Replacing A/C pulley

I need to change the pulley out on the A/C compressor. The A/C works great so there isn't a need to change the whole compressor. The pulley is making a lot of racket though and I'm sick of listening to it. Anyone know how to disassemble the pulley with the compressor in place. I'm having trouble getting it off and I don't want to tear anything up just in case it doesn't need replacing. What's a good detailed maintainence manual? Hayne's is too vague for my liking and doesn't have everything in it.

 

get the FSM you can download them for free.



here is the video on how to do it and decide for yourself if you want to press a new bearing in or just put on a new pulley

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JogUnB6-myg

 

There's a good chance you can remove the clutch without discharging the system, but it is not guaranteed. In general, you need something to hold the outer part of the pulley stable while you remove the nut on the compressor shaft. There are tools for this, but you can often use a good long screw driver to catch on two of the bolts. Or you can use an old fan belt, wrap it around the drive pulley and use that to hold it still (a helper would probably be best). Just be careful to not damage the pulley (it is not fragile, but a gorilla can bend anything if he tries hard enough.

I've worked on a bunch of compressors over the years, although not this specific one. On many there is then a internal snap ring you will need to remove. If you forget it, banging on the pulley to get the clutch off will just bend the pulley and they are not always readily available (from experience). Once you get the snap ring out, the front part of the clutch should slide off. You might need to tap but do it gently. This is NOT an interference fit, just a splined shaft that can get a little rust since it is facing forward and gets wet in the rain.

Another snap ring and you can remove the magnetic coil. If you buy a new clutch to get the new bearing, may as well replace this as well. It can sometimes be a pain to get off. Once the snap ring is off, you can tap it, or since you are replacing it, if it is stubborn a 3-jaw puller will make short work of it. Only issue here is that the three-jawed puller is pretty tall, and there is not a ton of clearance between the front of the compressor and the radiator. In a pinch you can remove the four compressor bolts which lets you rotate the compressor for a better angle to use the puller if you need to.

Clean the front of the compressor where the new magnet slips on, and you can use a drop or two of oil or grease so that the new magnet will go on easier. Then on with the snap ring (note that some compressors have a flat snap ring, some have a tapered ring. As you take them off, pay attention to them and look for any sign of a taper and if so, which way it goes (most always go toward the front, but no guaranteed).

The only hassle is putting on the clutch drive disk. You will notice that the new clutch comes with a bunch of thin washers. You will have to play with these (the new clutch has detailed instructions) so that with that center nut tightened up, a feeler gauge between the outer pulley and the clutch face surface will tell you how wide the gap is. The instructions will tell you the acceptable range. Too big and the clutch can slip, or even if it doesn't slip now, it will start to slip as the clutch wears. Too tight and the clutch will drag, wear fast, and produce a LOT of heat and smoke, none of which is good for the clutch. This is simple trial and error as there are different thicknesses of washers, and you get to play the let's do this again, over and over. If you have ever worked on a rear end and tried to set the correct pinion depth, this is the same drill where you simply try different thicknesses and then use some special grease on the teeth to make sure the depth is correct. Once you get this right, you are done. Don't forget that outer snap ring, it is there to make sure everything stays in the right relationship to everything else.

I have done this on cars where the compressor was buried on the bottom. A couple of jack stands and you are in business. The only problem is front to radiator clearance usually. Not having replaced the one on my Tacoma I can't say for sure. In my case, I have A/C gauges, a vacuum pump, and would have no problem just yanking the thing out as it is certainly easier trying to work on this on a workbench rather than on your back on the ground. However a recharge (including evacuation) might cost in the range of $150 or so since R134a has gone through the roof the last few years. 7-8 years ago I was buying a case of 12 12-oz cans for under 30 bucks at Sam's club. And maybe $3-$4 at auto zone or advanced. Today $10 for a single can is a good deal.

