medic Posted May 22, 2006 Share Posted May 22, 2006 I have problems with the a/c clutch making a whining noise. Air works fine. I cleaned the engine now this awful sound. I took off the belt and the sound goes away so I know it is the clutch. I took off the front plate, put the belt back on and started it up...noise. So, I sprayed wd40 on the clutch while running and it seemed to quiet down. I put it back together but the sound seems to come back. Can I just change the clutch. I tried taking off the existing clutch to check and see if some bearings were dry (no grease) but can't get it off.......any ideas here. The car is a 1995 Impreza L 2.2 Coupe. Number 2. While sitting still the car sounds fine. (with the exception of the ac clutch). When I put it in gear. Car not moving. There is a whinning noise from the transmission. Oil level seems fine. Does it just need to be changed or what is going on here?. It has not always sounded like this and I get paranoid and the strange sounds. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted May 22, 2006 Share Posted May 22, 2006 grrrr Year enigine size type of tranny and mileage. How long have you owned the car. We cant help at all without this information. AC clutch can be replaced without toying with the compressor itself. The other noise assuming this is an automatice, i can only guess at. Yes do a tranny flush. If you pwoerbrake the car does the noise change in pitch. Is the noise there in all gears (listen hard for it). Cant say more till you tell us more about the car. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olnick Posted May 22, 2006 Share Posted May 22, 2006 The car is a 1995 Impreza L 2.2 Coupe.. (Pssst, Nipper. He did!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subarian Posted May 22, 2006 Share Posted May 22, 2006 I took off the belt and the sound goes away so I know it is the clutch. If you took the belt off, the compressor wasn't engaged. That means you don't know that it's the clutch. In fact, the clutch is simply an electromagnetic clutch that engages the compressor. If the A/C is working, the clutch is engaging. There are three possible sources for your noise. One would be the belt/pulley interface. Check the belt for wear, check the face of the pulley, and check the tension on the belt. Another possibility is the bearing in the clutch. The third possibility is the compressor itself. If the noise only appeared after you cleaned the engine, it's not likely to be the compressor. I'd start by looking at the belt, since that's the cheapest fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medic Posted May 22, 2006 Author Share Posted May 22, 2006 (Pssst, Nipper. He did!) Thanks...in addition, it is an automatic with 117,000 miles. The compressor is a used one put on 2 years ago. As for the belt. With the belt off, the clutch (or pulley) is not turning. That is why I'm thinking clutch. The bearing in the clutch would be my guess. Can I fix this? When I sprayed wd40 on it, the noise quietened down and remained gone with the ac on. In fact it may have gotten quieter. The noise then came back, maybe not as loud, but annoying. I'm also pretty sure it was there before I cleaned the engine. The tranny.....sitting still, I put the car in gear (any gear) and it is making a noise...hard to describe. It makes the sound sitting still and moving. No change in performance. No change in level of sound. Wish I could put a sound bite on here........ Thanks to all...........medic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted May 22, 2006 Share Posted May 22, 2006 (ok i was tired, its no fun dealing with social security in the early morning) hrmm the sound is it a roar , howl or a whir. At that relativley low mileage ild hate to say a front pump. When the car is in park and neutral, the pump really isnt doing all that much work. All it is doing in is circulating oil. When in D or R the load on the pump goes up dramatically to hold the clutches and bands in place. Torque converters dont usually make noise when they go bad. i know you had the belt off for the ac, have you had all the belts off to make sure its not an alt or PS noise. How is the car shifting, especially the reverse to drive shift, is there any lag ? nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medic Posted May 22, 2006 Author Share Posted May 22, 2006 (ok i was tired, its no fun dealing with social security in the early morning)hrmm the sound is it a roar , howl or a whir. At that relativley low mileage ild hate to say a front pump. When the car is in park and neutral, the pump really isnt doing all that much work. All it is doing in is circulating oil. When in D or R the load on the pump goes up dramatically to hold the clutches and bands in place. Torque converters dont usually make noise when they go bad. i know you had the belt off for the ac, have you had all the belts off to make sure its not an alt or PS noise. How is the car shifting, especially the reverse to drive shift, is there any lag ? nipper No problem. I'd say it is never fun to deal with SS. Yes...in fact I took the alternator belt off first. Kind of hoping that was the problem. Sound continued until removing the ac belt. There are no problems with shifting. I guess you could say it is a whir type sound. Would deteriated oil cause this? medic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted May 22, 2006 Share Posted May 22, 2006 CHange the fluid and see what happens, but the whir is sounding more like the front pump. