project97

Hey everyone, I'm a longtime user of this forum, but i just made my account. I recently had my ac clutch burn up and it roasted the bearings in the pulley and burned my coil face up. I replaced the pulley, clutch, and coil and everything spun just fine, compressor included. When I went to turn my ac compressor on though, it killed my engine and snapped my old belt. So, long story short: A/C compressor tuns by hand no problem; locks up and kills engine when engaged from the cab. If there is anything that I could have done wrong, I would love to know. My best guess is that I just replaced the wrong parts, but I have a tiny bit of hope that I just messed something up. Anything helps guys, thanks!

mbb

Your compressor failed. Your ac system is toast.
The clutch burnt up because the compressor locked up.

You fixed the symptom without knowing the problem
When you engaged new clutch, the locked compressor stalls engine

Nothing $1500 wont fix

Turns by hand.......without clutch engaged, the pulley just spins. The compressor dont turn. Could you turn clutch driven plate by hand?

Whats the story leading up....how long was it making noise? Or did you overfill it and try to compress liquid?

project97

The compressor never really made noise, I could just hear the pulley bearings starting to go out. I recharged it when I had a hose blow out almost 2 years ago, and haven't touched the ac system since. I can spin the clutch plate by hand, with no troubling grinding or anything, that's why I assumed that the pulley was the problem

BGwilly197

Several online companies offer ac kits for reasonable prices. I replaced all hoses, orifice tube, condenser, accumulator and compressor for right about $300 including oil and refrigerant. I have access to hvac gauges and and refrigerant reclaimer and vacuum pump. But you could have a shop evacuate before hand and vacc the system after you are done, before adding refrigerant. If you are unfamiliar with refrigerant procedures, I recommend this. Refrigerant can be dangerous . My is a 1998 f150 4.6L (W) (200k +miles all by me) The job takes all day but worth saving $1200+ . A 10mm crows foot (break loose the bolt) and 10mm ratcheting wrench is a huge time saver on the bottom rear compressor bolt. Don't bother trying to remove the compressor through the steering linkage. Turning the wheels to one side helps gain access, but the FS10 compressor will not fit through on my truck.. Manipulate it out the side from the passenger tire well. The compressor manifold bolt is behind the exhaust manifold, so I had to slide compressor forward before I removed the manifold bolt. I bolted new hoses on to compressor outside truck and manipulated the whole assembly thru the wheel well. A helper to route the hoses is helpful. the fuse assembly must be removed to get to the accumulator and to flush the evaporator core. Warning these fuse blocks become very brittle and the bolts gall. be prepared to replace the fuse assembly, They are cheap but it was not readily available and I had to improvise temporarily when the plastic broke. I pulled a 30inch vacc on the system for about 3 hours after the new system was assembled no evidence of moisture , and made sure vacuum held for at least 20 min after I shut down the pump.. Cold air in N.VA traffic is a good thing to have.