air conditioning clutch
 

i have a 70 GTO with the origional A/C compressor . the system pumps cool air but the clutch on the comp. makes a lot of noise . when i pull the power supply off the clutch the noise goes away . . the compressor does not feel hot when pumping so i assume that the clutch needs bearings . or is it worse than that ?
i see that i can pull the clutch with out removing the comp. from the car . what should i look for in the clutch that could be bad ?

Jim

Sounds like the compressor shaft bearings are bad when it only makes noise if the clutch is engaged.

I just went through this myself, the A/C worked fine but you could hear the bearing in the clutch even when it wasn't engaged. I looked into all the avenues of the tools, a new clutch, etc. I could see the easier route was just to replace the compressor. $165 at Advance with a $10 core I kept since I didn't want to give away the original when all it needs is a new clutch. By the time you buy the puller, the clutch, and screw around with it all, it's not worth the headache. (Of course it didn't matter to me killing the baby ozones since I had 6 cans of R12 I've been saving for 20 years so opening the system didn't cost anything)

My Lemans had a locked up a/c clutch bearing when I bought the car. Not knowing the condition of the compressor or any of the a/c system I decided to just replace the bearing. It was acually very easy. You can remove the cluch from the compressor without removing the compressor or opening the system in any way. A large C clip retains the bearing. I was able to take it to a local auto parts store like Napa and just buy the bearing. I put it all back together and it's been working great ever since.

i believe it is just the clutch , our maintenance guy here where i work is A/C certified and did the work for me on the side with the company gages ( while at work ) . he said he did not hear any noise coming from the comp. only the clutch . any other parts in the clutch that can go bad other than the bearing ?
thanks guys for all the help so far ...

It's an electromagnet so that has to work when energized. Do the friction plates stick together when you turn it on? Other than that those the two friction surfaces should be in decent shape (flat, smooth) but the distance is adjustable when you put it back together also the pulley groove should look good. I suppose one of those items could have a problem but the bearing is the main wear item, it was locked up solid on mine, and that's all that was wrong.