Hey folks, I had the a/c clutch on my 04 Burb give up on a recent lengthy road trip and now that we are back home I need to dig into repairs. I've already had the clutch off and it was full of burnt/melted friction material. The bearing is also shot on the pulley. I've done some preliminary reading which suggests that I should consider replacing the whole front of the system (compressor, dryer, condenser etc) due to the heated generated when the clutch failed. Are there any good resources on how to do this (I do have the rear a/c as well)? Also, is there any other diagnosis I should be doing?
A/C issues
- Thread starter shegarty
- Start date
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SnowDrifter
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Need an exacuation system so you don't release refrigerant into the atmosphere. You'll also need to measure how much oil comes out during evac, as well as how much oil comes out of each part your remove. Good practice in general to solvent flush the system and get rid of all oil if it'll be apart for any length of time. The PAG stuff is hygroscopic like your brake fluid. From there replace the oil in the appropriate parts with the specified amount. They'll ship with oil in it. Discard and replace the stuff because, again, moisture.
From there, when it's assembled, you'll want to pull a vaccuum and close all valves. Let sit for 20 or 30 mins to verify there are no major leaks. Then turn on the vaccuum pump and let it run for another 30. Or more if you have time you're looking to pull a deep vaccuum here to remove all possible traces of air AND moisture. Then you can refill with the appropriate amount of refrigerant by weight, and add any remainder oil you couldn't fit before. No more than about 2oz with this method.
From there, you're testing the system and verifying pressures/operation
You'll want to also replace the expansion valve and accumulator / dryer / whatever the hell ya want to call it. If there is any metla in the expansion valve screen, then you'll want to dig deep and replace anything with fins as well. Condensor, and both evaporator. Unless you're that confident with your solvent flushes that you can remove the metal. Happens fairly often where you get serial compressor failures because there's some metal still floating in the system causing it to continuously eat itself
From there, when it's assembled, you'll want to pull a vaccuum and close all valves. Let sit for 20 or 30 mins to verify there are no major leaks. Then turn on the vaccuum pump and let it run for another 30. Or more if you have time you're looking to pull a deep vaccuum here to remove all possible traces of air AND moisture. Then you can refill with the appropriate amount of refrigerant by weight, and add any remainder oil you couldn't fit before. No more than about 2oz with this method.
From there, you're testing the system and verifying pressures/operation
You'll want to also replace the expansion valve and accumulator / dryer / whatever the hell ya want to call it. If there is any metla in the expansion valve screen, then you'll want to dig deep and replace anything with fins as well. Condensor, and both evaporator. Unless you're that confident with your solvent flushes that you can remove the metal. Happens fairly often where you get serial compressor failures because there's some metal still floating in the system causing it to continuously eat itself
OneofFew
Full Access Member
If it was just the clutch that failed, I would not see a need for replacing the evap and condenser... If the compressor failed internally, it would be prudent to at least replace the condenser. No debris should make it to the evaporators through the orfice tube.
I would assume the clutch burned up because your bearing failed, not the compressor itself. IDK if failed bearings would introduce debris into your system. Just taking off the lines at the compressor and checking for debris should answer that.
I would assume the clutch burned up because your bearing failed, not the compressor itself. IDK if failed bearings would introduce debris into your system. Just taking off the lines at the compressor and checking for debris should answer that.
