Technician Training Series: Inspecting and adjusting air conditioning compressor clutch 

About 4 years ago I removed the thinner of the two shims/spacers on my 1998 Frontier AC clutch to fix its intermittent operation/slippage. I didn't even need to remove the compressor drive belt !

I ordered the clutch plate assy and I wasnt sure where the 2 shims went. I lost my plate somehow and didnt have a clue. Thanks to your video I know , thank you!!

The things I didn't learn (or maybe just forgot) when I went to tech school. Just saved me a bunch of heartache. Thanks! 🤘

Good explanation for the guy trying to figure out a clutch problem. So it’s good to say that the average air gap on the clutch is about 0.20 to 0.30 of an inch. This of course would mean that the magnet is properly working and can engage the clutch assembly at these measurements.

Thank you. I just replace the a/c clutch compressor to my daughter dakota watching your video. 🎉

Nice thanks for this information. You're the first to explain the air gap and adjusting it from the shim and if im not mistaken you're the first to explain here in RU-vid. Again thanks i appreciated it.

Great instruction my friend!

A lot of videos state that replacing the compressor is the way to go because the cost is comparable to just replacing the clutch. Most shops won’t replace just the compressor and want to do all of the other ac components which ends up being $1500.

Dude thanx bro.... keep it coming... big dawg

Its a great information ive got, very useful as i am the mechanic of my own cruze, however, can you give the standard gap of the ac clucth , thank you so much.

This guy is a Lamborghini mechanic! Thank you thank you thank you!

Great video, thanks. I have a 2015 duramax and upon inspection of my AC compressor i found the bolt missing. This allowed the outer clutch to be sloppy and every time the AC turned on it pulledthe clutch on like it should be, but being lose it destroyed all the splines on the assembly. I installed a new clutch kit and all good. Kits come with extra washers, those are obviously for setting the right gap.

To he point.. Just enough without all the blah blah blather of many typical videos. Thanks!

Thank you for explaining. I have a 05’ Lexus RX330 with a the A/C intermittently blows cold then hot. I suspect the magnetic clutch assembly. I do have the factory repair manual, and it tells you the clearance measurements, and in the photo they used a dial gauge, which I don’t have, but I do have feeler gauges. Problem is , I didn’t understand where to measure. I know it’s between the pulley and the clutch inner plate, I visually could not understand. After watching this video, it makes sense now. I probably would have figured it out when I get my eye on it , but I wanted to be clear before going in. Thanks again

Replacing the barring vs the whole compressor saved me almost 1200 also I was able to do the barring myself and was not difficult. Barring was 54.00

Brilliant!

Awesome, going to try it, think my clutch is too close. Squeaky at start up.

My 05 saab93 got warmer for ac.. I put the 35 to 40 refrigerator in and it got cold... next day for quarter miles it streaked and smelled like clutch.. I shot pag 46 charge at Napa and it seemed fine.. the slight noise when turning on and off gone to... now it won't engage.. theres no air gap I can't get any feeler gauge in there.. could shim worn out.. I check relay, pressure switch... tapped on it.. bout to take apart

Recently the bearing on my compressor was bad and had slop and eventually the plate ended up grinding on the clutch itself. Had to use a grinder to make it almost even as best I could then put a slightly bigger washer and works just fine now.

awesome, thank you

What is the air gap for the ac compressor on my 2007 Tacoma 2.7l , 4cly. engine

This is a good video. But, my challenge is that after I take off the center bolt, I can't not take off the plate on the top. Any hint?

Hi there. I removed my magnetic disc but was surprised to find no shims behind it, which I find quite odd for a car with just over 60k miles (15 years old though, and that's a car where the AC comes on by default whenever the ventilation is turned on, which might explain the excessive wear). Is sanding my disc the only way to wake up my AC?

Very nice 👍

I have one on the vehicle still. The rubber for the clutch is all melted out of the center. Not sure if I just needs the clutch or the whole pump yet. It's on a Chrysler T&C 3.8 EX. When it quit working, we were out in the hot desert of California, well, in a city, so stopped at a wallyworld to get a R134 can. That didn't do anything. It's been like this for a few months now. I finally looked at the fron of the pump, because we heard a noise that sounded like something was scraping on the street, as we drove through town. The scraping sound, sounded like it was scraping the road, as it sounded slower as I came to a stop. But it was just that loose piece in the middle, scraping. So it may just be over charged now. I'm not sure how hard it should be to turn the center piece. Maybe it's tight feeling, because it's over charged? IDK. I ordered a guage set, with a vacuum pump, just in case I need to replace the whole pump. ru-vid.comMvKj6iWg2Ps?si=gwg9lkgfkSwbr-pc

excellent

Do you guys have any idea what would cause the clutch coil to burn out or lock open I have replaced 3coils in two weeks and I am putting number 4 in this weekend, when the car is running and A/C is turned on I have 14.2 volts to the coil, do you guys have any idea why my coils only last about 20-30 minutes.

