A/C pulley issue

[Torinalth]

a couple days ago i started to hear a rather harsh noise comming from under the hood, sounded like a pressurized water hose that had a leak... it happened off and on and noticed its only when my AC compressor was on... well, now i'm starting to get more issues. that issue has seemed to have stopped... but now the pulley on the compressor is dragging a bit. its a lively metal on metal sound, kinda like when stopping a car that no longer has any brake pads, that lovely high paced metal friction. it only really happens at idle and when very slow, when i get the speed up (30mph +) it goes away, but once the speed breaks that for a while or i stop and go back to idle, it kicks up again. when i turn on the AC i can see the clutch engague and the pulley spins... i turn the AC off and it stops... however those 4 lil studs that are on the otter piece vibrate a good bit back and forth almost like the clutch is not fully disengagued, or its dragging.

does anyone know the best way to take care of this? can the pulley be changed, or am i looking at a new compressor? or is it something that can easily be taken care of?

Torinalth

 

[COramprat]

I swapped the pulley and it took care of the problem. But it's not cheap. The pulley assembly is $130. It includes the pulley, clutch coil and new spacers/bolt. The center bolt is the only one you need to remove. The outer 4 are on the new assembly and are not removed. In order to have the coil operate properly you will need one of the washer/spacers to give it about 0.30 of a mm spacing. I just used one of the thicker ones and it worked fine.

 

[Nuar]

Heh i have an entire AC compressor from my old motor. it has about 61k miles on it and the AC was almost never used...
it is a 2000 GT windsor block (dont know if that matters)
shoot me a pm if you are interested.
Either way, good luck with the solution man.

 

[Ronald Jones]

I'm having exactly the same problem. Your compressor sounds as if it works fine. You don’t want to replace it if all you are having is a problem with the clutch hub. The pulley has a pretty solid bearing and this should also be fine. The part you want to replace is the part that goes in front of the pulley which is called the A/C clutch hub, if you are having the same problem that I am having, this is the part that need to be replaced, its less than $30. If you ask for an A/C clutch assembly than they'll sell you all three parts, which includes the coil, the pulley and the clutch hub, and this will cost more than a $100. I'll be buying the clutch hub sometime today myself, and this should take care of your problem as well. By the way when I enter part #F5VY-19D786-A it comes back and shows #1F1Z-19D786-AA supercedes it. Hopefully this is an upgraded part. My original part looks like the Motorcraft part # YB609, and 2 of the rubber bushings that were on the studs are missing, only 1 was missing when I checked yesterday. Let us know how you get your problem resolved.

 

[KronicRacer]

just get the clutch assembly,, the sooner it gets replaced the better. especially if the sound is constant.

 

[Torinalth]

well i got a replacement clutch, pulley and whatnot... started to disassemble and now i see the issue... the clutch has almost not tension, but the big thing is the bearing is completely shot... surround is gone, missing a load of ball bearings... its just horked... and i cant seem to get the pulley or the back piece off... no matter what i try its just stuck there. the annoying thing is the pulley stil turns, just cant get it off. anything i can try? no i dont have a puller and the parts stores are closed... i need my car for tomorrow.... ANY help?

Torinalth

 

[Torinalth]

ok, now i am getting angry. i tracked down a puller, got the old one off, got the new one on. routed the belt, and the clutch is still dragging when ac is off, and still not fully engagued when AC is on... sooooo this causes an astonishingly loud screaching sound and if i keep it going i KNOW it will burn up /sieze.

next question... how does the compressor work? does it move that lil shaft in and out to pull the clutch in and engague then push that shaft out to disengague? if this is the case, think my compressor is dead and no longer retracting?

Torinalth

 

[Torinalth]

does nobody have any other thoughts or information? helms manual is useless on this issue.

 

[jstreet0204]

You need to add spacer washers until you get between 0.35 and 0.85 clearance between the clutch and the hub that should take care of the noise.

 

[Torinalth]

where did you dig that up from?!?! that woulda been HELLA nice to know before hand... now i just need to get one of those lil measuring sticks to see if i'm at the right depth.

thanks a ton, and hope thats all... really hope the compressor isnt fried. curiously... where did you find that?

 

[Torinalth]

ok... now its no longer rubbing... however, i dont think the electro magnet is working, even though its a new one. being a magnet.... when the AC is on, it pulls the clutch into place, right? well, then shouldnt it also attract a screw driver or allen wrench? i thought i had it spaced too far off... even though i had the smallest spacer... but then tested it with a few metal tools, and i get no pull.... is this thing like REALLY weak? or do you think i hae a short? and no, i sadly do not have a volt meter.... i'll check fuses, but anything someone can suggest in the mean time would rock at the very least i can drive the car, AC or not, i can at least get to work

Torinalth

 

[Torinalth]

HAH - compressor pressure fuse was blown not engaguing the electro magnet..... all is working perfectly now....

woo, one trashed pulley/bearing, warped clutch disk, and faulty electro magnet for parts... and a damn washer and fuse for stupidity. wow... I really shoulda asked coramprat to elaborate... he was correct, but was kinda lost as to the meaning of the spacing... TY Jstreet for spelling it out... wow i feel like an idiot, but am so happy my baby is working again. TYTYTYTYTYTYTYTY

Torinalth

 

[nemo69]

FYI...I had the same problem. It is a known issue with ford, and they have a TSB regarding it. As long as your car is under warranty, they should fix it for you, no charge. If it isn't under warranty, raise hell and they should fix it for you for either REALLY cheap or not at all. It is an engineering mistake. As ford does, they think that even though you have a GT, you will still drive it like a V6...they'll learn sooner or later!

 

[Torinalth]

so true so true... my car is at 94k now... way outta warrenty but at least i can get some sleep for once this weekend... been working on it since friday. glad that i can finally rest

Torinalth