00' Tahoe A/C help a newb

[terryt]

First off hello all, new guy here. Found out about this forum from ARFCOM and Glocktalk.

I have a 2000 Tahoe, 5.3L, 4x4, 193K miles.

Love the truck, recently put on water pump, fuel filter, fuel pump. Now, the AC is acting weird. Front AC blows cold rear not so much, a roaring, clicking, hard to explain rather loud noise is coming from under the hood when AC is on. It only does it for a few seconds, usually while gassing it/ getting up to speed.

It has a new AC belt put on, when the water pump was replaced about a month ago. I have friends with gauges if needed, but what else to check? Replace fan clutch? Or is the compressor in the dying stage?

Thanks for any help, funds are tight I am trying to rule out things as I go. I can do some mechanical work, but I am a sparky by trade.

 

[M3PO]

Nice, another 2A guy Even though I have both, I am not on those particular forums.

I am no A/C guy. I would think a bad clutch would make a noise whenever it engages/disengages, and that would not be isolated to acceleration. I'm sure someone might have some good ideas to diagnose, but be careful some will just diagnose through parts replacement, and we all know some can get expensive.
Can you try removing the A/C belt, so you can isolate the noise to the A/C system? There is a chance its not the A/C. Just a guess.

 

[terryt]

Thanks for the reply M3PO. If you own both ARFCOM is a great source of info on most weapons and anything else.

I have isolated it to the AC, as if you turn off the AC when the noise starts, it stops. New serpentine belt as well, but it does not sound like belt squeal. More of a mechanical type noise.

Strange that the front AC blows cold, but rear air coldness comes and goes. I have a 134A recovery machine, just no idea how to use it.

 

[M3PO]

I have been in love with my 1911 and thinking of a 308 long for hunting and long range

I gotcha, makes sense that the noise stops when turning the A/C off, I guess that is easier than my idea

I have read problems with no rear heat and/or cool. I would think that might be more in the controls, and the noise would be another problem with the clutch, comp, or belt/pulley setup under the hood.

Sorry I am no help. I'll check back. I am off to communist state of IL, so I need to lock some things up

 

[ScottyBoy]

I had the same exact problem. There was a loud clacking or chattering noise upon accelleration. It turns out, the compressor was going out. There was a TSB on this issue that describes the exact symptoms. Its caused by a defect in the compressor design. It will start locking up at higher rpms and cause the AC belt to flail around wildly, or even break the belt and/or tensioner. That's exactly what it did on mine. I broke 3 belt tensioners. I didn't want to accept the fact that I needed a new compressor because at idle it was blowing ice cold. I finally sucked it up.and replaced the compressor, drier, and orifice tube. Now its working lime new and blowing ice cold again. Every shop I went to wanted at least 1200 for this job, and that was with an aftermarket compressor. I ended up buying all the parts from Rockauto.com for just over 300 bucks. And that was for all AC-Delco parts. I found a shop who was willing to recover the refrigerant so I could replace all the parts myself. He charged me 140$ to recover the refrigerant and then put a vacuum pump on the lines when I was done (to remove any moisture from the lines) and recharge it wth 3lbs. of 134a refrigerant. Replacing the parts myself saved me well over 600$, plus I have all OEM parts too.
If you can replace a water pump, then you can replace your AC parts yourself. You just need to find a shop with the equipment to recover your refrigerant for you and vacuum and charge it when you are done. Or if you have a buddy with a vacuum pump and the manifold guages, then you just need to get it recovered. I have heard of some people just venting the refrigerant into the air instead of recovering it with the proper machine. While that will work, it is highly illegal and I do not advise doing it that way.

 

[terryt]

Thanks for the replies. May try it myself. I have a 134A recovery machine just do not know how to use it. He'll I would give the machine to somebody to fix my air. A HVAC guy owed me money, so he gave me machine for the debt.

 

[Bedore]

Greetings from a fellow ARFCOMMER and Glocktalker. I had an issue with my 2001 Tahoe's A/C. My problem wasn't that bad, and A/C gets used 2 or 3 days a year where I am from, but when you turn the defrost option on the compressor kicks in automatically so I had to have it addressed. The compressor would not come on at all and the system was low on freon. I had to have the heater core replaced, and part of that job was evacuating the freon and refilling it after.

After that job, the compressor would kick in but the belt would squeal and then the compressor would disengage. I replaced the belt but it would still squeal and the compressor was not staying engaged. Took it to the dealer and they found out the garage that did my heater core did not charge the system correctly. A new tensioner fixed the belt squeal, and they charged it correctly. Now it works great when I need it. However yours sounds like it's something bigger than my problem, so best of luck to you. Hope it's not too hot!

 

[Yukon Ron]

I just replaced the A/C compressor, drier receiver and orifice tube on my truck...it was about 2000 RPM that my compressor would make a horrific sound, until it finally broke the belt...and this was after 2 tensioners too.

Now I have a quiet running compressor, but the front air is colder than the rear air and when at idle, the a/c isn't blowing snow like before...plus it makes a small sound when the clutch engages on the compressor...im thinking it might be a bad rebuilt compressor?? We also didn't replace the separate orifice tube for the rear a/c yet but do you think that could cause a TOTAL loss in the front a/c as well?

Front A/C blows cold when I'm moving but as soon as I am idling, it gets warmer...condenser fan relay maybe??

 

[NC_John]

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