2013 Tahoe A/C compressor Clutch

[Atrevino0497]

A couple weeks ago, I went to start my. ‘13 Tahoe up and turn on the ac and I noticed a slight screeching after hearing the ac Clutch engage, it wasn’t terrible but it was like a buzzing screeching noise like a bad pulley would sound like and it would go away after a minute or 2 tops only when the clutch is engaged.

The only time I’ll hear the noise now is the first start of the day and it’s gone, even after letting it sit all day at work and coming back out 10 hours later. Ac blows very cold still and a lot of the time I have to keep it on low because I get cold, I was doing some investigating this past weekend after replacing my tensioner and idler pulley and changing my oil and nothing appears loose or wobbly, no smells of anything burning or anything of that sort.

I decided to have a complete new gm clutch kit on the way to be delivered next week, ive watched a few videos on how to do it. The hardest part is trying to get a view to get the snap ring holding the coil in, does anyone have any general tips or advice when completing this job? I’m cutting the old belt off and installing a new stretch belt. I have feeler gauges for the air gap, snap ring pliers and gear puller already to get the old pulley bearing off.

 

[Miami-Dade]

Moved you here from 2021+section.

 

[Trey Hardy]

A couple weeks ago, I went to start my. ‘13 Tahoe up and turn on the ac and I noticed a slight screeching after hearing the ac Clutch engage, it wasn’t terrible but it was like a buzzing screeching noise like a bad pulley would sound like and it would go away after a minute or 2 tops only when the clutch is engaged.

The only time I’ll hear the noise now is the first start of the day and it’s gone, even after letting it sit all day at work and coming back out 10 hours later. Ac blows very cold still and a lot of the time I have to keep it on low because I get cold, I was doing some investigating this past weekend after replacing my tensioner and idler pulley and changing my oil and nothing appears loose or wobbly, no smells of anything burning or anything of that sort.

I decided to have a complete new gm clutch kit on the way to be delivered next week, ive watched a few videos on how to do it. The hardest part is trying to get a view to get the snap ring holding the coil in, does anyone have any general tips or advice when completing this job? I’m cutting the old belt off and installing a new stretch belt. I have feeler gauges for the air gap, snap ring pliers and gear puller already to get the old pulley bearing off.

Ratchet wrench’s short long and swivel ends that won’t break when you’re trying to break the bolts loose.
get some pry bars to help hold the compressor up as you try to lower and get the new one in and lined up.
Belts a biotch to get on also.
Make sure not to for get the o rings for the accumulator lines so when you recharge it you don’t leak all your freon out.
Took me about 4-5 hours to the shop with my buddy loaning me the tools I needed

 

[Geotrash]

Ratchet wrench’s short long and swivel ends that won’t break when you’re trying to break the bolts loose.
get some pry bars to help hold the compressor up as you try to lower and get the new one in and lined up.
Belts a biotch to get on also.
Make sure not to for get the o rings for the accumulator lines so when you recharge it you don’t leak all your freon out.
Took me about 4-5 hours to the shop with my buddy loaning me the tools I needed

The way I read it he's just swapping the clutch, not the whole compressor.

That said, I'm not sure the clutch is the problem. These systems can sometimes build up a slug of refrigerant and compressor oil that takes a few seconds to fully clear on the first start of the day. I would first check the condition of the existing stretch belt. If it shows any signs of glazing, then a new belt would likely solve the problem.

Maybe a video of the sound would be helpful to post here.

 

[Atrevino0497]

Moved you here from 2021+section.

Oh shoot. Thankyou very much! I thought I posted in the correct one. I apologize

 

[Atrevino0497]

The way I read it he's just swapping the clutch, not the whole compressor.

That said, I'm not sure the clutch is the problem. These systems can sometimes build up a slug of refrigerant and compressor oil that takes a few seconds to fully clear on the first start of the day. I would first check the condition of the existing stretch belt. If it shows any signs of glazing, then a new belt would likely solve the problem.

Maybe a video of the sound would be helpful to post here.

The noise hasn’t happened for a week now oddly enough, however I looked at the belt and I couldn’t see any glazing , cracking or fraying at all. However since it is a stretch belt it doesn’t mean it doesn’t supply enough tension. However I found a video on YouTube that sounds almost the same as what mine was doing at 0:45 seconds. Except it’s only the squeaking portion and lasts about the same duration.

 

[Geotrash]

The noise hasn’t happened for a week now oddly enough, however I looked at the belt and I couldn’t see any glazing , cracking or fraying at all. However since it is a stretch belt it doesn’t mean it doesn’t supply enough tension. However I found a video on YouTube that sounds almost the same as what mine was doing at 0:45 seconds. Except it’s only the squeaking portion and lasts about the same duration.

