AC belt keeps popping off

[BlaineBug]

Update. Stretch belt seems to be working great - no more problems with the belt slipping off so far. I let it sit for 3 days in colder temps and fired it up yesterday afternoon to take it to the grocery store. The initial compressor engagement took about half a second and was much less harsh than before adding the deslugger. After that, every time the compressor engaged it did so normally. As far as I can tell, the deslugger only engages on the first compressor engagement, and only after the ignition has been off for at least 30 minutes. That suggests a revised design than what @gooffeyguy described. I can see no downside to it at this point but I will keep an eye on it through the summer and report back.

Also, I used a sliver sharpie to mark the harmonic balancer as Don suggested and there has been no movement between the inner and outer parts.

From Four Seasons:

The Deslugger is a patented compressor clutch timer that is designed to help prevent “slugging” in low mounted compressors after the vehicle has been sitting idle for over 30 minutes or longer. Upon the next start up, The Deslugger is designed to gradually push oil or liquid refrigerant out of the compressor before it fully engages, relieving the possibility of a catastrophic system failure.

 

[Geotrash]

From Four Seasons:

Yes, I know. I mentioned that because Tom had previously posted in this thread that the one he had did not work in the same way.

 

[gooffeyguy]

How do you think it "gradually pushes oil and refrigerant out before it fully engages"?

By cycling it on and off really quick for a few seconds on startup. I've just noticed that the air coming out at startup seemed warmer for a longer time then usual and I could hear it quickly cycling on and off and just sounded weird to me.

 

[Geotrash]

How do you think it "gradually pushes oil and refrigerant out before it fully engages"?

By cycling it on and off really quick for a few seconds on startup. I've just noticed that the air coming out at startup seemed warmer for a longer time then usual and I could hear it quickly cycling on and off and just sounded weird to me.

Mine is working by stretching out the full engagement of the clutch on the first engagement after startup only. Instead of the clutch fully engaging in one instant, the deslugger pulses it several times within half a second or so (barely noticeable) which acts as a gentle start. After that it doesn't do anything to interfere with the clutch engagement, so yours seems like it was acting differently than intended.

 

[BlaineBug]

Yes, I know. I mentioned that because Tom had previously posted in this thread that the one he had did not work in the same way.

Yes.

 

[Geotrash]

The combo of the stretch belt and the deslugger seems to have been the magic ticket. No more problems with the belt popping off despite many cold starts and plenty of full-throttle pulls, just for testing purposes, of course. No more hard clunks when the compressor engages cold puts my mind at ease.

Fixin' to take it on a 2k mile road trip in April, followed by a 4k mile trip out west in June, pulling a 5x10 cargo trailer on both trips. Operational A/C will be important! Thanks again for all of the ideas and help, guys!