Hi all,
Anybody here ever replace the A/C compressor clutch on a ford Truck?
This is a 1990 F150, 5.0. I am getting a loud-ish curnchy grinding
bearing noise that I think is comming from said clutch. I am 90%
sure that is the culprit and will confirm that, if it ever stops
raining here in NE Mass. Any tricks (ie. special tools, hints,
tips, etc.)I ought to know about before I dive in on this one?

It always helps when i tap the collective mind here at RCM before
getting in too deep. When ever I don't, I end up doing so
mid-project to figure out how to finish.

I appreciate for any ideas!

-AL A

wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi all,
Anybody here ever replace the A/C compressor clutch on a ford Truck?
This is a 1990 F150, 5.0. I am getting a loud-ish curnchy grinding
bearing noise that I think is comming from said clutch. I am 90%
sure that is the culprit and will confirm that, if it ever stops
raining here in NE Mass. Any tricks (ie. special tools, hints,
tips, etc.)I ought to know about before I dive in on this one?

It always helps when i tap the collective mind here at RCM before
getting in too deep. When ever I don't, I end up doing so
mid-project to figure out how to finish.

I appreciate for any ideas!

-AL A

I think old age has decreased my automotive tools to the Yellow Pages,
especially AC problems. Those clutches are a bitch to get off and you need
the tools. Don't get one from a bone yard, get a new one.

wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi all,
Anybody here ever replace the A/C compressor clutch on a ford Truck?
This is a 1990 F150, 5.0. I am getting a loud-ish curnchy grinding
bearing noise that I think is comming from said clutch. I am 90%
sure that is the culprit and will confirm that, if it ever stops
raining here in NE Mass. Any tricks (ie. special tools, hints,
tips, etc.)I ought to know about before I dive in on this one?

It always helps when i tap the collective mind here at RCM before
getting in too deep. When ever I don't, I end up doing so
mid-project to figure out how to finish.

I appreciate for any ideas!

-AL A


If it's the one I'm thinking of, you'll need snap ring pliers, maybe a spanner wrench to
hold the clutch, and a puller/installer, which can be made using a few bolts...

Not difficult at all.

On 15 May 2006 05:54:02 -0700, wrote:

Hi all,
Anybody here ever replace the A/C compressor clutch on a ford Truck?
This is a 1990 F150, 5.0. I am getting a loud-ish curnchy grinding
bearing noise that I think is comming from said clutch. I am 90%
sure that is the culprit and will confirm that, if it ever stops
raining here in NE Mass. Any tricks (ie. special tools, hints,
tips, etc.)I ought to know about before I dive in on this one?

It always helps when i tap the collective mind here at RCM before
getting in too deep. When ever I don't, I end up doing so
mid-project to figure out how to finish.

I appreciate for any ideas!

Gee, you beat me to it... Guess what's sitting out in my driveway
Right Now - a 1999 E-250 Van that isn't going anywhere until I replace
the AC Clutch Pulley with the disintegrating ball bearing.

N0oooo, it couldn't be one of the easy idler bearings... :-(

Hey, count your blessings. At least with a truck it's on the top
and easy to get to. On the van with the 5.4 V8 it's on the very
bottom of the stack right above the Twin I-Beams. Creeper time.

Go to the Motorcraft site, and they have a parts lookup page
(activant.com) that drills down to the pieces you need, with pictures.

It's a fairly simple gidge - the pulley has an offset flat face and
a bearing with a large center bore that rides on a boss on the nose of
the compressor. The magnet is a ring that sits behind the pulley.
And the hub bolts to the compressor input shaft. The magnet sucks the
hub into the pulley, and away you go.

Note: Use a 6-point socket to get the clutch hub center screw out.
That one almost turned into a DAMHIKT moment, but I do need a fresh
screw now.

The big question I have is, what retains the idler bearing inner
race on the nose of the compressor? Circlip, nut or Loctite?

WARNING: I can foresee a huge problem - be careful what you clean it
up with before you start reassembly, lest you melt the input shaft
seal and let all the Freon loose. Which would be even worse than a
"Magic Smoke" incident.

-- 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
Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net.