Very interesting. Recently I replaced my leaking AC compressor with a used one. Unfortunately this one seems to have a warped or bent clutch (maybe damaged through shipping) that is rubbing against the pulley making some weird noises and I think it struggles to engage the pulley when the AC is on (like it's slipping or something) especially at high rpm. If I manage to find the old compressor I should try and swap the clutch. What do you think?

I can’t seem to get the cent bolt out. The front clutch assembly on my ac compressor has fallen apart. The rivets on two of those arms came out and the arms flail around. Trying to replace the clutch whole clutch assembly without pulling the whole compressor and avoid the need to evacuate the lines. But like I said that bolt just won’t come out. It spins while I lock the front clutch assemble but it’s not coming out. Any ideas?

Great

thanks for the video but what is the gab between the clutch and the clutch hub

2007 Chevy Avalanche: Had a 134a leak which left me with no refrigerant. Replaced o-rings, valves, etc. Ran a vacuum and it held -30hg for a hour. Began recharging system and couldn't get the system to suck in the 134a from the can. AC LED light in car blinking and won't stay solid green. Relay is good (swapped it with another to test), bypassed relay and clutch engages when jumped. Tried recharging while jumping relay, no success. I tried placing AC can in hot water while charge hose was connected to low-side and still no success. What am I doing wrong or need to do differently? - Thanks! By theway, AC Compressor doesn't make any odd/grinding sounds and the pully operates smooth with no wobble.

Lamborghini, man, that's been awhile!

Mr. B, I’m in the process of replacing my A/C compressor because it’s 14 years old and leaking pretty good. I put the blue dye test on it. The condenser came with the compressor. I also bought a new suction and discharge line. My question to you is, do I need to completely flush my system before installing the parts? Or do I need to flush the system after I install everything. I appreciate your reply, thanks.

Good video; thanks. I've been researching A/C compressors/clutches on my 09 Malibu Hybrid because my A/C isn't working this season. What I found is confusing as the A/C clutch bolt is unscrewed partially and is bent. It still spins when the A/C is engaged and kinda stops when disengaged. Appears very loose. I tried to tighten it up but the bolt just turns without tightening. Any idea whats going on here?

good day can you please help me with the problem of my ac if i switch on the ac it become noisy but if i turn off the noisy dis-appear.. hope you can help me with this..thank you

Hello. Thanks for the nice video. My car is Fiat Bravo 2008 1.6 diesel and since I have it I have issues with unstable rough idle, more noticeable in the summer. I tried a lot of thing with this car and no improvement, visited a lot of mechanics, diagnostics etc and nobody can't find the issue. Having in mind that the rough idle is more noticeable in the summer I started to think if there is a problem with my air conditioning and more specifically sticking AC clutch or something like this. Last 1-2 weeks my car was working fine (I am not using AC anymore as it is not hot), so a few days ago I turned on the AC and I didn't noticed any issue, but after around 20 minutes I had to drive my car again and after starting it again the rough idle was there again. So is it possible my AC clutch to be sticking for some reason even after the AC is turned off and this to cause the rough idle? Thanks in advance!

Who has the specs gap for 2005 odyssey. Gap. I already change the ac pulley and the new sound like a grinding. But had a gap . And I can spin it with my hand. When turn on the the clutch spins. Off the clutch no work but sounds like something is grinding. And tripping the 7,5 amp fuse for the magnet . Any help ?

good ac clutch & compresser pully function # i couldn't understand if the clutch is attached with compresser rotating shaft why it does not rotate the compresser without magnetic attachment with pulley ????? 👍 🇵🇰

Clutch on my Ford Crown victoria ''travel'' in and out during idling. so the idling is uneven. I thing I have to adjust with the shims first Cant hear any noice!

Any ideas why the AC clutch would be making a metallic raspy sound on a brand new AC compressor replacement kit in a 1999 GMC Sonoma with the 4.3L V6?

Helpful tutorial. In my situation, when ac is off there is a noise but when ac is on the noise vanishes, can you help?

Got a 2005 Acura MDX ac compressor not coming on. Even hooked it straight from the battery to the compressor nothing. My clutch turns hood by hand. Can it still be my clutch needs adjustment

Do all compressors have to be adjusted? Do you know if 2005 Passat 1.8t clutch needs to be adjusted?

