06 Tacoma A/C problem

Hey everyone, new here so hope the title wasnt bad. I've got a 2006 Tacoma 2.7L manual and anytime i turn the A/C on it's followed up by an awful whirring noise.

I believe it happens when the compressor turns on. It does it at idle and when i accelerate it gets louder until the compressor turns off then it stops. it also does it when i turn the defrosters on.

Has anyone else had this issue? any insight and advice is greatly appreciated.

Thank You!

 

That sounds suspiciously like a compressor failure, though the problem could be the compressor clutch or even belt related. I'd remove the belt, spin the pulley by hand, as well as the front plate of the clutch (which turns the compressor shaft), and I suspect the issue will be apparent.

 

When you remove the belt, inspect the idler pulleys. Maybe you're lucky and the noise is coming from there.

There will be some resistance when you turn the compressor by hand.

Compressor failure is bad news. My compressor clutch hub came apart last year (easy fix thank goodness), but after I was told the repair cost of doing a proper repair had the compressor failed, three people that I know have driven Toyota vehicles for well over a decade vowed to never buy one of their products again. No joke. To swap the evaporator (that gets full of exploded compressor shrapnel), the interior of the truck gets pretty much stripped down until you're left with just it and the three pedals. Super labor cost.

 

An idler pulley would whirr all the time. Compressor or compressor clutch.

 

Man, I really hope the compressor isn't failing then. I'll be taking the belt off this week to see what I can find. Thanks for your input, guys.

 

compressor, did not happen on my tacoma, but did happen on my lexus (same motor)

get to a shop right away! i didnt and the compressor failed and sent pieces all through the system, had to replace the compressor and the bottle and have the lines flushed thoroughly. went from a $500 fix to a $1100 real quick!

does the led on the button to turn the a/c on and off every start blinking? if so thats a good indication of something bad on the horizon.

any chance you can take a video of it with sound and put on youtube or something? tat would help alot.

 

The light never blinks but some times the a/c doesn't feel as cold as it should especially since I just charged it. I'll take a video today and try and put it up after work.

 

Mine has always "whirred" or hummed a little when the compressor is spinning and the noise increases with RPMs. It's really not noticeable once you turn the radio on. To be honest I've never been overly impressed by the performance with the a/c system in my 2nd gen. My 1st gen was much colder. Did you overcharge it when charging it? This can be just as bad as it being low on Freon. Without seeing a video it's hard to say if it's normal or abnormal amount of noise.

 

I'm pretty sure I didn't overcharge it. My dad has a 2012 tacoma and his a/c makes no noise at all. It sounds like my best bet is to just take it to a mechanic but I'm going to post a video later today and see what you guys think.

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mZYVVGsPnII

Here's the link to the video, hopefully this gives an idea

 

Watched your video, it's the same sound mine makes. It does seem louder although it's hard to tell through a youtube video how loud a sound actually is.
Is your dads a 4cyl or v6? I would think with all the extra engine noise it would probably cover up the hum with a v6. But that's with the noise level that I experience inside of my cab with the a/c on.

When you refilled it did you use an can w/ gauge type or did you use an actually R-134a set of gauges. If you used a can w/gauge it's easy to overfill b/c you don't know what pressure the high side is running. The high side is much more sensitive to Freon levels and temp/humidity than is the low side.

More: Just thought of this, your sound will be more noticeable than mine b/c with your manual trans you'll tend to rev the engine a lot more thereby making the sound louder.

 

I would leave the A/C and defrost off until this is sorted out, which is likely going to involve a new compressor.

 

I charged it with one of those cans from autozone that came with a gauge. It was making that noise prior to charging it and the air wasn't cold at all. Once I charged it, it was cold but not like I feel it should be.

I'm almost positive I didn't overfill it, my dad's 2012 is a v6. You can hear when his compressor comes on but it's no where near the noise mine makes

Have you done anything to yours to remedy the problem?

 

Well I did take the belt off the other day and found that the idler that sits right next to a/c compressor was not in top notch shape. It's been leaking a bit of grease out the front of the bearing but it's not quite in need of replacement yet. You could pull the belt and check the bearing on that pulley b/c I think it probably gets put under high stress when the a/c is turned on.

 

That's what others have recommended also so I think that's what I'll do come tomorrow. We'll see how it goes I guess. Hopefully I'll be able to narrow it down further. Thanks for your input

 

Just an update: I replaced my belt with a Goodyear Gatorback. No more whirring noise. Guess my belt was just a little on the worn side. Hope you figured yours out.