Yup, I did it last year, back in March. Much easier with the
compressor laying out where you can get to it, but can be done, barely,
with it on a vehicle. I'm assuming what you have is like a lot of
other Ford products, an A/C clutch that operates according to what a
pressure switch senses. You need to know exactly what make and model
of compressor you've got, there's web sites out there that can either
ship you a complete compressor with clutch, just the clutch or just the
bearing. Usually finding out means having to scrape layers of gooey
gunk off the pig to find the cast-in letters. You can rent for free
the special tools needed from Autozone(see website) and others. If
it's like the FS6 compressor on my buggy, you'll need a clutch plate
holder, like a three-legged pin spanner, to remove the center nut, then
you'll need a special internal puller to get the clutch plate off.
There's a big retaining ring holding the pulley on, you need to take
the pulley off to get to the bearing(or to replace the whole works). I
had to get some oversized long-nosed retaining ring pliers with 90
degree offsets to do that with the thing on the engine. Worked with a
mirror, needed three hands. There's a special puller needed to get the
pulley off, too. Once you have the pulley in hand, you can knock the
retaining tabs back on the bearing sleeve and tap the bearing out.
It's got a standard number, nobody but A/C suppliers have it, though.
Large inside and outside diameters, really small pins. I think the one
I used set me back like $20 off the web, showed up in three days. It
was about a $100 charge for all the tools I needed from Autozone, it
was reimbursed when I brought them back. After the bearing
replacement, I cleaned up the worn clutch surfaces on pulley and clutch
plate(a lathe is handy for that, careful file work might do), then
readjusted the clutch plate gap. Was much quieter running after that.
The regular service manuals kind of suck on this stuff. I lucked on to
this site last year, look he
http://www.warnerelectric.com/pdf_fr...stallation.asp

Down in "Vehicular" there at least a couple of pdfs that will help out.
One shows how to pull the thing off the Ford A/C compressor, the other
shows how to gap the clutch plate. I gapped for minimum clearance and
things not only were much quieter, I think it had been slipping before
so things were cooler, too. DON"T LOSE THE SPACER WASHERS UNDER THE
CLUTCH PLATE! They set the gap. So I've got a light "click" now,
where I had a loud "CLUNK" before when the clutch engaged. If there's
ridges worn in, it'll be really hard to set the gap correctly without
resurfacing.

Have tools and parts in hand before you start, nothing like having to
stop for several days while parts/tools get shipped in. Depending on
your circumstances, it might be cheaper/faster/easier to get a whole
new or refurbed clutch assembly than to mess around replacing a bearing
and cleaning up clutch plates. I think mine was like $250-300 at the
chain parts places, I figured I could beat that with a $20 bearing and
a little work. I did mine leisurely over a long 3-day weekend, once
that pulley is off, you aren't going anywhere with the vehicle.
Depending on how cramped your engine compartment is, you may have to
move or remove at least the fan shroud, maybe the fan and maybe(if
you're really unlucky) the radiator. The pulley puller takes up the
most space, front to back.

Here's some online outfits I've done some auto A/C parts and tooling
business with in the past, some have pictures/drawings of the tools you
need:

http://www.airpartsonline.com
http://mvpro.com/mall/ac_tools_1.asp
http://www.sherco-auto.com/
http://www.aapak.com/
http://www.ackits.com/

Don't remember which site I got the bearing from, though. That and the
clutch surface cleanup and regapping seemed to be all that was needed
to quiet things down.

Stan

once that pulley is off, you aren't going anywhere
with the vehicle.

....unless you get a belt from the same vehicle without
AC. Not a bad solution if you need to use it until you
can collect all the parts...
--Glenn Lyford

Thanks for all of the info, guys. Like I said, if it ever stops raining
here I'll verify that that is the source of the noise. I like the "use a
belt from the same but non-A/C vehicle" idea. Why didn't I think of that?

In the mean time it looks like I have some reading to do...


Al A. posting just a (long) stones throw from the lovely, and about to
overflow, Merrimack river...

On Mon, 15 May 2006 21:06:49 -0400, "Al A."
wrote:

Thanks for all of the info, guys. Like I said, if it ever stops raining
here I'll verify that that is the source of the noise. I like the "use a
belt from the same but non-A/C vehicle" idea. Why didn't I think of that?

