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Did I just kill my a/c compressor?

IslanderOffRoad

IslanderOffRoad

NAXJA Forum User
NAXJA Member
Location
Houston, Tx
Was driving my Jeep to work this morning with the a/c on, just got it back up last night from a radiator issue. Got off the freeway, noticed a clacking noise comming from the engine when at idle, then at the next stop light got some major belt squeal. turned the a/c off and it went away.

tried turning the a/c on a few min later to see what was going on, and noticed a noise again, plus a chemical smell comming through the vents. turned it back off.

got to work, gave it a quick test while parked, when the a/c is on i'm getting a bad vibration coupled with a 300rpm drop... it didn't do that before.

So did I seize a compressor bearing this morning? I just got this a/c system working again about a month ago, have been having a squeal problem that I thought was a loose belt, unknown how long it had been out of comission as it didn't work when I bought the Jeep last year.

Thanks in advance.
 
I have the same problem, I get nasty squealing when I turn the AC on. Will you PM me what it is so I don't have to hijack the thread?
 
Could be internal compressor damage or clogged filter dryer, or clogged expansion valve. Usually a high or low pressure switch will disingage the compressor when something gets clogged. If the pressure switches are working best bet is compressor is shot.

You need to get a set of gauges on the AC and see what the pressure is doing. I had an expansion valve go bad, sealed off, no flow, right after major hose, filter dryer and refrigerant upgrade / replacement on mine. Suction was droping to a vacuum in one second on the low pressure side.

What work has been done on the AC since you bought it?
 
I had it recharged last month. I took it to my a/c guy to troubleshoot and he couldn't figure out why it all had leaked out other than that a fitting was loose, so he recharged it and sent me on my way.

The nice thing is he said if there's an issue with it he wont charge me for another refill.
 
most likely,your AC clutch bearing was getting sloppy,allowing your clutch to rub on your coil,melting/burning the plastic surrounding the coil.
A close examination of the radiator hose near the AC clutch might reveal the plastic splattering of your melted coil inside your AC clutch.
 
I would check with your a/c guy and ask him what type of refrigerent he put in, with or without compressor oil.

If I recall you can buy one that has the oil already mixed in with it or the one that you have to add the oil too. If he serviced it with the one without the oil ask him if he added the oil to the system charge. If he didn't it could have caused the compressor to STB.
 
XJNewBeeA&PMech, where are you in the DFW area? I work on aircraft myself, and am about to rebuild the AC in my Pioneer. Pm me if you have a chance.
 
Same thing happened to my wife's 2000 XJ. The clutch's bearing was wasted. Went to the junkyard and pulled a clutch from an older model, and swapped the bearing into her clutch. Fixed! And all it cost was $10.00 and a couple hours of my time!
 
IslanderOffRoad said:
Was driving my Jeep to work this morning with the a/c on, just got it back up last night from a radiator issue. Got off the freeway, noticed a clacking noise comming from the engine when at idle, then at the next stop light got some major belt squeal. turned the a/c off and it went away.

tried turning the a/c on a few min later to see what was going on, and noticed a noise again, plus a chemical smell comming through the vents. turned it back off.

got to work, gave it a quick test while parked, when the a/c is on i'm getting a bad vibration coupled with a 300rpm drop... it didn't do that before.

So did I seize a compressor bearing this morning? I just got this a/c system working again about a month ago, have been having a squeal problem that I thought was a loose belt, unknown how long it had been out of comission as it didn't work when I bought the Jeep last year.

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

If you did break it, no worries - replacing the compressor takes all of 10 minutes. Four bolts hold it down, one bolt clamps down the manifold assembly on top of the compressor, and there's one electrical connector. Remember this will cause you to lost your refrigerant.

Btw this could have been a result of you or whoever charged the system putting either the wrong type of oil or possibly little or no oil. Some "AC mechanics" don't even know that these systems require oil.
 
The guy I used is pretty knowledgable, not the first time my family has used him.

I had a R12 system, he converted it to R134A.

Side question: would a seiezed compressor cause a fan belt to shred if I was running the a/c for a bit after it siezed?
 
Without a doubt it could shred, glaze, or melt the belt. :roll:

Good that you have a I am EXTREMELY leary of ac mechanics now - its the kind of field where the only real way to be immune to being severely ripped off is to have some experience with the systems - in a place like Memphis, it gets so hot that those bastards pretty much have you in a chokehold.

Anyway I would just go to a junkyard and grab a low mile r12 compressor from an early Xj. If you have the patience, id recommend charging the system yourself - if you just get some gauges, hoses, oil, and refrigerant, and rent an electric vaccuum pump, you can do work that not only can you be confident in, but you get to keep the tools instead of just paying for someone else's labor.
 
a/c is one of those things i dont want to touch myself. i doubt it will be getting fixed any time soon as i dont have the cash to pay him to do it, and i dont want to buy an old one that will do this again.

if i could jut replace the clutch with a new one, i would do that, is that an option?
 
IslanderOffRoad said:
The guy I used is pretty knowledgable, not the first time my family has used him.

I had a R12 system, he converted it to R134A.

Side question: would a seiezed compressor cause a fan belt to shred if I was running the a/c for a bit after it siezed?
Click to expand...

If he did not replace the filter dryer with an R-134a dryer, then the R-12 desicant in the old dryer could have decomposed, gotten loose in the system and killed the compressor. I am told the old R-12 desicant is not compatible the new R-134a and the R-134a oil it uses.

There are lot of people making the switch over with out upgrading the dryers, but I think many of their compressors are self destructing within a year or so of the change due to the dryer desicant incompatability. It does not happen immediately.
 
Ecomike said:
If he did not replace the filter dryer with an R-134a dryer, then the R-12 desicant in the old dryer could have decomposed, gotten loose in the system and killed the compressor. I am told the old R-12 desicant is not compatible the new R-134a and the R-134a oil it uses.

There are lot of people making the switch over with out upgrading the dryers, but I think many of their compressors are self destructing within a year or so of the change due to the dryer desicant incompatability. It does not happen immediately.
Click to expand...

I'll have to take it to him to check I guess.
 
Can anyone confirm if I can just replace the clutch?
 
If the belt is not binding and squealing when the AC is OFF, it is not the clutch bearing, it is the compressor or something blocking the flow and causing high back pressure on the compressor that is putting it in a bind.

If the belt is bind up and squealing all the time, even with the AC off, then the clutch and or clutch bearing is toast. I have had to replace a clutch bearing on a 96 back in 2001, less than 100,000 miles, so it is possible (not unheard of). I replaced the entire clutch/bearing assy. when I did that one, with a new one.

You will need to borrow a tool or two for piuling the pully and bearing, and maybe need a press if you replace just the bearing, but I don't for sure. I know it takes a puller to get the clutch/bearing assy off the compressor. Some places rent them for free like Autozone, if they have one. Just takes a refundable deposit to borrrow them.
 
i saw the pulley spin pretty damn freely the other day when i lost a belt, so i'm guessing thats not it then.
 
I don't know if you can on this model of compressor, but try spinning the center of the compressor with the car off. It should turn over pretty easily.

Like I said, a new one from a junkyard would cost 25 and 30 minutes of work, including pulling and installation - it is SERIOUSLY easy. Best of all, you can tell the mec that you don't know what happened to the r134 and get a free fillup. :firedevil This would probably be a buttload cheaper than buying just the clutch, and there are loads of 87-90's lying around in yards. PM me if you need any help...
 
side note to this one.

i'd like to have use of the defroster until i can fix it, any way to make it so the a/c doesnt come on with the defroster?
 
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