1991Jeep_Man

Hey ya'll,

I call on the expertise of the fellow CF members. My girlfriend has a 2001 Chevy Prism. Today it decided to finally get to a point where she didn't want to risk something happening and she parked it at work. She told me for a while now it's had a weird clanging noise or something of the sort when the car is running without the A/C on. She said when she'd turn the A/C on, it'd make another weird noise and the original clanging noise would go away. However recently she says when she'd start the car and have the A/C on and she'd go into Reverse or Drive, the car would stall when she let off the gas after moving or sometimes whenever first shifting.

She also informed me that she stopped by a local shop and had the mechanic 'look' at it. She said he told her it was something to the effect of some bearing having to do with the A/C and it would cost her like $520 to fix. Considering that no time was taken and that the A/C system is fairly straightforward in terms of diagnosis, I am calling BS. She didn't call me until after the fact because she was worried I was busy and didn't want to interrupt anything (we're working on that lol, bless her heart).

So I am planning on picking her up in the AM and running over to take a look at it. I am pretty sure it had a CEL too, so I'll check it out as well. Any suggestions? Sorry about the vague description: this is all I have to go on based on what she told me, and I love her to death but she isn't mechanically inclined lol.

Thanks for any help you guys.

mr white

See exactly what kind of noises the car is making. If it has a CEL, pull the code.

Gee oh Dee

This.

And if it IS the ac, keep in mind there is parts, plus recharging the system, and I'm sure there is a haz mat removal fee cuz they have to dispose of the refrigerant.

So $500ish isnt that bad imo.

HCCAFan

I just spent 700 on my Jeep's AC.

1991Jeep_Man

From what she is explaining to me, the A/C still blows cold and everything. There are metal shavings near the front of the a/c compressor according to her and the mechanic. Based on what she said the mechanic said, I am thinking the clutch is gone and is causing issue with the pulley bearing. But I am not for sure what would cause it too stall. The A/C blows cold, meaning the compressor is cycling and isn't seized. Oh, and she says she has had the CEL checked, but it returns no codes. I'm still gonna check it again tomorrow.

Thanks for the input thus far.

1991Jeep_Man

All research is yielding a conclusion that metal shavings are essentially a common sign of a failed/failing compressor clutch. Also, it seems that in terms of actual compressor failure, I can check and see when the clutch is off whether or not their is any play in main shaft of the compressor. If it is solid, generally it is ok. If it has play in it, then it means it will likely fail. Anyone have experience with replacing an a/c compressor clutch?

Even with this issue, what could be causing the stalling? I haven't seen the car yet. I'm waiting for her to finish up what she was doing at her house.

sportrider

^this^

without actually seeing it, it sounds like the best answer

1991Jeep_Man

I'll def try and snap some pics and give as best a description as possible when I go to look at it. Say a prayer fellas. I am hopeful that this will be a 'simple' solution. A $100 clutch assembly (including hub and bearing IIRC) vs a $520 bill is much easier to stomach.

Still amazes me how my '91 XJ has the original R4 compressor that seems to function with no problem minus a leak I need to fix. It's 22 years old. This one is only 11. Was there a cut off date for quality components?

sportrider

honestly, I'd just replace the entire compressor. nothing like dumping time and money on a clutch to just have a bearing or seal blow out and end up changing the compressor anyways. I've seen first hand all the symptoms your describing being caused by a failed compressor. it's possible for the AC to still blow cold and the compressor to have a failed bearing that causes excessive drag, causing stalling and clutch failure.

Gee oh Dee

Pull the code for th CEL yourself.

Unless the ECU is bad, there will be a code tripping the ECU.

1991Jeep_Man

Well, here's an update fellas. There is a def issue with the compressor clutch, as there are metal shavings around the clutch itself. Also, we managed to pull codes. The guys at AutoZone must not know how to actual get codes.

We pulled:

P0172, P0141, P0466, another P0172, and another P0466.

Yanked a couple spark plugs and confirmed all gaps were good and ends were clean. There simply wasn't enough room around the compressor to do any type of work, and I didn't want to chew off more than I could swallow. So I followed her to her cousin's garage to drop it off. He's gonna cut her a really good deal; I think he's just gonna charge for parts.

Thanks again for everyone's input. When she gets it back or gets a call from her cousin, I'll update with what was going on.

HCCAFan

Cool