On Tue, 16 May 2006 22:06:24 -0400, "Al A."
wrote:

Well, when I got home from work today, there was a bit of smoke rising
from the clutch pulley. Guess that pretty much pins down the source of
the problem. The rain stopped long enough to grab a few tools, take off
the bolt in the center of the clutch. Lucky for me, once I got the bolt
out the front part of the clutch slid off with little more than some
working back and forth with finger power. I got the snap ring off, and
the pulley came off without much trouble. Yes, the bearing is SHOT!!
Inexplicably, about a third of the balls are missing(!). Not sure where
they went, or if they just ground to dust or what. Anyhow, my parts guy
is going to try to hunt down a new one for me in the morning.

Thanks for all of the advice.

-AL A.

There are two pulleys, both the same diameter - the only difference is
the width of the multi-rib belt that drives it. Make sure they give
you the right one the first time - and of course, DAMHIKT. grumble

One bright spot - the right pulley was roughly $70 less than the
wrong one, and the dealer /had/ the right one...

I'll bet there's a ball cage in there that disintegrates and
suddenly the balls have a lot of room to move around.

If you have time to mess with it, the aftermarket parts will be a
bit less. But I kind of didn't, since we occasionally get emergency
calls and I wanted it drivable.

I should stick a picture of the "Custom AC Clutch Pulley Puller" in
the Dropbox, but that would mean bead-blasting it and painting it up
nicely first. Or just hit it with clear, and everyone can laugh at
the sloppy welds. But hey, they have good penetration and they held
just fine, so who cares!

PS - Appreciate the words of wisdom, Bruce. Even though I'm close to the
river, if it ever reaches my basement, pretty much all of the 4th
largest city in the state will be submerged. But I will not say:
"I been here 22 years and the waters never got high enough...."

Rule Number One: Never Taunt Murphy. He has a Loooong memory. ;-P

-- Bruce --
--
Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
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