I filed them using a round file. The thin one was too thin as the clutch rubbed. The thicker one gave me a perfect .024" gap. (Sorry, forgot to get a pic of it finished). Again cleaned the clutch face with brake cleaner on a rag.
So that's it for the A/C clutch install. For the rest of the story, read on.
Then ran to get a new belt tensioner and idler pulley from the local parts house. I was floored with the price ($72). The idler pulley was a ludicrous $52, so I passed on that. The idler I just popped the seals, cleaned out what little grease was left and filled it with Lucas Red and Tacky red synth grease. If it goes later, I'll replace just the bearing.
Start the engine and it's shaking worse than a California earthquake. A/C works great but it's like it has a really bad misfire. Grab the Tech 2 and, no misfires and no codes. Huh? Rev the engine a bit and I hear a bang and it smooths out. Later find my feeler gauges that were spit out under the truck. My guess is that they got jammed between the fan and shroud and sent vibes through the engine. Some of the feelers got bent.
While I had the Tech 2 hooked up, I tested the EV fan clutch and... it's dead. It's doesn't change speed despite being commanded to 100%. Now that the engine is hot, no way I was going to open the cooling system to take out the fan clutch. Remembered someone here mentioning that they got it out by unbolting the fan from the clutch first and then unscrewing it from the water pump and sliding it out. That worked not as easy as it sounds but it worked. Pulled the old clutch between the fan and the shroud.
Since the thermal clutch was smaller, I figured I would install it first on the fan and slip the whole thing in. The extended top part of the shroud prevented that so I cut it off. It then went in but still tight as the lip inside the shroud would jam the fan. With a little prying, it eventually went in. So this is another method if you really balk at disconnecting the upper radiator hose.
Final note, the A/C is performing very well. Idling, it outputs at 48f and if I hold the RPM to 1000, it drops to 40f. Nice.
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