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Ac Compressor Seized...please Help!

47K views 13 replies 12 participants last post by  classickwhip 
#1 ·
My a/c compressor ended up seizing on me and I really don't have the money to bring it anywhere to get fixed. I bought a delete pulley but I am having a really hard time getting the a/c compressor out. According to the hayes manual I need to remove the radiator/radiator support, etc? Is that true? The write up in the book isn't very good am I'm pretty much stuck at what to do next. I'm hoping I don't have to remove the whole front of the car to get the a/c removed. What is the easiest way to get the a/c compressor out?

Is there anyway to run a shorter belt to bypass the a/c completely without removing the compressor? I don't need the a/c, I just need my car to run asap. It's a 2001 duratec. I saw a post where someone did it with their 2001 vulcan. Can it be done on the duratec? This is my daily driver and need to get it up and running.

Thanks for any help.
 
#2 ·
Was it the entire compressor/clutch plate that froze or just the pulley/bearing part??

If it was the entire compressor then the outermost plate(clutch disk) wouldn't turn. If it was the bearing, then the outer pulley will have froze and most likely tossed the belt off.

The bearing can be done with out removing the compressor from the car. But the main shaft locked, then it does have to come out.
 
#3 ·
My a/c compressor ended up seizing on me and I really don't have the money to bring it anywhere to get fixed. I bought a delete pulley but I am having a really hard time getting the a/c compressor out. According to the hayes manual I need to remove the radiator/radiator support, etc? Is that true? The write up in the book isn't very good am I'm pretty much stuck at what to do next. I'm hoping I don't have to remove the whole front of the car to get the a/c removed. What is the easiest way to get the a/c compressor out?

Is there anyway to run a shorter belt to bypass the a/c completely without removing the compressor? I don't need the a/c, I just need my car to run asap. It's a 2001 duratec. I saw a post where someone did it with their 2001 vulcan. Can it be done on the duratec? This is my daily driver and need to get it up and running.

Thanks for any help.
[/b]



Plus if your looking to go faster then you definitely want to get the compressor out you will shed about 45 pounds off dead wait it hard work but its worth plus if you get your car on a lift you can get to the compressor easily at least it was on my 96 gl
 
#5 ·
Odds are the ac compressor is not bad. What has probably happened is that the ac clutch pulley bearings went bad (don't tell me you didn't hear it grinding before it died) and the wobbling pulley cut into the ac clutch coil winding and eventually siezed against the ac clutch coil.

To fix the ac system what you probably need is a new ac clutch set (magnetic clutch plate, ac clutch pulley with bearings, and ac clutch coil). Cost would be $135-$250.

A used complete ac compressor would be less expensive to buy ($25-$50), but would be more expensive to install (since you will lose the refrigerant charge, and will need an ac manifold gauge set, and a vaccum pump to refill). You could get the tools to refill from an auto parts store with a free tool loan program. I noticed that Autozone as a vacuum pump in the tool loan program.

What you could do is remove enough fasteners and brackets to drop the ac compressor out, remove the ac clutch pulley, magnetic plate, and clutch coil, reinstall the compressor, then return the ac delete pulley, and get a short belt instead.
 
#6 ·
Thanks for all the help... the outermost plate is seized but the pulley spins? So from what everyone posted it looks like I could just replace the clutch plate, ac clutch pulley with bearings, and ac coil clutch. It didn't kick off the belt when it seized, it started smoking and the belt was extremely hot. Yes I did know it was on it's way out but money is tight and I was hoping it would last me longer than it did.

My initial plan was to just remove the compressor and run a delete pulley but if I can do this without removing the compressor than I would definitely do that. I've gotten 3 out of the 4 bolts out but the last 1 stripped and there is only about 1" clearance between the metal shroud for the fan and the a/c compressor. I need to figure out a way to get some more room so that I can get into there with a socket for stripped bolts. I was just hoping I wouldn't have to disconnect all the radiator lines and have to drop that out of the car, which would be a major PITA.

On my duratec, there doesn't look like there is enough room to replace ac clutch, etc while it is on the car. How easy is it to install a new magnetic clutch plate, ac clutch pulley with bearings, and ac clutch coil? Any suggestions from people that have done this on the car w/ a duratec?

