My A/C stopped working the other day while going down the freeway. When I got off the freeway and the A/C stated working again. I found a small pin hole leak in my radiator that could have sprayed on the belt, and there is a black plastic splattering around the AC clutch. I think this caused the clutch to slip. Now the A/C is working, but there is a little drag on the A/C clutch.

Have I destroyed the AC clutch? Can I change the clutch or do I have to replace the entire Pump? Since the AC is working right now should I run it until it gets worse or better.

 

you can get a junkyard ac compresser and replace the clutch.

 

The black is probably from your belt. The clutch is fairly tough. To replace the clutch, you would have to pull down the system and recharge it. Replace your belt, fix your radiator and see what happens before you touch the compressor.

 

The Belt is in good condition and not showing any signs of slipping (glossy, wear ect.) the black is a hard plastic, not a rubbery belt substance. I looked up the AC pump manufactures service manual (posted below). Turns out if the clutch gets to hot it can melt the epoxy in the field coil magnet. I suspect that that is what happened. So I am off to the junk yard next weekend to grab a new clutch.

Note to those who have this same compressor, the clutch can be adjusted by removing washers that are used as shims. As the clutch gets some wear on it it will cause it to slip more and generate more heat that leads to more wear and in my case I am guessing enough heat to melt the coil epoxy. If I had adjusted the clutch I may not have had this problem???


http://www.sanden.com/images/SD_Service_Guide_Rev.2.pdf

 

Quick update: Installed a junk yard clutch. System is working great.