Greg 88 Floater

It just doesnt seem to end on my car. The pulleys on the ac compressor are making a heck of a lot of noise, and appear to be oscillating back and forth while they spin. Its to the point where I dont want to drive my car because I'm afraid its gonna throw the pulley or some horrible thing like that. Is there a way to tighten down the pulley or something? I suppose I could take a video of the engine running for a bit if it'll help someone diagnose my problem. I have to go up to the nissan dealership tomorrow to pick up the correct exhaust gasket (hopefully), so I guess I'll ask them, but they're probably gonna tell me I need a new ac compressor, and I just cant afford that. Is there a quick fix possible?

pics of the engine and transmission mounts are still pending b/c I've been really lazy this week after coming home from classes and work.

Thanks for any help.

Greg

maximase86

iTrader: (24)

Hey greg, if you can get a video of what it sounds like, that'd be great. Be easier to diagnose exactly what is wrong with the pulley. One problem though is to the sound of it, you may have to replace the pulley clutch, and that may involve evacuating the a/c system and recharging it....(not 100% on this, I'll hefta look into it), and that may cause you to loose use of your a/c because of the possible cost. I'll will look into it more to make sure I'm passing you the correct information though.

S

Greg 88 Floater

I'm not really worried about losing my AC I havent had it since this past May. Do you mean to in order to get it to work right I'll have to get the system recharged with the refrigerant? The compressor is dead (was told so by the local Nissan master tech), I just dont have the money or time to get it replaced. I dont have the AC button pushed in, so its not engaging the compressor or anything, but recently its been making a whole ton of noise, where it used to only be intermitent at best. Its kinda dark now, but I'll definately get the video tomorrow and post a link to right click-save as and you can let me know whats up. Thanks.

Greg

alllw86

Greg

You can replace just the ac pulley without messing with the R-12 . I had to do that on my 86 Max when the pulley broke at the hub. I loosen the compressor, left all the hoses attached, made a tool to pull the hub out. Used a bolt and nut to install / draw the new pulley/hub in.
The bad new is when that pulley breaks, you can't drive the car till its fix. The alternator runs off of it too. Cost $200 for the pulley/clutch new. Probably should have got a rebuild ac compressor which included the pulley/clutch for $300, but didnt want to loose the R-12.
Since your ac compressor is already bad , this maybe the time to save up on fixing it now.
One quick check is to see if the bolt holding the pulley onto the compressor is tight. Hope that's all it is.

Al

Niku-Sama

iTrader: (1)

what kinda of noise? funky rattley noise or is it a squealin' like a pig? (get da gun maw!)

Greg 88 Floater

Funky rattling noise. Like, when I'm idling at a light, I can hear it inside the car b/c its so bad. I'll take a look into the bolt and see if its tight. Hopefully it isnt, and I can tighten it down. Thanks for the info guys. I'll have the video this afternoon. Gotta goto class right now.

Greg

Greg 88 Floater

I have a 1 minute video, but its 16.3mb, and I dont have the webspace for it, so I'm gonna go up to Nissan real quick for my exhaust gasket (I hope) and come back and make another, shorter video when I get back, which will hopefully be much much smaller in size.

Greg

Greg 88 Floater

ok, so I took it up to harrisonburg nissan, and got my exhaust gasket (finally! after 2-3 years of never getting the right part! ) I had Brian (guy at the service desk, but he knows his stuff, and he'll talk to the master tech for me since he wasnt there) take a listen to it, and he said the compressor is on its last leg and I'm risking ceasing it up and burning the belts that are on it. What should my course of action be? Should I look into getting an all-new clutch assembly for it and getting a used compressor from a salvage yard? Are there quality, and relatively inexpensive, rebuilt compressors anywhere? I dont really want to buy a third party compressor. I want Nissan parts, even if they're rebuilt/remanufactured parts. Please let me know what you think.

Greg

Niku-Sama

iTrader: (1)

i think thats a load of bull....i replaced my A/C compressor last summer and it makes a slight rattling sound when i idle...i can only really hear it when i have the windows rolled down and at higher speeds i dont hear it....i think it might be a loose belt but i dont know how to tighten it and i havent had time to even look up how let alone do it

Greg 88 Floater

I hear it when I idle, and I can hear it when I'm driving. Even with the windows up. It gets worse the longer I drive the car (for example, the video I took has little to no rattling, but when I got over to Nissan, it was making a ton of noise). Its starting to make noises similar to the noises it makes when I demo the noise from turning on my AC (like I did for the master tech a week or so ago).

