Well I got another one off the list today. I had a noisy A/C clutch in my 86. I picked up a a/c clutch a while back when RockAuto has some things they were clearancing out and got the tools lined up.

Checked the pulley bearing and that seemed fine though I had a replacement pulley bearing on-hand just-in-case. Pulling the old clutch and prepping for the new clutch was easy. Problem was getting it back together. Dropped the pulley key (still haven't found it) after a failed attempt to get it on. I had some new on-hand and marked to length in case needed. The darn key wouldn't slid in straight and kept hanging the clutch up while trying to reassemble it multiple times. Finally got mad and insured the keyways did not have any burrs in them and beveled the leading edges on the key. I also used a little pipe dope to help stick the key down into the keyway on the shaft so it wouldn't fall off again during assembly and finally got the pulley on.

Airgap set to a perfect .030", cleaned up the facing on the pulley prior to reassembly. Pulley bearing seems to be good. I have not run the car yet as the hands were getting cold cause I can't work on the car in them, but may run the car and check out my repair tomorrow. I need to run it a little anyway every so often while in hibernation.

The only thing I had to unbolt and move a little was the accumulator/drier (I think that's what it's called) that bolts to the radiator bracket right in front of the a/c compressor. Needed a little more space to get the tool onto the clutch to remove and reinstall it and that was in the way, otherwise everything was done on the car 'as-is'.

Next on the list is rear suspension bushings. Have everything here I should need, just need the time to do it. After that is replace some of the under-hood Delphi type connectors that had the locking tabs broken off before I bought the car. Making progress, a little at a time.

That's a lot more than I've done to mine over the winter. I did pat it on the head last time I was over at my MIL's house (where it is hibernating).

This site might help when you start on your connector replacement.

Joel

http://www.acdelcotechconnect.com/pi/ ... g-connectors/gm/pigtails/

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Joel

Thanks much. Appreciate any and all info.

Paul

Glad you got some projects done. The suspension bushings aren't much fun, so you can look forward to that

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Yeah, that's what I heard. I've been doing research on it and hopefully it will go as planned. I've also done some research on the kits from https://banskimotorsports.com/ and if push-comes-to-shove have considered this as an option.

If you have the money, banski is the way to go.

I have a thread with a lot of pictures from my rear suspension rebuild.

You'll have to scroll through it:

http://www.corvetteforum.guru/modules ... lat&topic_id=8127&forum=1

Well I ran the car enough to warm it up and tried the a/c and it didn't engage. Should have tried it yesterday before I took it apart - dumb move on my part. Not going to mess with it today, but I'll have to look at it again when it's a little warmer out.

At least it's not squeaking.

Is the clutch disc "pulling" in when AC is activated?
It will make a single click with ignition on and AC function set on control panel.


Joel

Not sure, doing it alone today. I set the airgap based on some info I had found from compressor rebuilding companies. Spent some time today and fsm has .015-.025" for he airgap so I think that's the first thing I'll try. That's an easy one to adjust and see what happens.

Worst case, I'll use go-conditioning in the future (open the windows and go like heck).

From my past experience with AC clutch air gaps, I go with the tighter gap 010-015 and rotate clutch to be sure there is no drag or contact with AC off.

Joel

Clutch is working if I jumper the "pressure cycling switch" so I assume it's low on Freon. Likely leaked out since having it charged up last August. Clutch seems good if the wire to the switch is jumpered. Doing better, at least know the clutch is good and working though it does put one thing back on the to-do list - find the leak.

Any pics of work?

This keeps each segment of process cycling in your noggin', and solutions to a problem often come to you during the time...

The connector shown marked 'high pressure switch' by the fan is what I jumpered and as soon as I did that the clutch engaged. The clutch coil where I checked for current is there between the pulley and the body of the compressor.

I will need to check with the place that charged the system last year and see if they use dyed Freon and if so, try a UV light and see if anything still shows up. Kind of doubt it but you never know.

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I'm guessing you don't have a set of gauges, that's the best way to check. If you found it has leaked out, best to repair the leak and then vacuum/refill.

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No I don't. Unfortunately it's going to have to wait a while before I can get back at it. Family stuff and unrelated are coming to top of the list to deal with right now. I appreciate all the help and hopefully can get back to this before long but family comes before toys.