A/C Compressor locked up on me???

isaiah3g

isaiah3g

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This past weekend i was uot and about with the a/c on...blowing nice and cold....then i heard a funny sound from under the hood.
The a/c compressor was locking up and then unlocking...so I turned it completely off and rode with the windows down....

This morning it was freakin freezing,so i turn the heater on and head to work,on my way i heard this noise again when i pulled up to a red light,and smoke was coming out from the fender wells,i pull over and pop the hood...feel the belt just to be sure,and it wasn't hot at all....but the compressor was justa smokin itself away!

Could this be the Clutch that locked up on me?
 
Take the belt off and see what will on wont turn... When you have the heat on the ac cycles to keep the air nice and dry.
 
well I got my boss to look at it and when i turned on the heat the compressor threw sparks...so i went and priced a new compressor clutch... it comes out to be $102.07 thats tax and all...i'll be picking it up tomorrow
 
Are you sure its the clutch and not the compressor itself?

It sounds like the compressor and not the clutch to me...
 
you should be able to turn the compressor by hand, just grab one of the 3 big lugs on the front and turn, if it dont turn then you need a comp
 
well..it spins,but the plate that is behind those 3 things your talking about wiggles all over the place. Theres like half an inch movement with it. I'm pretty sure i lost ALL of the bearing s for it. I've never really looked at it before to see what makes it work,so its just a guess that there was supposed to be bearings behind each one of those little 3 things.
Theres nothing there.
 
as long as the snout and the input shaft of the compressor are ok and you can turn it a clutch kit should be ok
 
If that doesn't work out for you I should have a compressor laying around that came off my 97 parts car, the car ran fine.
 
appreciate the help guys... tomorrow i go to get a new one. and put it on...Its a new thing for me to do,but i'm always up for learning new things :)
Why pay someone else,when I can get the experience right?
 
isaiah3g said:
appreciate the help guys... tomorrow i go to get a new one. and put it on...Its a new thing for me to do,but i'm always up for learning new things :)
Why pay someone else,when I can get the experience right?
Click to expand...

Please let me know how hard a job it ends up being and what steps you had to take to replace the AC clutch? Thanks in advance.
 
well i have the ac clutch in my hand....going to put....eh...TRY to put it on after work today.
I'll try to post pictures for ya.
 
I tried to put a new clutch in the marquis and god was it a bitch. I think there is a special too to get it on the compressor. I spent hours trying to get the first part of the clutch on and gave up. Ended up taking it to midas ( :( ) and got a new comp/clutch.
 
well,wouldn't ya know it....they gave me the wrong part....2 hours DOWN THE DRAIN!
I go back to o'riellys and get another one...this time i'll show them pictures of the old one. :)
 
isaiah3g said:
well,wouldn't ya know it....they gave me the wrong part....2 hours DOWN THE DRAIN!
I go back to o'riellys and get another one...this time i'll show them pictures of the old one. :)
Click to expand...

Yeah that happened to me one time on my Taurus SHO. Man was I pissed because I couldn't drive the car. I had borrowed my wife's car to go get the part and then she went to work.
 
I hate it when ppl ar like that..they think they know more than you because they work at an auto parts store....
I like those SHO's....do you still have it or at least any pictures??
 
isaiah3g said:
I hate it when ppl ar like that..they think they know more than you because they work at an auto parts store....
I like those SHO's....do you still have it or at least any pictures??
Click to expand...

No It was a 1994 5 speed loaded. Went thru two engines and ended up with a junkyard engine.
 
isaiah3g said:
well,wouldn't ya know it....they gave me the wrong part....2 hours DOWN THE DRAIN!
Click to expand...

turn_on68 said:
Yeah that happened to me one time on my Taurus SHO. Man was I pissed because I couldn't drive the car.
Click to expand...

You guys gotta remember: the SHO & Mark VIII are two cars that sold in very low volumes and have relatively unique parts, so you can't expect parts to be readily available. Similarly, because they will have encountered few (if any) of either of those cars, the $8/hour counter help can't possibly know much about them.

