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Duratec A/C clutch - top or bottom repair.

21K views 18 replies 10 participants last post by  JayKay 
#1 · (Edited)
I am looking at replacing the AC compressor clutch on my 2001 Sable with the 3.0 Duratec DOHC engine. I have read many of the previous threads on accomplishing the task as I know very little about this car. However, I am a bit confused as to whether or not it is feasible to drop the subframe on this particular engine/car to replace the AC clutch.

Doing the replacement from the bottom looks like the easiest way to go for the vulcan/SOHC version, but what about the Duratec DOHC engine? As I look at the engine I don't see how you could simply lower one side of the engine sufficient enough to expose the AC compressor without having the engine getting jammed up by hitting the side of the engine compartment.

Has anyone done this repair (from the bottom approach) on the DOHC? I just need the assurance it is the way to go before I get started.

All suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks.
 
#2 ·
By the lack of replies I am assuming nobody as dropped the subframe for the duratec engine to access the AC compressor clutch.

So, I guess I should ask if anyone has even heard of anyone doing it??? - I really don't want to start this project without at least a glimmer of hope having it work.
 
#5 ·
Hey Bull,

Thank you. I've been reading all I can find on replacing the clutch. I used to like Fords. ;) Been a Ford man all my life. Mine is an '03 Duratec .... oh boy!

Getting the clutch kit tonight on the way home. Stopping by my local Harbor Freight and grabbing a few tools too....

Sure wishin' you'd wish me luck!

Chap
 
#7 · (Edited)
I am looking at replacing the AC compressor clutch on my 2001 Sable with the 3.0 Duratec DOHC engine. ...whether or not it is feasible to drop the subframe on this particular engine/car to replace the AC clutch.
Did replace ac clutch and coil on the 02 Duratec. Dropped subframe. Did not see how I could remove snap ring, pulley, clutch, coil with limited space. If you can, congratulations.

From memory only. YMMV.
Car in park, park brake on. Wheel chocks. Remove RF tire. Tire under car
Loosen all vacuum hoses and wires than might come off when lowering subframe, including some near brake booster. So they do not snap off or break.
Remove serpentine belt. I just used medium sized towel and pulled up wherever it was easiest to reach belt. That loosens tensioner and can pull serpentine off pulleys.
Support car just behind subframe on frame like place where you are supposed to jack car. Use jackstand, wood. High enough so can actually lower subframe.
Support subframe with jack.
Support lower control arm with jack
Undo 3 strut mount bolts on fender. Remove sway bar link to strut connection.
Lower whole strut.
Move enough of plastic inner front fender to see where the AC comp is.
Loosen and remove two right subframe bolts.
Subframe will gradually lower as you lower jack. .
A pulley , not AC pulley, will contact right side of engine compartment and limit lowering subframe. Push pulley down with wood block and hammer it until face of AC comp is visible enough to do work.
Remove snap ring of AC pulley w snap ring plier.
Remove pulley, bearing, clutch. Pry off, Claw hammer, screwdriver, etc. Save shims if you can. Go around ac compressor shaft. Washer like, size of a dime, or nickel.
Pry off coil if you need to replace coil.
Put new coil, pulley back.
Make sure AC clutch gap is correct. 4 Seasons brand new AC clutch pulley coil that I used should come with shims. The gap is adjusted with shims of different thicknesses. Use enough to get good gap as measured with feeler gauge. May need to test fit many times.
Make sure torque of AC pulley bolt is correct.
Assembly is reverse of removal. Make sure to guide strut back to 3 fender holes and not get hung up on plastic fender liner.
Make sure torque strut-to-sway bar links to spec or will rattle. Higher than torque of subframe bolts.
Good luck.
Found many other posts on how to do this. I am indebted to others who did it first.

Luckily, did not need impact wrench, did not disconnect radiator hoses.
Did need 1/2 breaker bar, 3/8 inch ratchet, large and small sockets, several torque wrenches, small covered containers like cottage cheese containers to store small parts, snap ring plier, hammer, screwdrivers, plier, jacks, jackstand, small wood blocks.
AC clutch was branded 4 seasons, this is probably same item different name.
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/d...=Search_02631_5171869_3513&pt=02631&ppt=C0328
or this http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=1312438&cc=1385760

Did need one 10amp minifuse. My clutch and bearing were bad. Also clutch coil shorted out and the fuse blew. Was in the fuse box near radiator. Still works fine more than a yr later.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Questions??

Does it not put stress on the LH side by dropping the sub frame only in the RH side?

