04 xl denali ac problem sanity check

[Cy-Gor]

04 yukon xl denali 6.0 awd

So my AC has been making weird noises, they go away completely when i turn off the AC.
Sounds like something stuck in a fan, but sometimes it is super loud and sounds more like an air hammer (slight exageration) or something similar.

Replaced the tensioner as we saw some damage to the stop, but that only made it worse as now the tension was better and the belt was working better.

Then a week or so after that the balt for the AC broke.

Reeplaced the belt and the behavior continues.

If i go easy on the gas and let it work its way up it seems to eventually stop completely till it "cools off"

The noise does seem to get worse the hotter it is, which makes me think load on the compressor is a varriable.

All this time it blows ice cold so i dont think the compressor is bad.


The cluch does engage and disengage fine from an electronic statndpoint but i have not put a meter on it yet.

Am I correct in thinking it is the AC clutch that needs replacement?

 

[wjburken]

Am I correct in thinking it is the AC clutch that needs replacement?

That would be my first guess as when you got better tension on the belt, it got louder and then it broke the belt. That combined with the fact the air is blowing cold, would put the clutch assembly at the top of my suspect list.

 

[Doubeleive]

I would bet money the compressor is going out, and it's better to replace it now before it blows metal thru your whole system and cost 4 times as much to fix, your first clue is the noise, 2nd clue is the broken belt meaning it seized up and snapped it but then kept going (normally they just throw the belt), 3rd clue is the noise increases with load but may sound fine at idle.
4th clue is you take the belt off and everything sounds fine

 

[Scottydoggs]

thats the compressor taking a crap on ya. had the same issue on my pick up. broke the belt first, then snapped the tensioner, then new tensioner and the belt broke again. new compressor fixed i tall up nice.

 

[Doubeleive]

if you take off the belt and spin it by hand you may be able to hear the noise also depending on how bad it is.

 

[Doubeleive]

thats the compressor taking a crap on ya. had the same issue on my pick up. broke the belt first, then snapped the tensioner, then new tensioner and the belt broke again. new compressor fixed i tall up nice.

a couple of mine sounded like a alligator was eating nuts and bolts inside a garbage can

 

[SnowDrifter]

At risk of asking the obvious: Where is the noise coming from?

 

[JetBlackNali]

https://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/posts/1141557/

 

[SnowDrifter]

https://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/posts/1141557/

Not my intention to derail the thread, but I'd be curious to know if that oil buildup issue might be due to overfilling with oil?

It's a stupid, yet common practice - one which I've gotten into shouting matches before - to blindly add an ounce of oil when doing an a/c service. Don't know where it started, don't know why. But damn near everywhere I've seen carries it forward. Guess measuring how much comes out during an evac is too difficult?

 

[HiHoeSilver]

Not my intention to derail the thread, but I'd be curious to know if that oil buildup issue might be due to overfilling with oil?

It's a stupid, yet common practice - one which I've gotten into shouting matches before - to blindly add an ounce of oil when doing an a/c service. Don't know where it started, don't know why. But damn near everywhere I've seen carries it forward. Guess measuring how much comes out during an evac is too difficult?

Ageed. It's called "critical" charge for a reason.