Greg

maximase86

iTrader: (24)

ummmm, but his rattling is much worst than that. I think you are better off finding a used compressor and putting it in. I don't think it's smart to put a new clutch on it because of the failing compressor.

S

Greg 88 Floater

ok, I'm looking into getting a compressor. I think there's one in the classifieds here. PMed the person about it. What relation is there b/t the clutch and the compressor? If I get a replacement compressor, would it do any good if I get a new OEM clutch assembly for it? or will it not matter worth a **** b/c the compressor is old?

Much abliged,
Greg

maximase86

iTrader: (24)

Probably not worth it. The used compressor is just to be sure that you can operate your alternator when the car is running. Usually clutches don't bad on a/c compressors, it's the compressor itself. If the compressor goes bad, then you have problems.

S

Greg 88 Floater

http://www.angelfire.com/va/casimirpage/idling.mov

this is the video I took earlier today, the car hadnt been started since yesterday, so its pretty quiet relatively speaking. It was much noisier when I got to the Nissan dealership 1.5hrs ago. Sorry for the bad camera angles and size of the file. The digital camera doesnt give options for resolution and compression or anything.

not totally sure how this works, I just posted and I think it tried to put the 16.3mb movie into the thread So yeah.. if this doesnt work, I'll be editing the post.

Greg

*edit it would help if I could spell 'idling' correctly*

Niku-Sama

iTrader: (1)

it no woreks! ...mmmm paint fumes are my friend

pkfinn

You can replace the bearing in the compressor pulley. I ordered one through a local bearing supplier using the part number off the old one. They didn't stock it under the exact same part number, but they were able to cross it over to one they could order. It cost about $25-30 I think. It's not too hard to get the pulley off. You have to take the clutch plate off first, which will require a puller of some sort. Check Autozone or NAPA, they loan tools for free (you actually have to pay for it, then they refund your money when you return it). The pulley is held on by a large snap ring. Once you get it off, you remove another snap ring and press the bearing out of the pulley. Press the new one in, and reassemble. I don't have the number for the bearing right now, but I might be able to find an old pulley I have laying around and get a number off the bearing if you want to try to order one.

It's kind of a dumb design, the way the alternator runs off of the A/C compressor. The compressor can be locked up though, but as long as the pulley bearings are good, you'll be okay. The compressor doesn't turn at all if the A/C is off. The pulley just "free-wheels", mounted to the front of the compressor body.

alllw86

If you really need a pulley/clutch , here a real deal on a Nissan part

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2438914270

Good Luck

AL

Niku-Sama

iTrader: (1)

pullys need to be torqued right?

Greg 88 Floater

I didnt want to pay $40+ for it though, and as there were no bidders, I contacted the guy and said I'd give him $25+shipping and he agreed! ($31 and change total) Now the only question is: do I have the tools I need to do the work here? Probably not, but we'll see. All the good and proper tools are at home 250+ miles away. Anyone around Harrisonburg, Va wanna bring me some tools?
Gonna look into getting a replacement compressor too, I guess. But right now, as far as availability and price go, buying the new pulley/clutch is the best and only option.

Is there a way to completely bipass the AC compressor? Like, if I was OK with not having Airconditioning, could I just remove it and somehow get a mount for those 2 pulleys? The alternator belt is spun by the water pump belt isnt it? What runs what in that configuration? Probably wont do anything about it, but its interesting to know.

Greg

Greg 88 Floater

sigh.. ok, so, the guy hasnt gotten back to me yet about the clutch assembly, and I'm really starting to miss my car. What are the estimates for a new one? Only thing I can find on ebay is this reeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaally bad looking compressor that has like a 2 day warranty or something horrible like that. I need the car to be fixed by Thanksgiving, b/c I dont want to spend it alone at college and I dont want to have anyone drive up here to pick me up blah blah blah... so anyway, does anyone have an online source for compressors? Or know somebody who's got one? There's a salvage yard like 10 minutes from my parents' house, but I dont want to drive my car 300 miles to get there. I also dont have the money to pay Nissan to supply both the compressor and the installation. Does anyone know what Advance Auto or NAPA charges for a compressor? My schedule is pretty hectic these days and I dont have the time or transportation to go myself, but I guess I'll fit it in this week. Really in a bind, any help is appreciated.

Greg