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Tips On How To Remove A/c Compressor Clutch

150K views 78 replies 43 participants last post by  Derrick2001 
#1 ·
I'm a newbie here. Just found this forum and it has a lot of great info.
I need to swap my a/c compressor clutch assembly including the pulley and coil.
I got in there but for the life of me I can't figure out how to do it without taking the compressor out.
I'd like to avoid that if possible so that I don't have to get the system vacuumed and recharged.
Do you know where I can find directions? Thanks.
 
#56 ·
Thank you all so much for posting the procedure here. I completed this and saved myself around $300. I followed the procedure on page 1 of this thread. I would recommend to anyone to replace this part as soon as it start making the noise. I let mine go too long and it ended up locking up. Smoke poured out of the engine as the serpentine belt melted away. Because it locked up, I ended up buying the whole assembly from Orileys, which was a 4 Seasons unit with everything I needed (pulley, coil, shims, center bolt, snap ring, etc) for $65. The serpentine belt was $30.

Here's what I did (quoted from 1st page):
1. Remove the Negative battery cable.
2. Raise the car. Just to the rear of the rear U-shaped sub-frame mounts there are "rails" under the car. Put jack stands there so you can drop the sub frame later.
3. Remove the dog bone dampener located under the hood next to the strut housing.
4. Remove the serpentine belt. There are 2 pulleys that look like belt tensioners -- the belt tension pulley is the bottom one. Use one wrench to attach to the pulley and use a second, larger wrench over the 1st wrench to get enough torque to turn the pulley clockwise to remove the serpentine belt.
5. Remove the 3 bolts on top of the round strut housing (do not remove the much larger center strut\spring bolt!)
6. Remove the right front tire.
7. Remove the little bolt that holds the brake line onto the strut.
8. Place the jack under the passenger's side in the middle of the sub-frame behind the brakes. Raise it until the jack is snug against the frame. To be safe, place an additional jack stands under the subframe on both side for extra protection while you undo sub-frame bolts.
9. Remove the two 18mm sub-frame bolts on the passenger side. You can cut a notch out of the black protector plastic just large enough to get my socket on the front bolt.
10. Loosen the subframe bolts on the driver side about 1/2 way, keeping the jack stand under the subframe on that side, just to be safe. You should not need to remove these, but can if necessary.
11. Remove the jack stand under the sub-frame on the passenger side and slowly lower the jack to a position until you can see the A/C clutch. About 1" of the pulley was still behind the frame for me, but I could still access the center bolt so it didn't matter. Jack up the engine just slightly to take pressure off the tension pulley, which is likely resting against the frame after the jack is lowered.
12. After you've got the cradle dropped, you should see the 8mm center bolt for the clutch. Remove that bolt and the front plate should come off with a little help of a screw driver and wiggling. (DO NOT pound on anything with a hammer or you could damage the compressor itself.)
13. Behind the plate is the snap ring that holds the pulley on the compressor housing. Use snap ring pliers to remove it, then remove the pulley. If the pulley won't come off with some prying, rent a puller from a parts store. If you use a puller, put the old bolt back in the compressor so you don't damage the threads.
14. The last part is the coil: Unplug it carefully by lifting the plastic lock on the side and sliding it off. Don't force it out or you'll mess up the plug.
15. Pry off the coil using a couple of screwdrivers or the claw end of of a small hammer. Use the same puller from step 13 if it's stubborn.
16. To re-install the coil, use a piece of wood (2x4 or something like that) to cover the "face" of the coil to tap it on.
17. From there, install everything in reverse order that it came off. When you re-install the plate, use the spacer washers\shims to provide an air gap between the 2 plates, otherwise the A\C compressor will be on all the time.

Before you start the car, re-connect any vacuum hoses that may have come off when the subframe was lowered.
 
#58 ·
Just thought I would post my experience with this on my 2000 mercury sable. I had a compressor clutch that was always dragging, it makes a sort of metallic rattling noise. Any rate, mine was one of the ones with the rubber bushings in it - the rubber wears out and the clutch plate is no longer pulled back away from the pulley.

I was able to replace it without dropping the frame or removing the compressor. I just removed the belt and tied the power steering hose out of the way. Really the only trick was having a narrow wrench to get the clutch bolt loose... I use the small gear ratchet and a big screwdriver to jam the clutch so you can loosen the bolt. Once that bolt was out, the clutch slid right off the compressor shaft (and fell apart in pieces). The pulley bearing was also making noise, so I went ahead and replaced it while I was at it. Getting the snap ring out that holds that on was actually the hardest part... a small mirror, 90 degree snap ring pliers, and lots of patience is a must!

