AC Compressor Clutch Replacment

[galaxy]

Long shot, but does anyone know if the clutch on the compressor is replaceable without breaking open the system? And if that can be swapped out on the car?

AC works great, but whines worse than a blower, but ONLY when the AC is on and running! Zero other symptoms. Currently trying to decide if I want to risk just replacing the clutchc since it’s $100+ cheaper. But if I have to evacuate the system and reservice anyways, might as well just go compressor.

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[Cobra Jet]

Long shot, but does anyone know if the clutch on the compressor is replaceable without breaking open the system? And if that can be swapped out on the car?

AC works great, but whines worse than a blower, but ONLY when the AC is on and running! Zero other symptoms. Currently trying to decide if I want to risk just replacing the clutchc since it’s $100+ cheaper. But if I have to evacuate the system and reservice anyways, might as well just go compressor.

This thread has the info from the Ford shop manual for how to remove the clutch assembly/field coil:
https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/th...tentially-a-c-compressor.129712/#post-2686995

There is also this thread which discusses how to remove the A/C stretch belt (and an available Lisle tool to do it too):
https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/threads/ac-stretch-belt-help-please.175709/#post-3554880

 

[NightmareMoon]

I wanted to do this but my mechanic was resistant to doing the clutch without removing the compressor from the car, and watching the job, yeah we really needed it off the car to replace it. I forget the specifics, but it looked like it would have been a huge pain to do it on the car.

 

[brokenblinker]

Long shot, but does anyone know if the clutch on the compressor is replaceable without breaking open the system? And if that can be swapped out on the car?

AC works great, but whines worse than a blower, but ONLY when the AC is on and running! Zero other symptoms. Currently trying to decide if I want to risk just replacing the clutchc since it’s $100+ cheaper. But if I have to evacuate the system and reservice anyways, might as well just go compressor.

I was having exactly these symptoms recently and the dealer replaced the AC compressor. Sorry I know that's not exactly what you asked, just thought it might be helpful.

 

[galaxy]

Thanks guys. Yeah, if it’s gotta come off the car, the price point dictates replace the whole thing. I’d be pissed if I took it off, replaced just the clutch, and that didn’t fix it.

 

[Angrey]

If you can't do it with the compressor on the car, there's really not a lot of sense for replacing just the compressor. You might as well replace the whole assembly.

If you could somehow swap it without losing your coolant charge, then maybe it makes sense. But if you have to spend the $100+ to refill coolant, it would be an additional $100 if you got everything back together and filled only to discover it wasn't just the clutch.

 

[The Chairman]

My Navigator was making a strange noise the first time the AC Clutch kicked in everyday. Been doing it for a few years and I figured the clutch was going bad. So I replaced just the clutch.
Was a very simple process: Remove belt; remove one bolt, remove clutch, reverse process. That’s it.
However, didn’t stop the noise. So there is something lose inside the compressor. Still works fine (has >70K miles on it). Guess I’ll replace the whole unit eventually.

 

[jmn444]

Just logically thinking here, but if the noise is only when the clutch is engaged, that would lead me to think it's the bearings in the compressor since that's what starts spinning when engaged.

 

[The Chairman]

Just logically thinking here, but if the noise is only when the clutch is engaged, that would lead me to think it's the bearings in the compressor since that's what starts spinning when engaged.

In my case, the noise was just for a nano-second the first time the AC engaged each day. Was quiet after that, the clutch cycled normally the rest of the day and the compressor was quiet. Led me to believe that it was just the clutch.
My point was the clutch alone is an easy swap. But it may not fix the problem.

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