Really hard to say without getting a mechanic's stethoscope in there. But when those clutches start to fail, they can sometimes squeak like that as they slip. But I go back to the question of why the slip? Is it a slug of refrigerant causing more drag on the system, thus causing the slip? Or is it the compressor starting to seize up with bad bearings? Who knows. No harm in changing the clutch if you can get it off. But maybe first remove the belt and see how freely the thing turns by hand.

I replaced the whole compressor in my 2007 with a new Denso unit last winter because I was getting harsh compressor engagement sometimes and it kept throwing the belt (mine still had the tensioner). I also went with the stretch belt this time and while I will rarely still get harsh compressor engagement, it no longer throws the belt. The AC has never been so cold.

 

[Atrevino0497]

Really hard to say without getting a mechanic's stethoscope in there. But when those clutches start to fail, they can sometimes squeak like that as they slip. But I go back to the question of why the slip? Is it a slug of refrigerant causing more drag on the system, thus causing the slip? Or is it the compressor starting to seize up with bad bearings? Who knows. No harm in changing the clutch if you can get it off. But maybe first remove the belt and see how freely the thing turns by hand.

I replaced the whole compressor in my 2007 with a new Denso unit last winter because I was getting harsh compressor engagement sometimes and it kept throwing the belt (mine still had the tensioner). I also went with the stretch belt this time and while I will rarely still get harsh compressor engagement, it no longer throws the belt. The AC has never been so cold.

It’s very strange, the noise hasn’t come back at all. I received the new genuine gm clutch kit today, I’ll tackle that job this weekend.

My guesstimate is that it’s the pulley itself and or the belt, or maybe when I changed those hvac plastic coolant t-connectors maybe some coolant got in there? Because it wasn’t too long after that the noise started up. My ac blows really cold and I often have to turn it down or shut it off because my hands are frozen when driving.

I know she’s at that age with just hitting 134k miles where some things are needing attention and then she will be 100% again for a good while, and this is the only thing hopefully needing attention everything else works amazing and no other issues/noises. I like to stay on top of everything right away and the noise it was causing isn’t something I’m willing to ignore. So since the clutch is the cheapest right now I’ll go ahead and give that a whirl and monitor going forward, if I have to replace the whole compressor at least I have the option to take the belt off and keep driving while I get all the parts.

If hypothetically it is the compressor, I can take it in to get discharged and do it myself on a weekend and take it back in to get vacuumed out and recharged. Luckily it’s only a handful of bolts holding it in. However with that being said if I need to go that route what else would I want to change along with the compressor besides the o rings for the lines? I do know if it seizes up I’m going to want to replace the condenser if metal particles get in the tiny fins and clog it all up

 

[Geotrash]

It’s very strange, the noise hasn’t come back at all. I received the new genuine gm clutch kit today, I’ll tackle that job this weekend.

My guesstimate is that it’s the pulley itself and or the belt, or maybe when I changed those hvac plastic coolant t-connectors maybe some coolant got in there? Because it wasn’t too long after that the noise started up. My ac blows really cold and I often have to turn it down or shut it off because my hands are frozen when driving.

I know she’s at that age with just hitting 134k miles where some things are needing attention and then she will be 100% again for a good while, and this is the only thing hopefully needing attention everything else works amazing and no other issues/noises. I like to stay on top of everything right away and the noise it was causing isn’t something I’m willing to ignore. So since the clutch is the cheapest right now I’ll go ahead and give that a whirl and monitor going forward, if I have to replace the whole compressor at least I have the option to take the belt off and keep driving while I get all the parts.

If hypothetically it is the compressor, I can take it in to get discharged and do it myself on a weekend. Because it’s only a handful of bolts holding it in. With that being said hypothetically what else would I want to change along with the compressor besides the o rings for the lines?

I think I'd be inclined to let it be and just keep the clutch in your inventory right now. Coolant will make a belt squeal under load, for sure, but unless the belt looks glazed or worn, I would let it ride a while. The original compressor and clutch on my '07 went 230K, and in hindsight, it wasn't really bad. Simply draining some of the oil out of the system would likely have solved the problem. The shop I used to evacuate the system said they see situations all the time where people have used those cheap parts store cans with a hose to top their systems up, and they often contain stop leaks and oil, which over time start gumming up the works. And indeed, I had used some of those when I first got the truck because the AC wasn't working thanks to a leaking Schrader valve on the low pressure port and I didn't know any better.

To answer your question though, when replacing the compressor, it's always good practice to change out the accumulator/drier (that big aluminum can on the firewall), and the orifice tube, along with the Schrader valves on the high and low pressure ports since they're a common leak point on these.

I now have a full set of gauges, vacuum pump and tools, so any AC work I do now is by the book.

 

[Atrevino0497]

She started making noise again so I decided to tackle the job. Here’s a huge difference between the two of them