I got a new pulley, clutch, and coil kit from O'Reilly for $118. I didn't replace the coil because it was fine, but it was cheaper to get the whole kit than just the clutch and pulley by themselves. Just in case someone else is in the same situation....
 
#60 · (Edited)
Remove the right side strut pinch bolt.
Before you do that, mark a line around the strut, so you know how 'deep' it was set in the pinch socket. It is part of alignment.
Removal of the tree small nuts on top of strut is less invasive.
Just thought I would post my experience with this on my 2000 mercury sable...
Was that a Vulcan or Duratec engine? I am tempted to try that on mine, the A/C pulley squeaks every morning...
 
#59 · (Edited)
AC Compressor Removal

I have done a write-up on the AC Compressor, Drier, orifice, and blow out for the units that I believe cover 2001-2006 (this one was on a 2006). It is replete with pictures. I would suggest that you read the applicable posts on TCCA for any info I may have omitted or is for your vehicle only. If you want a copy e-mailed to you, then send me an e-mail to: Dandur805@yahoo.com

;)

There is also a video of it at Youtube.com/ Just type in "" and it should take you to the video. It and the write up are too big for me to post on TCCA, so if you request a copy, I will send it as soon as I can via e-mail. No Charge.
 
#65 · (Edited)
Is it detrimental to have the plate gapped higher than between 0.018-0.030? I dont have any feelers, so I guessed....and its working great.

EDIT: borrowed some feelers last night, gapped at .060; will be taking the clutch plate off tomorrow and getting it within spec
 
#66 · (Edited)
Thanks for all the great info in this thread! I replaced my AC clutch and coil based on the step by step instructions above and now have AC back in my 2001 Taurus SE with the 3.0 Vulcan. It took all day but I'm not the fastest mechanic.

A few thoughts:
* I'm happy I dropped the subframe rather than used the mirror method. After I removed the old clutch it was very difficult to get the new one all the way on so the snap ring would go in the groove. I ended up having to do a lot of cleaning to get it to fit. It would have been really difficult from the top.

* I didn't have a proper tool to hold the clutch to torque the center bolt. An adjustable pin spanner or strap wrench would be best but I had neither so I drilled and tapped a piece of metal for a pair of 1/4" bolts. The bolts just stuck through the metal and were the same distance apart as the holes in the clutch so it could keep the clutch from moving.

* Take your time with the washers for the clutch adjustment and use a feeler gauge.

* Once I had replaced the clutch the AC still wouldn't work. I wasn't getting power at the clutch. It turned out that the shredded clutch had shorted the coil and blown the 10 amp underhood fuse for the AC.

* If you don't mind living without AC or just want to keep the car running until you have time to fix the AC clutch, bypass the AC pulley by replacing the stock serpentine belt with a shorter one. I used a Gates K060795 which is 80 1/8" long. It just grazed the ribs on the AC pulley and got me from North Dakota back to Wisconsin with no signs of wear. I think it would run forever like this, especially if you removed the AC pulley so it didn't touch at all.

Here are a couple pics from the process:









 
#67 ·
Thanks for all the great info in this thread! I replaced my AC clutch and coil based on the step by step instructions above and now have AC back in my 2001 Taurus SE with the 3.0 Vulcan. It took all day but I'm not the fastest mechanic.

A few thoughts:
* I'm happy I dropped the subframe rather than used the mirror method. After I removed the old clutch it was very difficult to get the new one all the way on so the snap ring would go in the groove. I ended up having to do a lot of cleaning to get it to fit. It would have been really difficult from the top.

* I didn't have a proper tool to hold the clutch to torque the center bolt. An adjustable pin spanner or strap wrench would be best but I had neither so I drilled and tapped a piece of metal for a pair of 1/4" bolts. The bolts just stuck through the metal and were the same distance apart as the holes in the clutch so it could keep the clutch from moving.

* Take your time with the washers for the clutch adjustment and use a feeler gauge.

* Once I had replaced the clutch the AC still wouldn't work. I wasn't getting power at the clutch. It turned out that the shredded clutch had shorted the coil and blown the 10 amp underhood fuse for the AC.

* If you don't mind living without AC or just want to keep the car running until you have time to fix the AC clutch, bypass the AC pulley by replacing the stock serpentine belt with a shorter one. I used a Gates K060795 which is 80 1/8" long. It just grazed the ribs on the AC pulley and got me from North Dakota back to Wisconsin with no signs of wear. I think it would run forever like this, especially if you removed the AC pulley so it didn't touch at all.

Here are a couple pics from the process:









Nice work and nice pics thanks.

But one more thing. In your first pic, looks like you stretched your brake line a bit. Hope you did not damage it.

-chart-
 
#71 ·
Old thread here, hopefully some are still around! I have a 2000 Sable with ~150,000 miles (a classic!) that I'm getting noise but only when AC is engaged, otherwise no noise. AC working great for now anyway.