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted May 22, 2006 Share Posted May 22, 2006 CHange the fluid and see what happens, but the whir is sounding more like the front pump. nipper ALso check the fluid condition, are there any air bubbles in the fluid. Does it look like its contaminated with anything? CHeck the coolant in the radiator for the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPX Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 My 1989 VW Cabriolet had an A/C compressor clutch bearing seize. It destroyed the magnetic winding that engages the clutch. I suggest taking a read at how badly I went about this here->http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2289281 A typical compressor's clutch assembly looks something like this: Here is a good write up I found on the clutch pulley bearing replacement. I hope it ends up being that simple for me. http://www.stu-offroad.com/oth...1.htm And here is an interesting article about overall compressor repair. http://www.ryderfleetproducts....l.jsp Theoretically you can change the clutch assembly and bearing without venting the refrigerant. But if the inner winding components got cooked, then you are precariously close to a new compressor assembly. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avk Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 When diagnosing this kind of noise, do not forget the little idler pulley on the belt tensioner. A clutch bearing is pressed into the pulley. Don't know if it's possible to buy the pulley by itself, or you have to get a complete clutch set which also includes the hub and the coil. I know for some other compressors these parts are available separately. AC parts suppliers may need to know the type of your compressor: it's Calsonic CR-14. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medic Posted May 23, 2006 Author Share Posted May 23, 2006 My 1989 VW Cabriolet had an A/C compressor clutch bearing seize. It destroyed the magnetic winding that engages the clutch. I suggest taking a read at how badly I went about this here->http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2289281 A typical compressor's clutch assembly looks something like this: Here is a good write up I found on the clutch pulley bearing replacement. I hope it ends up being that simple for me. http://www.stu-offroad.com/oth...1.htm And here is an interesting article about overall compressor repair. http://www.ryderfleetproducts....l.jsp Theoretically you can change the clutch assembly and bearing without venting the refrigerant. But if the inner winding components got cooked, then you are precariously close to a new compressor assembly. Hope this helps. If I could somehow replace that bearing I think things would be ok. I had the tranny flushed today. It's good knowing there is fresh fluid in there. The sound is still there, but I the more I think about it, it may have been there along. Meaning...typical sound for Subaru. I bought a Mitsubish Montero Sport to replace my totalled Pathfinder a couple of months ago and have been comparing sounds. That may have been my fault. I just hope this things last and I'm not wrong. I took the belt off of the a/c again. before I went to the mechanic, so I could listen to the tranny without hearing "that sound", and tranny sounds ok. Sounds ok and shifts fine. Now... "that sound" with the a/c is more like a dry metal to metal contact and I am almost convinced :-\ that the problem is with the clutch or at least, the bearing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medic Posted May 23, 2006 Author Share Posted May 23, 2006 When diagnosing this kind of noise, do not forget the little idler pulley on the belt tensioner. A clutch bearing is a pressed into the pulley. Don't know if it's possible to buy the pulley by itself, or you have to get a complete clutch set which also includes the hub and the coil. I know for some other compressors these parts are available separately. AC parts suppliers may need to know the type of your compressor: it's Calsonic CR-14. With my luck, the parts won't be available separately. I don't think it is the idler pulley, but I'm gonna check.......thanks.....medic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medic Posted May 23, 2006 Author Share Posted May 23, 2006 JPX, Thanks for that diagram. I was determined to get the rotor/pully assembly off. I made me a puller by taking a flat piece of steel and drilling 3 holes in it. In the 2 outter holes, I took a bolt, put it in the hole and put the nut on. The nut grabbing the back of the pulley. In the center hole, I put another bolt and nut. The head of the bolt resting on the shaft of the compresser and the nut on the inside of the piece of steel. I then began turning the nut (like i was taking it off) and as it pressed against the steel, the rotor/pully assemble came off... Now. I can spin the assembly on my finger and I can hear the bearings. That has to be the problem. I will take it to a local bearings dealer and see if they have one for it. Any other ideas on that one? As for the outter edge of the clutch. Its looks all rusty and nasty. Would it be ok to take some fine sandpaper and clean it up and well as the inside of the rotor/pulley assembly? And how do I put it back on when I am done...... Thanks.......medic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 You drive it back on using the bolt that was holding it all together. Yes you can clean the rust, but it is all going to come back again. