Bad AC compressor clutch and/or bearing? (w/ videos)

[SparkPlugged]

Hey all,

2005 Jeep Liberty 4x4 Limited 3.7l.

The AC compressor clutch and/or bearing is running very loud, wobbly, and also smoking if I let it run too long. So I'm trying to figure out what needs to be replaced. I'm guessing it's just a bad AC compressor clutch and/or bearing and I can purchase the assembly from amazon and just replace it. But maybe it's something else and someone more experienced than me can give me deeper insight into what could be causing it to run so badly.


Take a look at these videos for visual inspection and let me know what you think:

When it was just running loud (and slightly wobbly). At this point I didn't really know where the sound was coming from, but suspected the AC compressor:
[YT]Wq6rzCcx2tI[/YT]

After driving the vehicle for 20 minutes it started smoking:
[YT]XE2n2_yIn8E[/YT]

Running it a day after it was smoking. Loud and very wobbly:
[YT]xHV-YCQdom0[/YT]


If it is just the AC compressor clutch assembly, would this kit from amazon be suitable for the repair?

Robot Check


Thanks for your input.

 

[uss2defiant]

On the meantime, get a shorter belt to bypass the AC compressor.

http://www.jeepkj.com/forum/f196/cheap-ac-bypass-**picture**-45242/

 

[SparkPlugged]

On the meantime, get a shorter belt to bypass the AC compressor.

http://www.jeepkj.com/forum/f196/cheap-ac-bypass-**picture**-45242/

Thanks for the quick reply. Luckily, I don't have to get this thing running right away so I can just wait until I have the time to do the proper fix. I just want to be sure that the AC compressor clutch assembly is actually what I need before I drop $100+ on it and start putting the time in for the repair. That information is good to know, though, and I may pick up a shorter belt in case I can't get the repair done properly.

 

[CactusJacked]

Man, looks like you let all the factory smoke escape out of that clutch. Make sure the new clutch has the proper amount of smoke installed for proper future diagnostics.

 

[95whtzr2]

I used that exact kit 40k miles ago, installation was pretty straight forward, the instructions were informative but had misspellings and bad punctuation. My compressor looked and sounded just like that, but came all the way apart.

Everything has been working great since, no complaints.

 

[SparkPlugged]

Man, looks like you let all the factory smoke escape out of that clutch. Make sure the new clutch has the proper amount of smoke installed for proper future diagnostics.

Unfortunately, I don't have any OEM smoke on hand at the moment, do you think marijuana smoke will work as a temporary substitute? :happy175:

 

[SparkPlugged]

I used that exact kit 40k miles ago, installation was pretty straight forward, the instructions were informative but had misspellings and bad punctuation. My compressor looked and sounded just like that, but came all the way apart.

Everything has been working great since, no complaints.

Wow, that's great to know. This is very reassuring. I think I'm going to go ahead and order the part today.

 

[95whtzr2]

Wow, that's great to know. This is very reassuring. I think I'm going to go ahead and order the part today.

No prob. I wish I could remember more specifics for installation though. I remember needing feeler gauges to set up the clutch though.

 

[SparkPlugged]

I'll conclude this thread for any future people that many come across it (there will inevitably be people who google for this exact problem: HI FUTURE GOOGLERS!).

The new AC compressor clutch assembly I bought off of Amazon resolved the issue ($110 - link: Amazon). I installed it this morning and it took about 2 hours. An hour of that was spent trying to get the pulley off. It wasn't until I took a trip to the auto store and bought a small 2-ton 3 prong puller that I was actually able to get it off. It was on there very good and I honestly don't see any other way to do it without one. The puller was about $40, but I may take it back because I don't foresee myself having to use it again any time in the near future.

I bought some snap ring pliers ahead of time because I knew I'd have to take off and put on 2 snap rings. I bought these cheap Tekton 7-inch external bent tip pliers from Amazon ($8 - link: Amazon) and they worked absolutely perfect. I read about some people having a tough time with these snap rings, but I guess I had perfect pliers for it because my snap rings came off and went on pretty easily.

The AC clutch assembly kit came with really good directions. I just followed those and it made it pretty easy. I did take off the electric fan shroud to get enough room to put the puller on the pulley. The fan only has 2 bolts holding it on, so it took less than 2 minutes to get it off.

I did have to HAMMER the darn pulley back on because it was a very tight fit. I just hammered the top, left bottom, and right bottom, of the inside pulley over and over again until it exposed the snap ring groove. The directions said this was one way to do it, so that's the way that I did it.

The clutch for some reason kept rubbing the pulley with the majority of the spacers on. The clutch finally didn't rub the pulley when I put on all of the spacers that came with the new clutch and 2 that came off the old clutch. I wasn't able to get the gauge feeler in the space between the pulley and clutch, it just didn't seem like it was the right angle. So I just left all of the spacers on. The clutch may not be spaced properly but it engages fine and the directions did say if it's not spaced properly the clutch could wear out faster. So far it appears to working great, but I'll report back if I have any issues in the future.

Hopefully these concluding thoughts help out any future people who are contemplating an AC compressor clutch assembly repair. Good luck!