A/C Clutch Removal Trouble

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Thankfully, there had to be a simple solution.

Bruce.

[R Schroeder]

Why are you pulling the pulley off ? Are there grooves in the face ? Didn't look to bad.
Is the bearing bad ?
If it isn't bad there would be no reason to remove it.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Didn't you see the separated clutch plate?   Broken part.

Bruce.

[CadillacFlashback]

Why are you pulling the pulley off ? Are there grooves in the face ? Didn't look to bad.
Is the bearing bad ?
If it isn't bad there would be no reason to remove it.

There's a pretty good groove around it.  I've come this far, might as well do it right.

[R Schroeder]

Yes , I did see the broken clutch plate.
Aren't there slots in the clutch plate ? The surface of the clutch plate might not contact the pulley where that slight scrape is located.
I see you have the bigger threaded shaft on the compressor. Mine has the bigger thread.

May I ask where you got your install tool ? Company name, tool name ? I could not find one, and had to make the install tool.
Roy

Just found this picture of the clutch face. I don't think the scrape is going to be a problem because it lines up with the slot in the clutch face. In other words, there is no contact there.

[CadillacFlashback]

May I ask where you got your install tool ? Company name, tool name ? I could not find one, and had to make the install tool.
Roy

I bought a puller/installer kit from ToolTopia.com.  Brand Name Astro Pneumatic, part number AP 7886.  $26.85.  Was referred to this unit by another forum member.

It's an adequate tool for amateur use.  A professional using it every day would probably want something more substantial, but this is fine for what I'll ever need.

[R Schroeder]

I looked it up, but could not get any size for the installer tool on the thread.
Is your thread on the end of the shaft about 3/8 dia. Does your install tool screw onto it ?
Every install tool I found had a thread that was about a 1/4 inch in dia. Would not work with my compressor.
Roy
Thanks

[CadillacFlashback]

I looked it up, but could not get any size for the installer tool on the thread.
Is your thread on the end of the shaft about 3/8 dia. Does your install tool screw onto it ?
Every install tool I found had a thread that was about a 1/4 inch in dia. Would not work with my compressor.
Roy
Thanks

Yes to the 3/8 inch questions.

[CadillacFlashback]

For those who are keeping track, I got the pulley off as well.  I am keeping the original field in place as I know it works from my previous tests.  All this was accomplished with the compressor in place, nothing removed but the fan belts.

This would have been about a half hour project if I had ever done it before.

[R Schroeder]

I'm following you Scott.
Since I just resealed mine , I'm interested in what others are doing.
I think I found a complete set of tools for working on the clutch. Mastercool set 91000A. About 70 bucks.
Thanks for letting me know about the shaft size. That is the size of mine. I believe its metric. M9x1.25.
Roy

[CadillacFlashback]

Yours may be metric but mine is not...the kit I mentioned comes with English and metric tools.

[R Schroeder]

I think around 78 they went metric. My mounting bolts are metric.
This is the set I was interested in.

http://www.jbtoolsales.com/mastercool-91000-a-deluxe-clutch-hub-puller-installer-kit/?gclid=CLfXwf6k3sACFYk7Mgod2EoAfw

Probably will never use it, but I'm one of these guys that likes a lot of tools. Kids are gone, so tools don't end up missing to much anymore.
Roy

[CadillacFlashback]

Final update, for those who may have followed this thread:

Today I installed a replacement clutch and recharged the system  All is well, the air is blowing cold to the point of being painful on my face (I love a good R12 system). 

This entire project was accomplished with the compressor in place on the car.

Scott

[TJ Hopland]

You must be somewhere a lot further south of where I was all week which was close to the Canadian border where I don't think I saw the sun or 50 degrees F the last 2 weeks.   Wishing I brought a coat was a thought I had a few times. 

That was one good thing about the huge old AC compressors, they really could not hide them like they do now.  Down next to the oil pan seems to be a common place these days where sometimes you have to remove the whole engine and trans to work on it.   

[cadillacmike68]

Scott,
Did you remove the snap ring on the compressor shaft first?
Greg Surfas

I just had fun with one of these.

The snap ring is removed to get the pulley off, after the clutch is already off.

Mine did not have any washer behind the nut.

This can all be done without disconnecting the pressurized lines.

Scott, what are you going to do with the old pulley? The clutch is toast, but the pulley might be able to be re-surfaced.

Also, what car is this for? Must be a 1974 or earlier, because I think they went to single groove pulleys in 1975.

[CadillacFlashback]

The pulley is in a box. I never throw old parts away.

This project was on my '71 CDV

[cadillacmike68]

Thanks, I was going to ask where you got the pulley & bearing assembly from. All the auto parts stores seem to list a single groove pulley set for these cars and we don't have those, we have double groove pulley setups, and they are not interchangeable.

There is a source for these, Classic Auto Air in Tampa, FL, but they are not cheap.

[bcroe]

Final update, for those who may have followed this thread:

Today I installed a replacement clutch and recharged the system  All is well, the air is blowing
cold to the point of being painful on my face (I love a good R12 system). 

This entire project was accomplished with the compressor in place on the car.
Scott         

Thanks for the update.  R12 is the way to go; I will never consider trying to convert
my systems.  When and if I finally can't get some form of R12, I have already tried
using a propane/butane combination which will always be available.  Bruce Roe

[cadillacmike68]

Thanks for the update.  R12 is the way to go; I will never consider trying to convert
my systems.  When and if I finally can't get some form of R12, I have already tried
using a propane/butane combination which will always be available.  Bruce Roe

If you have access to AC pros who know what they are doing, you can get these late 60s - early 70s converted with No loss of cooling capability. Mine has cooled extremely well all summer here in FL, and it doesn't get much hotter than here, especially when you consider the 88-98% humidity we have here.

Same condenser, compressor, and lines (except for the service valve fittings). The receiver / dryer / accumulator is a different piece, but it's the same size & shape and it goes in the same location. There's a little bit of extra coil windings by the Suction throttling POA valve assembly, but otherwise it looks nearly identical to the original setup. I'm very pleased with it.

I would not have done it, except for the cost of recharging after a leak. It just got to be too outrageous.

[TJ Hopland]

On the butane / propane combo I have heard that at low pressures the stuff is no more dangerous than gasoline but what happens when you crank it up to 200+ psi in a system that was not designed to have a flammable gas in it?