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avk Posted May 24, 2006 Share Posted May 24, 2006 To get the hub back on, you need to find or fabricate an installer tool that would thread on the shaft and then push on the hub. It's like the remover but in reverse, a bit harder to improvise because you have to match the threads on the shaft. I once helped a friend replace the coil on a GM compressor and the installer had to have 9 mm thread. Couldn't find the tool anywhere although if we planned ahead, there are places it could have been ordered from. Ended up taking to the shop but it cost "only" $60. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted May 24, 2006 Share Posted May 24, 2006 its been so long since ive done an ac clutch i forgot about that . Rent one a autoparts store, it will save you alot of agrivation in the long run. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avk Posted May 24, 2006 Share Posted May 24, 2006 Actually, I may be mistaken. This compressor uses shims to adjust the clutch gap and the press fit should not be so tight, so the bolt could be enough to push the hub on the shaft. In the process, it's important to hold the clutch disk with something by the central part and not by the outer ring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medic Posted May 25, 2006 Author Share Posted May 25, 2006 Right now getting the pulley back on is not my concern. I went to a local bearings place today and they didn't have the bearing. Just my luck. I made a phone call to another place and they didn't have it either. I have found it online for about $30 bucks, but I should be able to get it cheaper. Still looking for now........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPX Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 Right now getting the pulley back on is not my concern. I went to a local bearings place today and they didn't have the bearing. Just my luck. I made a phone call to another place and they didn't have it either. I have found it online for about $30 bucks, but I should be able to get it cheaper. Still looking for now........ This was the problem I had as well....bearing availability was tough, and still not cheap if it is found. If you tried to buy a new clutch assembly (not the compressor), it will be about $150-250...at that price range, a new compressor/clutch is not too far away. I ended up getting an entire clutch assembly from a junkyard. Just remember to take the pullers with you so you can get it off the junkyard car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medic Posted May 27, 2006 Author Share Posted May 27, 2006 The local junkyard won't sale just the assembly. The dealer doesn't have just the bearing. Assembly from them....$250.00. Yeah right. None of the autoparts stores having the bearing either. So...I went back to the bearing place here and talked to a different guy. Someone willing to help me. Don't know if he is the owner or what. He got on the computer, made a couple of phone calls and found the bearing. Different manufacturer, but cross reference numbers work and the dimensions are the same. The number came from several that I found on the net. He ordered the bearing and it will be here next week for $30.00. I was also able to get the old bearing out of the pulley with a few persuasive taps with a hammer. Everything is going well so far. Thanks for your help. medic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medic Posted June 4, 2006 Author Share Posted June 4, 2006 Just an update. I got the bearing Friday. $23.04. Much better than first expected. I was able to get the bearing in the pulley by using my vise and taking my time. This was done by protected the pulley and the bearing with a small piece of wood and gently cranking the vise until it went it. The last step involved me using the old bearing (since it had the same size diameter) which help me seat the new bearing all the way in. Even got the wife to help me. I then put the pulley on the car and took a long bolt. Longer than the one that holds the pulley on. And as I tightened it, the pulley slid onto the compressor shaft. I then took out that bolt and put the original back on. After putting the belts back on and firing up the car.....no noise . Thanks to all for you help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olnick Posted June 4, 2006 Share Posted June 4, 2006 Way to go, medic! What a feeling of accomplishment. Air still working okay? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medic Posted June 4, 2006 Author Share Posted June 4, 2006 Way to go, medic! What a feeling of accomplishment. Air still working okay? Thanks...and yes. The air is working just fine....cold! :cool: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPX Posted June 5, 2006 Share Posted June 5, 2006 Just an update. I got the bearing Friday. $23.04. Where is this bearing place? And what is the part#/MFG? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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