$$$ Argh, Need A/C Clutch! $$$

[Ornery]

Crap! My son's '95 G. Marquis needs the A/C clutch replaced. It receives 12VDC from its connector (when A/C is on high, no voltage when A/C is off), but doesn't engage.

The clutch is $100 at AutoZone, and the whole Compressor/Clutch assembly is $250. I suppose I can snag their free loaner puller to get it off, but I'm not sure how it would be reinstalled. If I could remove it, without taking the compressor off the car, that would be the best solution. No need to replace the freon etc. Not quite sure if there's enough room to do it, though. Anybody else tackle such a task?

 

[Black88GTA]

I did an A/C compressor clutch on my Mustang last year.

New A/C clutch (including magnetic coil) was $25 brand new off Ebay. (parts store wanted $100ish, IIRC)
There were 2 snap rings holding it on the compressor...$4.95 set of snap ring pliers from Harbor Freight took care of those.
Had to take off the belt (obviously) - 2 seconds with a breaker bar.

The whole job took 25 minutes - clutch now works great...but the system is out of R12 refrigerant, so it doesn't work anyway .

This it? I didn't search the P/Ns, but it's supposedly for a 4.6 Ford.

EDIT: Taking the compressor off is a huge PITA. You must recharge the refrigerant (obviously) but you have to replace the receiver/drier as well. The R/D absorbs moisture from the air, and if the system is opened it becomes saturated, therefore unable to do its job This leaves moisture where you DON'T want it - eating your A/C system from the inside out.

If the compressor is OK, doing the clutch by itself is MUCH cheaper / simpler.

FWIW, I didn't need any special tools to get mine off - and I did it with compressor still installed. Yours may be different.

 

[Ornery]

Thanks for the info. I can't even imagine getting an Ebay unit so cheap. I'd never even think to look there!

I've got snap ring pliers, so I guess I'll give it a go. I'll pull this one off before buying the new one. Damn, I better not screw it up, because the fan belt requires a working pully in that position!

What are my chances?

 

[Black88GTA]

Heh....that looks like fun

Mine was sitting down kind of low, but I had lots of clearance to work on it. Probably the only good thing about having a 4-cyl in a space designed to fit a V8.

Here's what mine looked like before replacing (vid)

 

[Ornery]

Yikes, yours was far different from this one. Looks like I'll need the puller. I can see a LOT of "fun" in my future... maybe I'll call my mechanic tomorrow.

 

[iamwiz82]

Wow, that's in a bad position. You'll probably have to pull the fan and shroud to get a puller in there.

I'd go junkyarding for it, if you figure out a way to get it off easily.