Air-con compressor clutch pulley

xp_wannabe · 20-08-2012, 09:17 AM

G'day guys and girls.

I have an AU2 XR6 VCT, and have just replaced the belt, water pump, and all idler/tensioner pulleys, trying to chase a squeal noise coming from the engine, to no avail...

The noise only happens when the air con is on. I originally thought that it was just placing extra load on the system and that the noise wasn't actually coming from the air con pulley, but after replacing all of the above, I reckon that is my next port of call...

Can you replace the air con pulley on its own? If so, where is the best place to get one and how much should I expect to pay?

Does it require removal of the compressor?

Thanks, Mark

**Jastel** · 20-08-2012, 07:51 PM

Been a while since I had an AU but I think you can.
You undo the nut in the middle and the clutch comes off and in behind that is a bearing you can change, held in by a circlip I think.
Just buy at bearing shops.

Are you sure the clutch is not slipping, this makes a squealing sound, the clutch should be on or off, not jerky and slipping. IIRC there is a thin spacer you can remove to make it closer and engage properly, another plan is to rough up the clutch face with a pin punch or something so it grips better.

The compressor stays on the car and you dont lose gas, just take the pulley and clutch section off.

xp_wannabe · 20-08-2012, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jastel

Been a while since I had an AU but I think you can.
You undo the nut in the middle and the clutch comes off and in behind that is a bearing you can change, held in by a circlip I think.
Just buy at bearing shops.

Are you sure the clutch is not slipping, this makes a squealing sound, the clutch should be on or off, not jerky and slipping. IIRC there is a thin spacer you can remove to make it closer and engage properly, another plan is to rough up the clutch face with a pin punch or something so it grips better.

The compressor stays on the car and you dont lose gas, just take the pulley and clutch section off.

Thanks mate.

Yes the clutch is jerky and slipping, you can see this clearly with the air intake removed and looking down at the compressor with the engine running.

The only bolt/nut that I can see on the front of the pulley (in the centre) is pretty small, looks to be about 8-10mm, is that right?

Thanks again.

**cs123** · 20-08-2012, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xp_wannabe

Thanks mate.

Yes the clutch is jerky and slipping, you can see this clearly with the air intake removed and looking down at the compressor with the engine running.

The only bolt/nut that I can see on the front of the pulley (in the centre) is pretty small, looks to be about 8-10mm, is that right?

Thanks again.

You may be better off trying to source an entire clutch if you can see the clutch slipping.

The bearing in the centre is a rather large expensive bearing and not much fun to replace. You can source them from A/C specialists. I am not sure they are available from a standard bearing shop, but might be. The bearing will only spin when the AC is off. It allows the front of the compressor to spin. When the clutch is activated the two pieces are pulled together and they turn at the same speed driving the input shaft of the compressor. If you are hearing squeals then this is probably the surfaces of the clutch slipping.

**Jastel** · 21-08-2012, 02:06 PM

Yes the centre nut comes off, then you carefully lever the clutch bit off. I think the spacer thing is under there, removce it and see if it fixes the slip.

It is fiddly, doing things upside down and by mirror but can be done.

Be aware if you get new compressor a regas cost $$$$$ now.

Jackie Joy · 08-11-2018, 09:04 PM

AU air con pump, clutch & pulley - yeah (I know this is in reply to over 6 years ago, but there may be others with the same problem) - My AU started to cut out on idle, with a tinny shuddering noise. I thought it might be the cheap 7-11 petrol, but it turned out that when I switched off the air con the problem stopped. Luckily there was smoke coming out of the air con clutch, so I started looking there. Nothing worse than not knowing what the problem is. Obvious things like smoke, fire, rattles, things falling off absolutely welcome as diagnostic aids! Anyway no problem as long as the air con off. I tried to turn the front of the air con pump by hand (that's the part that stays at rest when the clutch is off) and it seemed really seized up. Don't know how that can happen. Anybody else come across a seized up air con pump?