[Bulldogg629]

Last week on my way up north for vacation I lost my AC 10 miles into a 140 mile drive. I assumed the system needed a recharge so turned it off and finished the drive. When I got there and stopped for gas, I heard a noise from the engine upon turning the car back on. A friend in the area had a look and said it was my AC compressor clutch and that it would be an easy fix but all 4 of the Kjs at the local junkyard had already had their clutches pulled. In the end they told me to disconnect the electrical connection on the compressor and drive it home. By the time I got it home it was making noise while the engine was running, not just upon starting like before. Its been parked since. Calling repair shops here Ive gotten a ton of different answers. No one wants to do just the clutch, they want to change the whole compressor. Some said you cant get just a clutch, some said you cant remove the clutch anyway, some said if you do try to remove it chances are you will damage the compressor and need a new compressor anyway and some said you need to pull off the compressor to get room to pull the clutch anyway. There is a clutch kit on ebay for $80, and a bearing only for $14. Im not a mechanic but Im smart enough to do it myself, but can it be done and does this seem like the problem? The inner part of the clutch would turn by hand before but it was hard to turn, now I cant turn it by hand at all and it seems like its letting go of oil from inside judging by the pic, is this just a bearing dying or do I need the whole kit? Lastly, now that the inner part of the clutch seems jammed up, can I drive the car at all to take it anywhere for repairs anyway, will the outer pulley still spin? Thanks guys.

[Bulldogg629]

Also I was only able to find the clutch kit in one place on the internet so I wasn’t sure it it was the right one since everyone else says they’re not made separate. I emailed the guy selling to ask and he said he’d “been in the business for 30 years and had sources” but that doesn’t really explain anything. Also I noticed when looking for just bearings:

Kit: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Jeep-Liberty...sories&vxp=mtr

Bearing: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Jeep-Liberty...40fa4c&vxp=mtr

Another Bearing: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Jeep-Liberty...2b257e&vxp=mtr

They’re all sold by different user names, but all from NJ and all of the descriptions use the same wording and format and font colors. It makes me wonder why one guy is selling the same parts under different names. But on the other hand all of the users have good reviews. Does this seem legit? I was quoted $500 for the work at a shop, so an $80 clutch or $20 bearing is much better, though still not a drop in the bucket for me so I don’t want to waste it.

[streetglideok]

Originally Posted by Bulldogg629

Last week on my way up north for vacation I lost my AC 10 miles into a 140 mile drive. I assumed the system needed a recharge so turned it off and finished the drive. When I got there and stopped for gas, I heard a noise from the engine upon turning the car back on. A friend in the area had a look and said it was my AC compressor clutch and that it would be an easy fix but all 4 of the Kjs at the local junkyard had already had their clutches pulled. In the end they told me to disconnect the electrical connection on the compressor and drive it home. By the time I got it home it was making noise while the engine was running, not just upon starting like before. Its been parked since. Calling repair shops here Ive gotten a ton of different answers. No one wants to do just the clutch, they want to change the whole compressor. Some said you cant get just a clutch, some said you cant remove the clutch anyway, some said if you do try to remove it chances are you will damage the compressor and need a new compressor anyway and some said you need to pull off the compressor to get room to pull the clutch anyway. There is a clutch kit on ebay for $80, and a bearing only for $14. Im not a mechanic but Im smart enough to do it myself, but can it be done and does this seem like the problem? The inner part of the clutch would turn by hand before but it was hard to turn, now I cant turn it by hand at all and it seems like its letting go of oil from inside judging by the pic, is this just a bearing dying or do I need the whole kit? Lastly, now that the inner part of the clutch seems jammed up, can I drive the car at all to take it anywhere for repairs anyway, will the outer pulley still spin? Thanks guys.

Dont waste your time, unles you only want to have a reliable pulley for your belt to spin on. See that redish rust color in your pic? Thats the result of extreme heat. Only two things cause that, clutch bearing failure, or compressor internal failure. Try to turn the face of the clutch, and see how stiff it is. My guess is, its seized. That part is directly attched to the compressor. What normally transpires, is your compressor has an internal failure, be it undercharged and resulting oil starvation, or some other problem. The stress, slippage, and the heat from the compressor trying to lock up, overheats the clutch pulley bearing, and you see the pretty mess that you have now. You can replace just the clutch, as it is a nut/bolt, and a snapring that holds those on, however, you will cook the new one with the bad compressor. At the same time, your clutch pulley bearing is already baked, literally, and if you ignore it, the pulley will likely seize completely or fall off. I have seen both outcomes plenty of times.

[Bulldogg629]

Dont waste my time with just replacing the bearing or the entire clutch? You're saying I need to replace the compressor also? The face of the clutch would turn before but it was very hard to turn with just fingertips and now I cant turn it at all but also cant get a very good grip to try. How do I tell if its an internal problem with the compressor or just a dead bearing? And if Im getting the whole thing done, can I drive at all to get it to the shop or am I going to do damage when I turn the key and it tries to turn that pulley? Thanks

[streetglideok]

If you can't turn the face of the clutch easily, then your compressor has failed internally. The face of the clutch is what drives the compressor. Behind the clutch pulley is a magnet that draws the clutch face into the pulley, and thereby driving the compressor. The pulley itself rides on its own bearing, aka the clutch bearing or clutch pulley bearing. If you just change the clutch components at this point, all you will be doing is two things, 1) that your belt will ride properly, barring that you plug the clutch back in and turn the defrost/ac on, and 2) If you do plug it all in, and turn on the a/c or the defrost, you'll have spent that money for nothing.

Essentially, the clutch failure is a symptom, not the problem. Your compressor from the sounds of it, is what failed. If you ignore the problem, the clutch pulley bearing will likely fail completely, and leave you stranded, regardless of if you try to use the compressor or not. You're at a bit of a crossroads, it depends on if you plan to ever fix the a/c or not. Keep in mind, that will require a new compressor/clutch, orifice tube, and accumulator, and backflushing the evaporator, and especially the condenser, if not replacing it completely. Failure to replace the mentioned parts will void the compressor warranty, no matter who you source it from.