1995 Civic LX 4-dr.

A/C clutch bearing was noisy for a couple of weeks (not really bad), then it froze up and now, you can barely turn it by hand.

I'm replacing the compressor after my friend reclaims the 'freon' with his machine.

My question is: "How do you tell if metal fragments are in the system?"

What warrants replacing the condenser, drier, evap? Any or all?

I appreciate your advice and comments.

-william

 

Is the pulley bearing just bad? If so, there's no need to replace the entire compressor.

 

Pulley bearing was grumbling. I knew it was going out.

Now, compressor is really hard to turn even though I removed the armature plate and rotor pulley.

Plus, the outer lip of the coil is corroded and wire shows through.

 

The coil and clutch set are replaceable without removing the compressor from the car, if you have the right tools and patience. I'm trying to figure out whether the compressor had an internal failure or just a clutch set/coil failure. Not sure yet.

 

If that bearing seized on the pulley, then it would be making life hard on the internal parts of the compressor.

My first thought was replacing clutch and/or coil. I was going to do this 2 weeks ago but I discovered the 92 civic compressors that I have were different and the pulley wouldn't fit on the 95.

 

I'm not sure this^ is true.

 

I think you better take the compressor out and remove the clutch and coil.Then take a piece of rubber mat (or something similar) around the shaft ,grab it with wise grips and try to turn it over.It doesn't take long and your buddy has an A/C machine.It will give you and us the idea about the damage.

 

You may be able to do this without removing the compressor. This could possibly save you from replacing the receiver/dryer and recharging the system.

 

Sure,if you have enough room.But I think that you will have less resistance to rotation if the system will be empty, no?

 

After replacing the compressor, I took the old one apart. It has a series of spiral metal blades. Those were broken.

Very interesting.

 

Can you take/post pictures of the broken scroll blades? Was the compressor slowing the car when it engaged? Mine is doing that and slowly losing cooling to the point the A/C is no longer usable (figures, right before a 110 degree heat wave).

I have a '95 del sol S. My A/C clutch has been noisy recently, emitting a loud click when engaging. Do I have a clutch problem or a compressor problem? My car slows when it engages and goes faster when it disengages (more than normally).

I have an R134a manifold/gauge set. How can I use this to diagnose a possible compressor problem? What readings should I be looking for on the gauges pressure-wise?

To the OP - did you replace any other parts besides the compressor and is your system performing well now?

 

I haven't figured out how to load photos yet. Yes, the engine was having to work harder (the clutch bearing stuff was making it harder to turn). Then, it finally seized. Didn't lose the freon though.