Does anyone have photo's of this job on the sub frame?

And though it's tight quarters, can the clutch not be removed without dropping the sub frame?

I'm not unaccustomed to heavy work on a car but it just scare's me, the thought of dropping the sub frame. So any shot of confidence and direction is greatly appreciated.

And *ALL* for one bolt and one snap ring. My gawd, what were those design engineers thinking. I called my usual mechanic for things I can't do and he refused to get involved with it. Can't says as I blame him.

Chap
 
#10 ·
^ what sheila said.

I've yanked Taurus compressors from the top too...DOHC, OHV.

Just depends which your back is up to.

Don't worry about the stresses, it'll be fine - just git 'er dun! ;)
 
#11 ·
On a 3.0 DOHC engine....

Well, I opted to go through the top. The only things I had to move out of the way was the rad tank overflow hose and disconnect the power steering fluid fill hose from the p/s pump. The P/S fluid fill hose is held on the pump with a simple squeeze clamp.

All went well to remove the clutch, pulley and coil. Used an 8mm offset wrench to loosen the bolt. That was slow going for the turning distance is short. When loose enough, I fingered it out. The snap ring holding the pulley literally fell out. Ruh :( Roh! Several taps with a blunt force object, hammer and a breaker bar, the coil came off.

Putting the new coil on, I had difficulties. I couldn't get it to align correctly on the compressor. So here's a tidbit no one has mentioned. There is a notch at the bottom of the compressor that the electric connector must fit into. If someone has mentioned it, I missed it. Once I figured that out, I used 2x4 lumber that was cut down to 2x2 to fit and power-housed the coil on by wedging it between the inner fender apron and the coil itself. To keep the coil even going on the aluminum compressor, I used two pieces of 2x2. One from the top and one from the bottom. Took me 30 minutes to get that piece on. Sheesh!

I put the pulley on and it fits OK but it has just a tiny bit of jiggle to it. I noticed the old pulley had a little wobble in it taking it off, so I thought the bearings were shot. They weren't. Although, the bearing on the old pulley would have soon given up the ghost.

I used 90 degree snap ring pliers to mount the snap ring. I couldn't get it to mount. Of course, you can't see anything. [Let me take moment to smack that engineer upside the head .. idiot :angry: ]

The snap won't mount because it's to d&*m big. The old snap ring is damaged beyond use. So I'm stuck in the water now. Have to go to the parts house and get several different sizes and see if I can get one to work... Argh.

Anyway ..... here's several photos.

Chap
 

Attachments

#12 ·
Go to Ford - see if they have some spare snap rings handy.

GOt a self service yard in town? Stop there and grab some!
 
#14 · (Edited)
Update..... it's fixed.

I fretted for nothing.

Well, aside from the wrong size snap ring with the new clutch, the whole thing was easier than I thought .. including gapping the clutch.

After reading about having to drop the sub frame in order to replace the clutch, sheesh, I was freakin' petrified. Frankly, I had no intention what so ever of dropping the sub frame. It just didn't make sense to me. Yes, it's a tight squeeze on the '03 but it's very do-able from the top.

So, here's the recap of the ac clutch job. This was done on my car. It worked for me. YMMV!

A/C Clutch Replacement From Top
03 Taurus Wagon
3.0 Duratec DOHC

1) Plan on getting greasy and learning to be a contortionist.

2) Tools used:
Drop Lamp or flash light
Offset Wrench 8mm
Snap Ring Pliers 90 degree angle
Feeler Gauge
Beer
Belt Tensioner Release Tool
Magnetic Pick Tool
Telescoping Mirror
Hammer
long blunt object ( I used a breaker bar ... so something similar to that)
2 pieces of 2x2 lumber

3) Unclamp from radiator overflow tank and move to the side, the radiator tank over flow hose.

4) Unclamp and move to the side, the power steering fluid fill hose. Be sure to keep the fill hose above the level of the PS pump or else your PS fluid will evacuate all over! The tube from the pump will drip some fluid so you may want to cap it off with a cork or similar, But I recommend, a good sturdy piece of duct tape.

5) Remove the belt using the Belt Tensioner Release Tool. On the 3.0 DOHC engine, the belt tensioner is nearly directly under the PS Pump. However, the tensioner itself is facing inwards toward the engine block rather than face outwards to the inner fender apron. It should be a 13mm bolt. Use a socket if at all possible. Connect your tool as best you can and leverage toward the radiator in order to release the tension. If you don't have a belt tensioner tool, get your Popeye on and brute force the belt off by grabbing the belt on either side of the PS Pump and pulling up. Watch your "nads"!