Not to mention, when an aftermarket vendor sells an aftermarket part to an aftermarket parts store using aftermarket catalogs, that is a lot of non-OEM stuff that needs to be correct in order for you to get the right part in your hand. It's like that game from first grade where you whisper something to your friend and it goes down the line and at the end you don't recognize what was said. Same theory here, not only does the manufacturer have to get the specs right from the factory, they have to get it listed correctly in the catalogs and it has to be looked up correctly by the parts house.
 
luxuryrules said:
You guys gotta remember: the SHO & Mark VIII are two cars that sold in very low volumes and have relatively unique parts, so you can't expect parts to be readily available. Similarly, because they will have encountered few (if any) of either of those cars, the $8/hour counter help can't possibly know much about them.

Not to mention, when an aftermarket vendor sells an aftermarket part to an aftermarket parts store using aftermarket catalogs, that is a lot of non-OEM stuff that needs to be correct in order for you to get the right part in your hand. It's like that game from first grade where you whisper something to your friend and it goes down the line and at the end you don't recognize what was said. Same theory here, not only does the manufacturer have to get the specs right from the factory, they have to get it listed correctly in the catalogs and it has to be looked up correctly by the parts house.
Click to expand...

I didn't realize all that. To me my SHO was 1st a FORD Taurus with a very fast engine. I thought the other parts Alt. AC and so on where standard FORD factory parts as was the Lincoln Mark VIII.
 
well tonight i embark on a new journey to change my ac compressor......Wish me luck.
 
oops..sorry..i meant the clutch :P
I finally got it finished up at 11:47....it was a HUGE PAIN TO CHANGE!!
I didn't have all the tools to take the lines off so i had to jack the car up,take the compressor loose and turn it to where i could put my pull tool on it from under the car and pull that (magneto??) off.
Once i got it off i had to put the new (magneto?) on but it was a tight fit,when you do yours be sure it goes on straight,if it doesn't you'll have a fit trying to get it to level out once you have it on if its wedged crooked.

I took the block piece off of the compressor in order to get it to move around freely. If you do yours like that put a machine on it to PULL THE FREON OUT!
Theres 3 bolts holding it on. 2 on the bottom,1 on top.
I know i told yall I'd take pictures....but i got SO CAUGHT UP in taking the freakin piece of crap off i totally forgot about it.

If just a 19 year old kid like me can do this,I'm sure anyone can do this. Something that helps is that i'm only 130 lbs. So my arms are small, :) easy to get my hands in small spots.
Sorry once again for no pictures. But like i said if I can do this. Anyone can
 
okay I used to weigh 130lbs when I was 19. Now try 192lbs. Wow can you imagine what a difference it is?
Anyway back to pulling the clutch, does it all work now? I had that done on a summer vacation in Georgia in the 1980's. We had to stop in a little town, maybe Cornelia, and we had the clutch replaced, it was over 100 degrees and we were in a Suburban. The clutch lasted overnight, turned out it would have been less to have had the whole compressor swapped. It was a AC Delco longboy compressor, still less money for both jobs, than if I had had it done in Houston.
So what tool do you use to pull the clutch, because on my SHO I didn't have to use any pull tool.
I will have to pull my 1994 Suburbans compressor and I don't know how hard a job that will be? Do you go by a shop first and have them pull all the freon out? Do you buy a used compressor? There are plenty on eBay or get a new one, which run about $169 at O'Reillys, unless we have a GM dealer like Max who will help with costs. Oh and that doesn't include a new dryer and anything else, plus all new Freon or what ever this R4 stuff is? The AC on the suburban is rattling so bad under the hood.
 
Good deal isaiah3g! I know what you mean about getting into the repair and forgetting pics. I mean to and do the same also.

It has happened to me too many times, now I take the part (if possible) if not, I take cellie pics and compare right there in the store. I hate hate hate hate going back!!!

Good deal n thanks for the update!
Smooches!
MsM8
 
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