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Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / General Car Topics / February 2006Removing compressor clutch w/o blowing freon charge?
I asked this question on the Toyota Truck subgroup, but go no answers. After seeking advice locally, I am coming to believe it is NOT POSSIBLE to remove the comrpessor clutch on a Toyota truck without removing the comrpessor from the vehicle first (thus, blowing the charge and requiring a vacuum and new dryer, etc.). What I am wondering is if this is also true of other make of autos. Is the ANY modern vehicle that will allow you to remove the compressor clutch witout disturbing the compressor (or the freon charge)? I am wondering if this was just a poor design by Toyota, or, have all the auto manufacturer's gotten into the act of forcuing such an expensive procedure for what could be a simple parts replacement. Suppose someone reading this has actually replaced the compressor clutch on some modern vehicle without blowing the freon charge and without having to disconntect the compressor from its mounting, please respond with your story. Thanks, littleberry >I asked this question on the Toyota Truck subgroup, but go no answers. >After seeking advice locally, I am coming to believe it is NOT POSSIBLE [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] >the freon charge and without having to disconntect the compressor from >its mounting, please respond with your story. Thanks, littleberry On my '93 Caddy, the clutch can be removed with the compressor in place. In general, if you have the required (special) tool to remove the pully, and the tool can be used with the compressor still in its bracket or out of the bracket with the hoses attached, then you can probably remove the clutch without loosing the refrigerant. Sometimes it is useful to remove the radiator to get clearance. Sometimes, the bracket holding the compressor can be removed with the compressor still attached. Overall, I'd be 1000 percent sure the clutch needs replacing BEFORE starting any of this. Good idea, webpa. I just assumed the clutch went bad because it won't cool, it appears to be spinning freely (when the engine is running), and a repairman said the system was fully charged with freon. What steps would you recommend to get the needed assurance that the clutch is the culprit? littleberry Disconnect the wire going to the clutch coil (could be either one or two conductors). First, verify that you get 12 volts coming into the connector when the AC is turned on...and nothing when it is turned off (key on in run, but engine off). If you get 12 volts when appropriate, then measure the resistance across the coil terminals (or coil to ground if it has only one terminal). If the resistance is infinite (open circuit) or zero (short circuit) then the coil is bad. If it is any other resistance (usually somewhere between 10 and a couple hundred ohms), then it is possibly good. With the engine OFF, arrange to apply 12 volts directly from the battery directly to the coil. You should hear a metalic "click". This is the coil engaging the clutch plate. If you do not hear the click, verify that the clutch's movable plate (usually on the back of the pully, a thin steel disk attached to the compressor shaft via flat radial leaf-type springs) is free to move into contact with the pully. Also verify that the compressor shaft turns...with some resistance. If you cannot turn the shaft, and the clutch is working, then you should have heard a mighty racket when the clutch is activated with the engine running. If the clutch works and the compressor isn't frozen (imobile), then your problem is elsewhere (which is actually very likely); check things like over pressure switches, control circuitry, fuzes (you've checked all this, right?) Thanks, webpa, will do. I haven't done any checking yet on fuses and such, but I surely will now. I did notice that when the hood is up, the engine running, I can see (barely) the center of the clutch pulley is spinning at a much slower rate than the outer edge of the pulley that is being driven by the belt. When the air is switched on, nothing happens at all - of course, with the engine running, I couldn't really expect to hear any clicking of the clutch. It made me think the clutch was broken and just spinning freely. It is so difficult to see what is going on in there, because toyota put the compressor underneath the power steering pump, and then they put a large plate underneath so you really can't see very much at all. I will start checking the electrical aspects first, as you suggest and go from there - it sure would be nice if it is something other than a compressor/clutch replacement. Thanks, littleberry
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