6) Unplug the electric connection to the coil. It's a booger. The connector is underneath the compressor. Push the tab on the connector away from the plug to release the plug. Go EASY! Don't break the tab. You might want to wait to do this AFTER the clutch and pulley have been removed just to give you a bit more room to play.

7) Using the 8mm offset wrench, loosen the bolt on the clutch. It's short strokes, so it'll take a few turns. Once it's out far enough and if you don't have a super big hand or really fat fingers (no offense to anyone), you can finger the bolt the rest of the way out. Long fingers are a plus in this situation. Slide off the outer clutch plate. Watch for shims and possibly the snap ring falling out. If the shims fall out, they will most likely land on the sub frame next to the front sub frame mount. Use the magnetic pick up tool ..... ;)

8) If the snap ring did not fall out, then grab your snap ring pliers. *NOTE* Snap ring pliers are "sized". Mine used .070 size tips . Yours may be a different size. This is a ding dong drag to get out in such close quarters. Use the telescoping mirror to locate the "eyes" of the snap ring. Then, of course, with all your tenacity, get your snap ring plier tips into those eyes. When you do, expand your pliers and remove it. You may need a small hook tool to help you get it off the compressor housing nose.

Now that you've done all that, you can remove the "pully" portion of the clutch.

9) To remove the coil from the aluminum compressor housing, use the hammer and long blunt object. Place the long blunt object, in my case, a long breaker bar, at the top of the coil and tap the bar with a hammer. Don't just tap at the top, tap on all sides that you can reach until it starts to slide off. It's shouldn't take too much force.

10) Once everything is off, clean the aluminum compressor housing with some emery cloth or 80/100 grit sand paper. Lightly sand just to remove corrosion and dirt on the compressor nose.

11) Here comes the fun. Mount your new coil on to the compressor and push is on by hand as far as you can. *NOTE* There is a NOTCH in the compressor housing for the electric connector. You can't see it from above. Align the coil so the connector on the coil fits into the notch.

Once you have it on, wedge one of the 2x2 pieces of lumber on one side of the coil from the top. DO NOT place on the compressor housing nose. Keep the wood on the coil. Do the same from the bottom, only on the other side of the coil. The compressor nose should be sandwiched between the two pieces of wood. Using the hammer, tap the wood pieces from the top and bottom until the coil is flush against the compressor housing. This will take a bit of time. You want to be sure the coil does not get cocked to one side and possibly gouging the compressor nose. Keep it even Steven!

12) Slide new pulley on to the compressor nose. Install snap ring.

13) Your new clutch kit should have come with new shims to shim out the clutch. What we need to do here is "gap" the clutch plate to the pulley. I gapped might @ 0.18MM. Some will say that's a bit close but that's what I did and it works just fine. This is going to be a bit of tedious work.

Place a shim inside the clutch plate shaft. Install the clutch plate on the compressor shaft. (gonna take two hands) and install the new bolt. (I used my old bolt) Tighten to specs. I did not use a torque wrench as there just isn't any way to get one in there whn going from the top.

Once you have the bolt tightened, check your gap with the feeler gauge. Repeat and rinse until you are gapped as you like it.

14) Reinstall belt and hoses and anything else you may have removed.

There you have it in a . Kick back and grab that beer. ;)

Chap

**
 
#16 ·
Wondering if the hole in the frame that looks to be directly across from the clutch center bolt allows a ratchet extension thru from the wheel well to remove the bolt? There is a youtube video where the guy cut a larger hole with a torch because he didn't have a wobble extension.


I have a 24v 2000 Sable
The clutch will pull in for about a half hour and then not. System is charged this week and it works fine for that first period. After cooldown it will work again. I haven't removed the belt to see if there is a loose bearing, will do that when I get to the job!
 
#17 ·
Wondering if the hole in the frame that looks to be directly across from the clutch center bolt allows a ratchet extension thru from the wheel well to remove the bolt? There is a youtube video where the guy cut a larger hole with a torch because he didn't have a wobble extension.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJJLQ_e_RJU

I have a 24v 2000 Sable
The clutch will pull in for about a half hour and then not. System is charged this week and it works fine for that first period. After cooldown it will work again. I haven't removed the belt to see if there is a loose bearing, will do that when I get to the job!
See my post with full instructions here!

https://www.taurusclub.com/forum/82...-repair-bottom-without-lowering-subframe.html
 
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