Hope that helps. Note that when you can buy a new compressor clutch, they usually have some good instructions regarding the snap rings and such. All they fail to take into account is clearance issues and how long your arms are and how small your fingers are.

I have run into MANY cases over the past 10-15 years where a clutch was not available, leaving you with the only option of buying a complete compressor. Last time I ran into this a clutch was in the $100 range, and a new compressor was around twice that. I suspect it is a marketing ploy.

Good luck, it is not that hard, just leave the heavy hammers and pry bars in the tool cabinet.

 

yep, I double checked and Toyota/Denso compressors did it the smart way and the pulley doesn't go into the compressor seal like on GM and some others so its simple and easy pull of and replace with no loss of Freon involved

 

Thanks guys. This was a big help. I'm gonna try to get it off to take it with me to autozone. They have a bad habit of giving me the wrong parts

 

I'm not sure that anything is wrong with the bearing or the pulley. It's just making some noise but it doesn't feel like it has slack in it or sound like its grinding. Is there any chance I could just repack it with grease to fix this? I called several parts stores and it seems if I was to change the bearing, I would have to buy it from the dealship.

 

Have you ruled out the A/C tensioner pulley or the belt itself?

 

Yes I bought the small tensioner pulley thinking that's which one was making the racket but the old one wasn't in bad shape. I'll swap it out anyhow since I already have the new one, but it wasn't until I removed all the belts and started roll checking the pulley that I figured out it was the compressor bearing/pulley.

 

no its a sealed bearing if you notice in the video so there is no way to do anything but replace it.

what makes the noise? when you take the belt off and spin it does it make a raspy sound like in the video? if so the bearing is bad

if it doesn't make the noise after you remove the clutch then it might just be the clutch rubbing on something if one of the spring tabs that hold it got bent somehow

 

Yea I realized after I asked that, that it is a sealed bearing like all the other God forsaken bearings on this truck. It doesn't make any raspy sound when I spin it and it doesn't have any radial slop in it. There is some axial travel when I grab the pulley and that's the only thing I could figure is making the noise. That should be a shimming issue though, correct?

 

I just replaced my idler pulley. It would chirp when it was cold and wet out.

 

When you spin it....How does it feel? Does it feel rough or have rough spots? Does it spin too easily and quickly?? New bearings have some resistance when you spin them because they're loaded with lubrication/grease. But the spinning will be slow & smooth.

There's a difference between the 'bearings' themselves (mounted in the pulley) and the pulley attached to the shaft. How does the shaft look? The connection to the pulley / is the key good? (pardon..machine talk)

 

A failure CAN be painful. My son used to run a "we come to you" auto repair service and I helped him on weekends. We were once called out to a shopping center where someone reported their starter had gone bad. Pulled it off and yep, it was REALLY bad. Replaced it. just a "groan" but nothing. I crawled up under this ford truck and got my son to hit the starter. Again nothing, but I noticed that the serpentine belt acted funny, getting loose where I would not expect it. Pulled it off and when I got to the A/C pulley, it was dead frozen. Turns out the guy burned out his starter trying to get it to turn over. A starter motor already draws a LOT of amps. When it is stalled, it draws more. We noticed melted insulation on the starter cable between starter relay and starter. He got a double whammy that day.

Of course if the pulley freezes while you are driving, you will instantly be without a water pump as it will either immediately friction-burn through the belt or throw it off.

 

That darn snap ring is tapered - pain in the butt if it's broken - my story :

My little brother's pulley compressor was squeaking, 2003 Double Cab 3.4L 4X4, we diagnosed by activating compressor, deactivating - then spraying WD-40 on the pulley while the compressor was running and the squealing muffled - we then removed the AC belt and moved the pulley by hand to be 100% certain and felt resistance, metal on metal, and it had some play (on the vertical plane).

The issue seems to be over time dirt & water broke the Nachi (Made in Japan) bearing seal - OEM unless it was replaced prior - and some of the ball bearings inside were missing along with the bearing cover and this allowed the pulley to wobble and squeak/squeal while it rubbed the magnet clutch (the pulley goes over the magnet/clutch) - the play and wobbling also broke the outer snap-ring *SEE PICTURE*.