Reading on here I'm guessing that my clutch (three bushings) are bad, but that the pulley bearing is still okay. So I'm thinking about just replacing that outer clutch plate with new, while still on the car.

Any idea how long this thing will last before I should replace that clutch plate before it ruins something else? I'd rather wait for cooler weather (Houston) before tearing into it but thinking I might ruin something else if I wait too long... Any other tips?
 
#72 ·
Old thread here, hopefully some are still around! I have a 2000 Sable with ~150,000 miles (a classic!) that I'm getting noise but only when AC is engaged, otherwise no noise. AC working great for now anyway.

Reading on here I'm guessing that my clutch (three bushings) are bad, but that the pulley bearing is still okay. So I'm thinking about just replacing that outer clutch plate with new, while still on the car.

Any idea how long this thing will last before I should replace that clutch plate before it ruins something else? I'd rather wait for cooler weather (Houston) before tearing into it but thinking I might ruin something else if I wait too long... Any other tips?
Pic of assy. The drive plate is held on with a bolt, not shown. You can replace only the drive plate and it should be fine. Problem is doubt you can buy one. I got all in the pic except the coil from the JY for ~$12. I did not replace the coil when I had my pulley/plate replaced by others. So I had a coil left over. Since I have spares, highly likely I will never need one. You will do well to hot wire the clutch to hold things still to remove the bolt. With the bolt out, the drive plate pulls off and will clear the sub frame. Shims are trial and error. I have a pic of how to hot wire somewhere, it is easy.


-chart-
 

Attachments

#73 · (Edited)
Thanks for the reply! I can order the clutch kit from RockAuto for about $60, which includes the coil, pulley and clutch plate. I'm good with that price, main thing is being able to swap the clutch plate only, hopefully without too much trouble. It looks really tight in there! Can it be done without unbolting the compressor or dropping the subframe? I assume yes since you're saying hotwire the coil to lock it to the serpentine belt for clutch plate bolt removal and installation. And how to do that hotwire? Any other advice?

Right now, it sounds like chirping only when the AC compressor is engaged. I think that's consistent with the clutch plate rubber bushings being worn out after 150,000 miles, but I can't really get my mirror in there to see. Going to spend some time this weekend trying to better diagnose. Hope it keeps running without flying apart until I can diagnose, get the parts, and do the repair!

Found two different "clutch hub" here - https://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/2000/mercury/sable/climate_control/a-fs-c_compressor_clutch_hub.html. Wonder why different?
 
#74 ·
I replaced mine over the weekend. Bought it from AAP with an online discount code and it cost me about $50. To make it easier you'll have to drop the subframe on the passenger side, and loosen up the drivers side bolts so it'll drop down low enough. Then it's as simple as the bolt on the friction plate, pull that off, c clip that holds the pulley, pull that off, then the coil will pull off with a little effort(press fit). When I put it all back together I just grabbed the friction plate with a large set of channel locks and it was enough to get the bolt tight. You don't need to tighten the hell out of it.
 
#75 ·
You can hot wire the coil. Pic of hot wire for cranking engine without any fuel or spark. Testing starter. Could do the same for A/C but on mine that would be the far right white one but of course I do not know which pin slot. Should be easy, with only 2 contact slots, and one will have ~3 ohms to ground. But I like electric stuff.


-chart-
 

Attachments

#76 ·
Don't even have to hot wire the coil. Just wedge a long screwdriver between two of the protruding housings for the bushings to hold the plate while loosening the bolt. Yeah, it's tight in there...but, can be done without the hassle of dropping the subframe or removing the four compressor bolts. The bigger challenge is accessing and removing the c-clip that holds the pulley/bearing assembly if you plan on replacing that. I used a mirror on a stick and a c-clip pliers with 90 degree tips...and, some patience. In my situation, I had to replace both as the bearing started making noise. The noise you are hearing might be bearing related, also.

It's impossible to know how long you can drive with it before more damage is incurred. But, let me tell you...I'd rather get on it soon as possible or else you risk destroying your compressor. And, the cost to repair everything at that point increases exponentially unless you're adept at evacuating and recharging your system after you replace the compressor and any other needed components.
 
#77 · (Edited)
Thanks everyone! I'm going to try to diagnose tomorrow. I'm hoping it's only the clutch plate. I can order just the Motorcraft clutch plate, but for only a little more $ get an aftermarket clutch plate, pulley and coil.

Does anyone know if an aftermarket clutch plate won't work with the factory Ford pulley? I'm thinking order the full aftermarket kit, replace only the clutch plate without unbolting compressor or lowering subframe, but have at the ready the pulley also just in case.
 
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