A/C Compressor clutch assy.

Yes, another A/C question. The Compressor clutch on my '01 is almost worn flat, no friction surface left whatsoever. I checked around to the major aftermarket sources for just the clutch assembly, and all of them say it is not available. You have to buy the compressor with the new clutch on it. Rebuilt-$200. New-$400. Dealer can get me just the clutch assembly, but it will cost $290. Rebuilt compressor from dealer-$480. New from dealer-$679.
Has anyone changed out just the clutch assembly, and if so where did you get it, and did it come with an assortment of shims to set it up properly? Thanks.

My clutch is completly out... For all the checking I have done around here, its the whole compressor or nothing... So for now I will continue with no a/c...

I don't know if the clutch can be easily removed by a DIYer. I recently needed to replace the clutch, as the freewheel bearing was noisy. I tried to remove the clutch assembly, but found that the insides come out also. The A/C stopped working last summer, so I didn't lose any refrigerant when I had a handful of little pistons. I just ended up putting a junkyard compressor on, to use the pulley for the serp. belt. I found out that the Dorman/Help A/C Compressor Eliminator does NOT fit an XJ without a little modification.

Best thing to do is try to find a decent yard piece, swap it yourself, and have a pro vac it and charge it. Be careful with years-I got a low mile '95 compressor-still had a charge-but the hoses on my '96 do not fit on the '95 compressor. It's quiet, though.

When I was trying to fix my WJ I ran into the same issues, initially. It has been over a year and I am too old to remember where I found replacements. That is not to say they exist! It took awhile to finally locate just the clutch. The key for me was looking in the parts list to find out if the assembly was broken out to the point where there was a clutch PN. I think RockAuto and or AutoZone carried it.
I solved my problem with a spacer change. Still have clutch material left. Good luck and let us know what you find.

Well good luck on your hunt. I'd go with a reman compressors with new clutch. eBay will have them cheaper. Simply swap the clutch. You don't even need to discharge any refrigerant.

You can still find clutches only but there's virtually no difference in price so you may as well buy the compressor and keep it as a spare.

Sorry for the delay to your answers, I was unexpectedly out of town for the past few days.
I had tried looking at Autozone, checker, advance, etc, all with no luck for just the clutch assembly. I did find an old thread where someone removed the shim and reassembled the clutch and it worked fine. Believe it or not, I took my dremel, and with one of the reinforced grinding disks on it, I carefully cut grooves into the flat surface of the clutch plate (outer piece) and on the mating surface of the pulley, and then used some heavy grit paper to give them a somewhat coarse surface, took out the single shim, and then put it all back together. I figured what the heck, what have I got to lose, right. It worked! The A/C stays on, COLD, as long as I want it to, and the clutch now engages and disengages as required all on its own. So at least Ive got A/C for this summer. Buys me time to find another used clutch assembly and prep it for use when it eventually stops working again maybe in a few years. By the way, I did look at the bearing on the pulley piece, and it seems that you COULD press out that bearing and replace it with another one of the exact same size from a bearing shop. Ive done this with alternators with 100% success. Might work here, too.Thanks for the help.

You can find individual parts for the compressor on E Bay for cheap, you can also buy the whole compressor for like $130. You can find tech articles and part # on Sanden's (the compressor manufacturers) website. You might even be able to get replacement parts directly from them. You'll need to get your compressors part# off the tag on the top of it should be like 4784 or something similar you also need the series # it's stamped on the top too it should be like 709t or something if I remember correctly. I just recently bought the bearing and the clutch coil off of EBay so I know the parts are available.