I guess the part where you said if the clutch seems to be operating fine that it would or would not need to be replaced. Or maybe replace it anyways since it has to be taken apart anyhow. Or maybe don't replace it because it would be a waste of money. But, you must have deleted that part from your post, I can't see anyone being a jerk otherwise!

 

Anyhow, I found the whole assembly, pulley, clutch, and coil for $68. Thanks for your help!

 

I have looked through the threads and have found some problems similar to mine but haven't found anything quite the same. This thread seems to be the closest.

Here's the issue....

The a/c clutch does not engage when turning on the a/c. But if i apply pressure to the clutch hub with a steal bar it will engage and the a/c works great. If I shut it off and turn it back on it will, again, not engage. When its turning, there is no noise, it doesn't wobble shake or grind. It seems to operate perfectly. Today, I took a quick trip into town after "manually" engaging the a/c, and it quit as I was driving.

Does anyone have any idea what is causing this? I appreciate any help?

 

See post #10.

 

No one has really explained some parts of this, and I just went through a similar situation, so I'm going to write about it here:

AC works sometimes for short periods of time, but almost always when the motor is cold. It would cut out after a short amount of time and randomly start working again. I checked the charge and everything was fine there. With a buddy turning the ****, I watched as the ac clutch should start spinning when the ac was on and it wasn't. I hit the end with the handle of a hammer and it started spinning. So after some research I measured the air gap and it was about .052 which is way too much. I removed the 8mm bolt, slid off the clutch end, removed one of the shims, and reinstalled the clutch end and 8mm bolt. It took all of about 6 minutes and now my ac works perfect. So to sum it up:



1. Turn on AC
2. Look at pulley, is the whole thing spinning (pulley and clutch plate) or just the pulley itself?
3. If its not engaging, carefully tap the center with something making sure that you don't get hung up in the fan or pulleys/belt
4. If the clutch starts engaging then it is most likely an air gap issue
5. Using a feeler gauge, measure air gap between clutch plate and pulley assembly mating surfaces in 3 places. Air gap should be 0.014-0.030" (0.36-0.75 mm).
6. If it is a gap outside of that range, remove the 8mm bolt and slide off the clutch plate. The next pieces inside are the shims, just remove one.
7. Install shim(s) and clutch plate. Install a clutch plate bolt, and tighten to 98-123 INCH lbs. (11-14 N.m). Measure the air gap again.
8. Hopefully youre within spec and the ac works!

I hope that helps someone out there. It took me about 1-2 hours of reading and looking online and less than ten minutes to do the job!

 

You da man Ryan! Thank you for the picture as well.

I had the exact same symptoms. Took my super crew to the dealer and they told me I needed a new control head because it had a bad ground for the solar sensor. Got a replacement unit on-line and same issue. Then I found this thread. I should have started here. Been driving all summer like this and it's such an easy repair.

For others that need to do this: It is hard to see the front of the AC compressor and I had trouble finding the shims until i Looked inside the hub of the clutch plate and found a shim in there to remove.

Thanks again.
IL KIM