To fix we had to remove the outer clutch/cover by removing the 10MM 6 point bolt while holding the outter edge with a rubber craftsman oil filter wrench/AC clutch tool - removed the outer clutch cover, used a mirror/light tool to inspect inner snap ring holding the pulley on - it was broken - had to take off one section of the OEM "wavy" of snap ring at a time with a small 45* pick tool (Thanks for the hint Jim @ Toyota) until it popped out and then work out the pulley by gently prying, one side at a time, until it had enough play to pop/pull off. *Note - when we removed the clutch cover, there were no small, thin, washers/shims that provide for the clutch "air gap" needed - *See Picture - No washers* - HOWEVER - you should have 1-3 washers here for an air gap to prevent the magnetic clutch from activating unintentionally.* Once the pulley is removed you can see where the bearing is "peened" in with the edge of the pulley housing - use a flat edge or small nail set and hammer to push back these peens that hold the bearing in. We then had the bearing pressed out and the new bearing pressed in by a local shop - they charged me $10 after initially trying to charge my brother $45 - I simply told them that we will just use a socket and block of wood to take out at home and a vice and the old bearing to press it back in - then they caved and did it on the spot for $10.

Once the bearing was swapped, we "re-peened" the bearing back in by simply tapping the original peens back down, and attempted to use a new snap ring from NAPA, same diameter, unsuccessfully - upon further "mirror" inspection I noticed the Nachi bearing cover from the back of the bearing still in the magnetic clutch housing - then removed and this freed up less than 1mm of space - still unable to insert the snap ring from NAPA we left AC belt off and decided to tackle another day - re-grouped and did some research.

*THE KICKER - THE OEM SNAP RING IS TAPERED!!!! You will find it close to impossible to find a match for it unless your replacement ring it is OEM or tapered, or you grind down the inner circumference of a non-tapered snap ring just slightly - it must be thinner at the inner edge/circumference that sits inside the retaining wall*

The FIX :

Toyota OEM Snap Ring - 90099-07125 - $2.05
Toyota OEM Shim Kit - "Air Gap" Washers - 88335-14020 - $1.34
Nachi Bearing 30BGS10DST2/30BGS10DST2/Toyota 51802600 (30mm X 52mm X 22mm) - $26.85 (bearingsdirect)

 

Having an occasional issue on my gf's 2003 Tacoma. Squeals sometimes when compressor kicks on and goes away when it kicks off. Is there a method to diagnose whether I should just change the whole clutch or diagnose and deal with a particular component? Locally I can only find what seems to be the entire clutch assembly at Autozone, but some individual parts are available at other retailers. Trying to decide what's easier even if a bearing or something is 1/4 price of clutch assembly, but would involve more work. I thought about just spraying the clutch w WD40 or something but didn't want to mask anything to diagnose.

 

there is a specification for plate clearance... you might get lucky and have it be correct, if not, make sure it is within specs otherwise the it might not have enough clearance and make a scraping sound or if too far dis-engage when it shouldnt - the electro-magnet is only so strong.

see attachment.

 

I would replace the whole clutch assembly with a new bearing already installed.

 

do you have a PN for that? I think I need to do this. I've already spent a ton of money at my local shop, and would rather try to do this myself if it doesn't involve replacing the entire compressor

 

This! This is what I want to see a video of. I had a similar problem as the OP, but realized my problem was the idler pulley. Until I get time to fix it, I just cut the AC belt. It needed replaced anyway.

Any videos of an IC idler pulley replacement, specifically?

Not trying to hijack, I think all these videos would be nice in one spot!

Good luck OP.

 

I do not, but Oreilley's / AutoZone did have it / could order it last year when I checked. It was about $120-$150 if I remember correctly, included the magnetic clutch, pulley, etc.