I have a 2001 4.2L and 3 days ago my belt burnt up and snapped due to the pulley on the compressor seizing up. After reading through many threads for the past couple days today I took off the plate and was able to see the bearings just rolling around in there. My objective today was to see if the compressor is seized or just the clutch. After removing the nut from the plate I pulled it out a little to see if it would let me turn the compressor shaft. I was able to turn it but it felt a little stiff to me but of course I do not know enough to determine if something is wrong by the resistance when turning. I did not hear any grinding noises. I need to get the truck up and running asap but I'm very limited on cash and I do not want to just through a clutch assembly on only to have it go bad on me again because the real issue is the compressor. I wish that I was able to just send it to the shop and pay for it to be fixed but that is not an option. Even though winter is on its way here I really do not want to remove compressor and put a bypass pulley on because eventually I would want AC plus I've read that defrost and other functions still utilize it. If someone can give me some guidance on my situation it would be much appreciated.

 

Remove the pulley (you will need a set of snap ring pliers). The you can evaluate the compressor as to whether or not the shaft rotates correctly.

Usually, if the pulley bearing collapses as yours has, a new pulley and clutch will do the job.

 

Thanks for the response projectSHO. I have a set of snap ring pliers at work so I will bring them home with me today. I sprayed around the pulley last night so hopefully once I remove the snap ring it will come off without much trouble. Ive read that when removing pulley you have to be carefull that you don't damage the coil. Im just guessing but judging the condition of the pulley, bearings and clutch plate I have a feeling it may be damaged already. All of the rubber is missing from the plate and it has a rusty kind of reddish tint to it. Anyway, once snap ring is off how do you reccomend i remove pully? Can u tell me any cautions I should take so I do not mess any other good parts up?

So I got home from work and got right to it. I removed the snap ring and the pulley came off fairly easy. I had to use two small pry bars, one on each side of the pulley. I wedged them between the pulley and compressor bolts and gave a little push and it popped lose. I was carefull to make sure the pry bars were not hitting coil just in case it is still good. When I finished removing pulley by hand bearings fell out. From the look of the coil im pretty sure it should be replaced because the front of it is all bubbled up. Once again I moved the compressor shaft by sliding clutch plate on the front but even though it moves im not sure if it is okay because it feels a little stiff. Is it supposed to have a little resistance when turning by hand because of the pistons? Should I get just a new pulley and clutch or should I also replace the coil?

 

Check the resistance of the coil with a meter. It should be 3 or 4 ohms or something in that neighborhood.

Replacing the coil on the vehicle is a tough job and isn't recommended. Unless it fails the resistance check, I'd probably take a chance and leave it. If it fails, I'd just replace the whole compressor since you're likely to have to pull the compressor to replace the coil.

The compressor shaft will have resistance that varies as it rotates. If there are no rough spots throughout its rotation, it's likely okay internally.

 

Can I buy clutch and pulley minus the coil or does it come as a package?

Well I went to advance auto and the obly sell it as a package, the clutch, pulley, and coil. I guess I can just use what I need for now and put coil up on shelf for another day.

They had to order from another store so it will be in at 10:50am.

In the meantime I will check the ohms like projectSHO has suggested. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge!

 

I called FORD to inquire about parts so I figured I would post my findings. Maybe this will save another forum member a phone call in the future. Ford sells parts separately but man oh man the dealerships are expensive. They wanted $65 for the disc and hub and $115 for the pulley for a total of $180! OUCH!

 

If you have any doubts about the compressor, it may be best to leave it (electrically) disconnected till you are prepared to replace it.

 

Thanks for that info glc. I was wondering if I could do that just to get the truck on the road.

I put the new pulley and clutch hub on today but I ran out of time cause I was mandated by my wife to go to a nephews b-day party, lol. Tomorrow I have to clean all the burnt rubber off the pulleys and put the belt on.

 

Btw. I checked the resistance of the coil and it was 3.3 ohms. The new pulley went on really easy but I have a question about the clutch hub. I dont have an even air gap all the way around. Is that normal? Most of the way around is .022 but in one spot about 1 1/2" long it is .020 just a hair tighter than the rest. There was only one shim installed in the old one so I matched it up to the same size and used a new one. There were two other shims that came with the new one so i'll save them just in case.

 

I'm back in business! Truck is running. Something is still going on with a/c system because the compressor is short cycling. it would'nt even run long enough for me to get a reading on the pressure. I think I may have a leak which probably lead to things overheating and the clutch bearing going. Since cold whether is on the way im just gonna leave the coil unplugged so it doesn't happen again. The important thing is that the truck is drivable.

Thank you to all the members on this site and special thanks to everyone who responded to my post. without the people here who are willing to share their knowledge I would not have been able to get my truck back on the road.

 

Short cycling is symptomatic of an undercharge.

The proper way to service this is with a recycling machine. Evacuate the system, make sure it holds the vacuum for an hour. If it does (or if you do find a leak and fix it) fill it with a weighed amount of refrigerant and leak detector dye.

 

I have a buddy that has an HVAC business (residential/commercial...not cars) whom I work with on the side sometimes. That is exactly the procedure we do when there is a leak except after we reclaim the system is pressurized with nitrogen to find the leak. Now I know that car systems are different in some ways but in general it seems like the theory is the same.

My question is...would I be able to use his equipment to do what you decribed above if I was to purchase fittings and or adapters for a vehical ac system?

 

Yes, as long as his equipment is compatible with R134a.