I replaced my clutch and it slowly rotates when the ac is not on. is the clearance too slose? Also, it is hard to turn by hand with engine off

My compressor is burning smoke. Can this be the clutch matirial burning? And can I just replace the clutch? Thanks

Hi, i have freeon on my system and also the ac clutch picks up but it is not cold inside the car. Pls what could be the problem

My AC compressor is stuck when clutch is engaged, tendency to my engine to turn off of shut what could be wrong? Can you help? Thanks!

So i think my wife's ac compressor clutch is doing the same thing as the first compressor/clutch. There's a lot of play. The ac is blowing hot air and i was going to try and fill up the refrigerant but it said it was overfilled but I know it was not overfilled. Do you think it may be her compressor or should i replace that clutch assembly?

Odd question - can I drive my car safely with the clutch completely removed from the compressor? It's close to 20 years old and we use it for errands. It's a different belt from the alternator

👏👏👏👏👏

My compressor doesn’t cycle off and on during ac operation. What causes the compressor not to cycle? I just put a new compressor and I’m afraid if I let it run like that it’ll dry out my compressor. Thanks!

ASE A7 Prep right there

Thank you sir, like and subscribe.

I have an intermittent AC issue. I've read online and my year and model of car is prone to clutch issues. I'll notice it spins in intervals of 4-6 seconds most the time and it makes a whirring noise similar to a coasting bicycle. Any idea what the issue could be? I've had it at the dealership for two days and they are trying to tell me I have a bad thermistor and want to tear apart my dash and charge me 760 bucks 🤣.

Please help? What is the part number of the ac compressor bearing for a Volvo s60 2001 model? (Just the part number of the Bearing please?)

What is the specifications for the AIR GAP???

What is the standard clutch air gap size in mm ?

thank you

Hi. How much is generaly the distance between the clutch and the pulley ?

The main question is, how do you hold the clutch from spinning to remove the center nut?

my AC works for a while, usually when I drive faster, but then blows hot air for a few minutes, then works normally again. clutch problem?

A mechanic just left my home, he was here replacing a/c compressor clutch. The system is very low on refrigerant and apparently he didn’t add enough shims to the clutch bc it won’t disengage and makes a rubbing sound. He said it was fine to drive until he comes back in two days. I don’t like it one darn bit. Would you drive it that way?

Very good, but how the center screw is take off? You already show the a clutch unscrewed from the axle.

My clutch burning 3times.. why

Ac clutch 40-70 dollars ac compressor 200-1000 lol why would it ever be cheaper to replace the whole thing!?!?!?

clutches and pulleys are way cheaper than compressors

Decent video an adjustment only I'd say as a last resort if you're driving across the desert and it's life and death. Thus partially disagree a little bit allow me to explain 1 if you're having to adjust the clearance on the clutch plate assembly, and not serving your customer by following 2 below.thus finding the cause then you're actually doing a disservice to the customer will end up having to do this again or worse a full AC and other parts.. explained below And within that I'm assuming those customers come back to as they trust you only get the billing for that plus a full AC replacement when if you follow my explanation below your customers would be not ripped off sorry for not beating around the bush what got me was your statement of if the clutch pulley bearing is wonky you say the seal on the shaft to the internal compressor may start leaking if you pull the pulley off. That gets me like that is an outright bold lie. And wrong to infer that replacing the pulley bearing for $50 in parts and on most cars less than 2 hours labor I have to clarify to cause that compressor input shaft start leaking because you pulled the pulley off even if you used a screwdriver or a pulley puller you're not going to bend that shaft unless you hit that shaft with a heavy hammer on a 90 degree angle to it at the very end just to be clear that shaft is taking all the force from the belt system tension even though it's not under extreme tension throughout the life of the vehicle it still requires a higher quality metal as you're talking about over extreme temperature differences and long periods of time with that shaft being in a different position so yeah that's yes more heavy-duty than what you're implying So going back to it if your AC and clutch assembly are making noise the proper thing to do would be to spend the extra $50 for pulley bearing which takes an hour of Labor the bill at least as even if it's not giving you play like a wobble and even if you don't feel it giving you play front to back I pretty much can guarantee when the engines running and things good up to temperature that bearing allows that pulley to move and you're going to end up doing more damage to the clutch plate and the pulley possibly to where the next time the customer has an issue they won't be able to have the proper procedure done because you've already worn down by removing a a Sim it's kind of like turning a rotor on a car I have seen what you recommend seize and throw a belt causing the crankshaft position sensor first hand and I told him the cause is more likely to be from the clutch pulley bearing So if they come in for that instead of half-assing it do it right put the good $50 bearing in that's got a markup built in and the customer will even be happier and it didn't take any more time you show me one compressor that the shaft started leaking

Is it a problem if there is no gap?

good day can you please help me with the problem of my ac if i switch on the ac it become noisy but if i turn off the noisy dis-appear.. hope you can help me with this..thank you