A/C Compressor Clutch Bearings

[CToney]

I have a squeak noise coming from a bearing in my A/C clutch. I removed my belt and spun the pulley and it did not spin freely like it should. How hard is it to remove? In the service manual it says you need a couple of special tools. How expensive is a new compressor? My A/C doesn't work the greatest either. It seems to frost up. The airflow in the cab will slow down until I shut the A/C off and then it will speed up after it thaws out. Is it too low on refrigerant?

 

[jelag]

My BIL had the same problem with the freezing up and frost back... . he found that the A/C system was a bit undercharged... or at least that was what he was told when they fixed it... I have several of these trucks and have yet to loose the bearing... so I can't be of much help there. .

 

[Axekicker]

If your 'coil' is freezing-over, your system is low on refrigerant. You should get it in to a service-tech and have it put on an A/C machine. You can accelerate component failure running low levels of refrigerant. A re-charge is cheap compared to a complete rebuild. I know... I just plunked down 999. 10 to a local shop for just that reason. My truck A/C was blowing warm/cool for quite a while and the tech told me that running it that way, in concert with a faulty 'transducer' killed my compressor. When you take it in for service, have your 'transducer' replaced. It's about $65 (plus or minus). My shop said our trucks have a history of faulty transducers that precipitate these failures. They advised me to replace it on a regular basis... every 3-4 years... just to be on the safe-side. This is a good shop... . been around for a long time... the ONLY thing they do is auto A/C service. I have no reason to doubt them.

 

[CToney]

My A/C bearing wasn't shot just a small stone that got lodged in there causing the pulley to turn hard. I removed the clutch and it spun good. I blew it out and all is well. I checked the low pressure side of the AC and it was low so I added a can of refridgerant and it now blows cold.



A new Compressor is $326 up here and a complete set of AC tools $1000. If I need to replace my compressor sometime I might just get a set of gauges and evacuator etc to diy.