Hi,

An actually sunny day in December, so took the S out of storage and took for a run to warm her up and get rid of the moisture that seems to build up when sat.

Just noticed a particularly nasty rattle from the AC compressor when engaged, both at idle and at load. Have obviously turned it off now, but what is the usual suspect, the bearing? I replaced the other bearing last year when I changed the belt as preventative maintenance but didn't touch the AC compressor.

Simple as a bearing swap, or does the clutch etc need to be replaced?

Here's a video, it sounds bloody awful until about 16 seconds in when I turn the compressor off.

https://youtu.be/bmNLW9XQlYQ
I assume that the bearing is fine in that respect and this is the clutch?

 

Check the bolts on both the compressor and the compressor bracket. It could just be a loose bolt that's causing the rattling.

You can check the clutch pulley by removing the accessory belt and spinning the pulley. Also check the clearance of the clutch to the pulley with a feeler gauge, it should be no more than ~ .025 of an inch, or around half a millimeter. You can buy a replacement clutch set, although it's roughly as expensive as buying a used compressor.

If it's the rotor pulley, you'll need a shim set and the pulley. If the pulley is still good, and clutch plate clearance is too high, you can just replace the shim under the clutch plate to get the correct clearance.

 

Thanks, I'll have an inspection later and see what the state of play is.

Appreciated.

 

Hey I came across your YouTube video. I’m having the same issue and I’m hopping if you found a solution for it.