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At wits end with air conditioning

IslanderOffRoad

IslanderOffRoad

NAXJA Forum User
NAXJA Member
Location
Houston, Tx
Just had a brand new Sanden compressor put into my XJ. Bought the part off ebay, local A/C shop put it in. They said the Jeep needed a new fan clutch so I replaced that before running the a/c

Fired it up for the first time tonight and went to use the a/c. Whenever I'm on throttle the a/c squeals like crazy.

What is this? Is the new compressor junk? Belt problem? The squeal goes away when its turned off.

Help. Its 3 weeks to Moab and I want a/c through the desert.
 
how tight should a belt be?
 
Chit, i'm the wrong person to ask.. I just keep tighting my belt till it stop slipping.. I know thats not what you wanted to hear right
 
I was told years ago to take a spot with some distance between pulleys and try to turn the belt over. It should turn roughly 90 degrees from flat. Anymore to loose any less to tight. I am sure there are other ways that may work better.

Also mine squealed when a/c was on. Would stop after a while but would do it for the first 10 minutes of running. It turned out to be the idler pulley.
 
Last edited:
i'll be picking up one of those tensioner tools tomorrow

thanks
 
Also check if the belt is glazed. My mini-van had accessory squeal, replaced the AC clutch only solved half of it, replacing the seemingly good belt got rid of the other half of the squeal.

Usually, I've only got belt squeal when the belt was obviously bad, glazed, frayed, etc. In this one case, the belt looked worn but still had life in it, but a new belt solved the squeal.

These big serpentine belts, put all the stress on a single belt, they are expensive, but probably worth it to spend extra on a good qaulity belt. Gates or NAPA (which Gates just re-branded).
 
I've got a gatorback thats barely over a year old, I think the belt itself is fine, just needs to be tightened.
 
IslanderOffRoad said:
i'll be picking up one of those tensioner tools tomorrow

thanks
Click to expand...
you dont need special tools. just regular rachet and socket. tightens at the steering pump. i had a squeal with my AC too. i tightened the hell outta the belt. fine now.
 
tigerShark said:
you dont need special tools. just regular rachet and socket. tightens at the steering pump. i had a squeal with my AC too. i tightened the hell outta the belt. fine now.
Click to expand...

i know how to tighten it, the tool is to measure how tight it is. something called a kriket ii
 
Assuming the new compressor had a new clutch assembly on it, did you break it in? I read something in the FSM about needing to cycle it like 25 times in a specific time frame to get the correct wear pattern. I don't recall all the details as I was not replacing my clutch but pulling it out to remove a shim behind it. The airgap of the clutch had become too large from normal wear and would only make light contact. After about 10 minutes of A/C use, it would heat up enough to start slipping and I would lose any cold air from the A/C. Found info on NAXJA about removing the shim to close up the airgap. Worked great and the squealing I would get went away.

Just an FYI to check.
 
I would like to assume the a/c shop would break it in but i dont know for sure
 
ordered a krikit ii from napa today, should have it tomorrow
 
Not so......

My 87 is uber sensitive to belt tension. I had to borrow a guage to get mine right...

I could make the PS pump whine like a kid or I could have the belt squeal. I couldn't find the happy medium that made it shut up until I used the guage.....
 
poorboy_616 said:
Not so......

My 87 is uber sensitive to belt tension. I had to borrow a guage to get mine right...

I could make the PS pump whine like a kid or I could have the belt squeal. I couldn't find the happy medium that made it shut up until I used the guage.....
Click to expand...

hm...mine was squeeling like a banshee. i had to replace the entire belt and clean all the pullies to get it to stop.
 
Mines doing basically the same thing. Fine when ac is off, squeals like hell until it gets up to speed.Once i slow down or stop and it squeals again until I hit about 20 KPH. Tried to tighten the belt, and that works for a bit but then it started again. SO where do i find one of these tension guages?
 
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