thead

my 99 civic vp has almost 300k miles on it. runs great but my A/C clutch bearing is gone.it makes very bad noise and is almost ready to lock up or blow apart. so instead of buying just the ac clutch, i got a rebuilt compressor and it came with a drier and o-rings and bottle of PAG oil..
is this something i can do in my garage or do i need to take it to a shop to evacuate 134a and refill with 134a? thanks!

carlos8

Man, if your compressor is good just change the clutch/bearing assy. Rebuilt a/c compressor are hit or miss, for my experience never works the same as OEM.

Change the clutch only takes 1/2 to 1 hour depend on your skills, Remove the center bolt (8mm I think) and the belt, take the front clutch plate (by hand or pry it a little with a little flat screw driver) then remove the snap ring holding the clutch and magnet (disconnect the plug). Assembly it again as removed.

thead

well i bought the whole compressor cuz it was the same price as just the clutch. but my A/C has been acting up sometimes this summer by not engaging clutch or clutch not staying engaged for long, and it also popped a fuse once. so i thought the coil might be bad.
i guess i can remove the clutch and coil from my reman compressor and put it on my old compressor. but i would like to know whats involved in changing out the whole compressor and losing and charging back up the system. any help thanks.

carlos8

You need to take the car to a shop that have a recycle machine (normally all a/c shops have one) they subtract your gas and oil, Perform the job and vacuum the system, put new oil and return the gas and add more if is needed.

thead

can i remove my old compressor and drier and bolt new ones in with new o-rings and then go to shop and then have them clean and fill it. or do i have to have them recover the 134a before i take anything apart.

Former User

Have shop recover refrigerant and oil.

If your compressor failed internally, you must flush the system of metal debris.

Replace compressor, receiver/dryer, and O rings.

Place system under a deep vacuum for an hour. Let system sit overnight to see if system holds the vacuum (leak testing).

Recharge system with proper volume of oil and weight of R134a.