I'm not even going to suggest that one to the Boss - in Southern
California there is only one thing that keeps you sane on a 110F day
when the freeways are all Stop and Stoppier Traffic. And that is
Blessed Coolness at the touch of a knob.

In the mean time it looks like I have some reading to do...

Al A. posting just a (long) stones throw from the lovely, and about to
overflow, Merrimack river...

In the immortal words of God, to Noah (as voiced by Bill Cosby):

"Noah, How long can you tread water?" ;-P

Keep your powder dry, and the rowboat tied to the biggest tree.

If you haven't already got it, forget about calling the insurance
agent now - Flood coverage has a 30 or 60 day waiting period.

And slap the hell out of the first neighbor that says something
stupid like "I've lived here 50 years and the river's never gotten
high enough to flood this neighborhood, and it aint never gonna!" -
that just jinxed it...

I got my clutch apart finally, and (after closing time, naturally)
found they gave me the wrong pulley for a narrower Multi-V belt. And
it isn't reusable anyway - three of the five thin web spots at the
ventilation slots on the pulley face were cracked through.

Ford stamps the part number on the inside of the pulley. You will
need an external snap-ring pliers (jaws open apart when squeezed) with
the large-pin 45 or 90 degree bent tips.

Had to make a puller for the pulley, no room for a 3-jaw without
pulling the radiator shroud, and there's a whole lot of other crap
that comes off before the shroud does.

Took some Unistrut, Chop Saw, 1/2" NC bolt and nuts, and MIG welder,
and wangled up a fixed arm two-jaw puller to fit in the space
available underneath a Van - If I use it again, I'll come up with a
custom nose piece to push against the bearing boss rather than a stack
of washers. (No Lathe, Darn...) It's a friction fit, so once its
moving the pulley comes off easy.

This one does NOT lose the shaft seal when you take it apart, and I
checked it with the Leak Seeker to be sure there were no slow leaks.

Back to the supply house in the morning...

-- Bruce --

wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi all,
Anybody here ever replace the A/C compressor clutch on a ford Truck?
This is a 1990 F150, 5.0. I am getting a loud-ish curnchy grinding
bearing noise that I think is comming from said clutch. I am 90%
sure that is the culprit and will confirm that, if it ever stops
raining here in NE Mass. Any tricks (ie. special tools, hints,
tips, etc.)I ought to know about before I dive in on this one?

It always helps when i tap the collective mind here at RCM before
getting in too deep. When ever I don't, I end up doing so
mid-project to figure out how to finish.

I appreciate for any ideas!

-AL A
Ford has used several different compressors over the years. The York style
looks like a regular compressor (verticle pistons) and is the easiest to
work on (IMO). The other is like the Frigidairs used on GM and many others
(horizontal radial pistons). Look closely at the inside bore of the clutch
and see if it has threads there. If so those are for the puller to screw
into, then a bolt screws into the puller to press the clutch face off.
Here is a link to the York manual. http://www.kilbyenterprises.com/york.htm
It has an identification section that may help.

wrote:
once that pulley is off, you aren't going anywhere
with the vehicle.

...unless you get a belt from the same vehicle without
AC. Not a bad solution if you need to use it until you
can collect all the parts...
--Glenn Lyford

On mine, a whole different style of belt is used on the vehicles
without A/C, I've seen them in the U-Pull-It(but not too many, A/C is a
real popular option). So wouldn't work too well with my particular
model, but it's a good thought.

Another thing, the Warner docs make really clear that your snap rings
have to go back in the way they came out or things may come apart when
you don't want them to. Matching bevels and all that. Don't lose the
shaft key, either, that was kind of embarrassing. I didn't forget it,
but it's easy to shift it out of place when putting the clutch plate
back on, mine ended up at the bottom of the spigot, next to the shaft
seal, and not in the slot, was real interesting trying to get that nut
off when the shaft wasn't keyed to the plate. I would have seen the
problem but was working around two corners with the thing in the
vehicle. I've never had that problem when working on one out of the
car.

I found that U-Pull-It can supply all the A/C compressors I want to
carry home for about $7@ with clutches, makes for plentiful spares
where things get cracked, chewed up or lost. I've got removal down to
about 15 minutes. Degreasing takes longer, though. Rubber stoppers
keep the oil drippings in and the moisture and crap out.

Stan

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.

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...."

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
Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net.