Right now I just need to get it running so I need to figure out the easiest way to get this done. If that bolt did not strip it would be out of the car already but I just need to figure out my other options

Also from what i've research on here and from looking at the pulley setup on the duratec, it doesn't look like a delete pulley would even work.

Thanks again.
 
#7 ·
The pulley is spinning free right now?

If it is, disconnect the electrical connector going to the Compressor clutch coil. That way, the clutch won't engage and the pulley should freewheel just fine, no matter what HVAC setting you use.
 
#8 ·
The pulley is spinning free right now?

If it is, disconnect the electrical connector going to the Compressor clutch coil. That way, the clutch won't engage and the pulley should freewheel just fine, no matter what HVAC setting you use.
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yeah the pulley is spinning freely, it does move around some though. I ended up disconnecting the two electric connectors. I let it idle for awhile then drove it around to make sure everything was good, it seemed fine but still makes quite a bit of noise. Will I be ok driving it like this(30 mile roundtrip to work)? Thanks
 
#9 ·
I had to replace my compressor this past winter. The center seal went bad, and I lost all my 134a. I had access to a lift, and a friend of mine that was a former ford tech. We did not have to pull the radiator. We did have to take off the right wheel to access the front of the engine, remove the belt - and, as I recall - we had to take the thermostat housing off (lost most of the coolant and had to replace). I got a reman compressor off ebay from a source that my friend has used for years, and we recharged the system.

Knock on wood - it ran great all summer, and kept it's "cool"

Good luck! It seems bad now - but, it's not that bad to do.
 
#10 ·
I just ended up with the same problem this weekend. I just want to bypass the ac compressor all together
since the pulley won't turn but I suspect that a shorter belt will rub against the ac compressor pulley. Can I just remove the ac compressor pulley(how?) and use a shorter belt?

thanks in advance for any help,
from a money strapped amateur without a lot of options
 
#12 ·
I understand that it's only possible on a Vulcan. There is some variance on what size belt you need for the bypass (just go straight from the crank pulley to the P/S pump). It's not even close - clearance is no problem at all.

One commenter had good luck with a 81.7" belt. Another found that too short, and went with (as I recall), an 82.2" belt.

I tried a 82 1/8" belt, and it fit around everything, without loosening the tensioner ("fail", as my son might say). I went to a 81 1/8" belt, and it fits, though it's a bit floppy for my taste. I have a Goodyear 80.5" belt on order, which I hope will do the trick.
 
#11 ·
I had to replace my AC Clutch Pulley late this summer. It was a pretty taxing job, but I got it done. I lost my 134a but luckily my brother is a commercial A/C tech and took care of that for me. I was reading about a bypass pulley for the vehicle, they make a pulley that allows you to bypass the clutch by installing the pulley to the compressor, but hell you might as well pull the dang thing because you'll have to there anyway. I looked around and never found a belt that would bypass the pulley all in itself. Several mechanics told me Ford doesn't make one, and they haven't found out what size it would be either. I think someone quoted a used A/C Compressor for $35-$50, I don't know where they found that. I priced compressors for about $200 for 2001-2004 models. It cost me about $100-$150 for the clutch, if even that much. I can't remember how much it was. I did have to pull power steering, and few other things to get to it from the top.
 
#13 ·
Get a $25.00 compressor from a u pull it. You might get lucky and find a good one. Anyway it is cheaper than the compressor eliminator pulley. Take your electric fans and the water lines in front of the engine off and then you can work the compressor out the top. Takes about two hours if you haven't done it before.

Ed
 
#14 ·
My initial plan was to just remove the compressor and run a delete pulley but if I can do this without removing the compressor than I would definitely do that. I've gotten 3 out of the 4 bolts out but the last 1 stripped and there is only about 1" clearance between the metal shroud for the fan and the a/c compressor. I need to figure out a way to get some more room so that I can get into there with a socket for stripped bolts. I was just hoping I wouldn't have to disconnect all the radiator lines and have to drop that out of the car, which would be a major PITA.

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This is the exact Exact EXACT same issue that I am having! It's a PITA. What idiotic engineer thought it would be smart to leave only enough room to be only able to fit a 1/4 ratchet to break a 10mm bolt? I have a special socket for stripped screws but I can't even get the damn thing to fit in there (even with an itty bitty low profile socket wrench). Can you please tell me how you got this resolved?
 
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