Lately my car (2.5TL) have been making a whinning or humming sound that sounds like those power steering pump on the old ford cars . To find where it was coming from, I took off my power steering belt to see if the sound was gone but it was still there. When I took off the A/C compressor belt the sound disappeared. A/C works fine and is blowing cold. I spin the compressor's pulley when the belt was off and it spins very freely and seems to have a lot of freeplay. I am thinking it is the clutch bearing that needs to be replaced. Does anyone have any idea if replacing the clutch is a difficult job and can I leave the compressor on the car while doing it. Any comments appreciated.

 

Has anyone ever did this project, or have similar problems with the compressor? Since it is winter, I don't plan to get it fix yet. Do you guys know if this will hurt the compressor more in the future.

 

try rplacing the belt?

 

If clutch pulley spins freely w/o noise w/ belt removed, then clutch bearing is fine. Try turning the inner part of the clutch (plate) by hand. it should turn w/ slight resistance. If you feel grinding or hard resistance, the compressor may be failing.

I've noticed groaning in my 97 2.5TL and it recently threw the AC belt. It's used by my son out of town and I haven't had a chance to investigate in depth. When I turned the compressor by hand I felt what I thought was too much resistance. However, I bought a used compressor and it has similar resistance, so I may be OK w/ new belt.

good luck

 

All the accessory belts has been replace about a year ago when I had the timing belt and water pump replaced. The belt is still in excellent condition.

 

^^ look at the actual belt.. are there any marks or anything? <on the inside of belt

 

Yeah I had the belt off and out of the car. No cracks or marks on the inside or outside of the belt.

 

The pulley the the belt rids on spins very freely w/ belt removed. If I try to rock that piece back and forth it will move side to side slightly. I tried to spin it applying force to one side and it did make noise like it is scratching on the clutch plate.

I tried to spin the inner part of the clutch plate by hand and did feel a little resistance but not much. Do you think that I need to do some adjustments by removing or applying shims?

 

Some groaning may be Ok. Everything's relative. Clutch gap should be about 15-25 mils.

good luck

 

^^ thanks texas for always helping everyone out!!

 

The groaning is ridiculously loud. I'll check the shims when I have time. A/C is blowing cold so I'm not worrying about it yet. Thanks Texas!

 

Are both cooling fans running at idle w/ AC on? If not this will cause high, high-side pressures and groaning (compressor is highly loaded). A very dirty condensor would have a similar effect.

Have you measured system pressures w/ a manifold gauge set? Check w/ doors and windows open, Max AC, Max Fan and engine at 1500 rpm. This will tell if groaning is due to compressor load or compressor gradually self-destructing.

good luck

 

The groaning can be heard with the A/C off. At first I had to find out where it was coming from as I can hear it near the front of the engine. I took the belts off and found that the compressor is making the groaning just because the belt is riding on it. So if belt is in contact with the pulley, the sound (very loud) is noticeable. So I suspect the problem to be the rotation of the pulley on the compressor making the noise because A/C is off. To answer your question, both cooling fans will run on and off with the A/C on. Thanks!

 

I have the same sound it sounds almost like a turbo. In speed with the engine, wether the ac is on or off. I was also thinking AC cluth plate but it's so hard to tell exactly where the sound is coming from. I had a grumbling noise before this.

I'll check this out tomorrow as the belt is easy to replace.

 

That's the sound I have and it was coming from somewhere around the A/C compressor. So I took off the A/C belt and the sound was gone. I still haven't have time to try and adjust the gap to see if it would make a difference. I know on mine, the pulley that the belt ride on is very loose. It will rock side to side if I rock it with my hand. Also, when spinning the pulley by hand with some force on one side slowly, it will make noise as if rubbing on something. This is what I've found out about my problem so far.

 

Ok from my experience with bearings in other applications I think this is the sound of a busted or worn bearing. It's a 53 dollar part. I will check mine against spec in the manual toomorrow and let you all know, thanks again for all the info.

 

Hey guys here is what I found,

The AC tensioner pulley is really strange,it rides up and down on a bolt that you turn to loosen or tighten it. That bolt became loose somehow but the pulley was locked into placed by it's own nut. I loosened the nut, adjusted the bolt so that I got tension and got that belt nice and tight, the sound is gone and the pulley is riding back on that bolt again.

So in the end it was the misaligned tensioner causing a wobbly belt.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction that noise was so annoying, and I was about to replace my intake manifold gasket again.

 

Just an update:

I finally have time to find out what was causing the noise. The bearing in the compressor pulley was bad. I ordered a used compressor which had a new bearing pressed in from ebay for $65 shipped to my house. I thought that was a good deal since the bearing itself cost $45 from my local autopart store.

So I received the used compressor today, transfered the pulley and pressure plate over to my compressor on my car. It took about 2 hours overall working with the compressor still on the car. Hardest part was putting the snap ring back on since working area was limited. Noise is gone and car runs quiet than ever. I now have a spare compressor in case something ever goes wrong. Thanks everyone for helping me find the problem.

 

Is this the A/C clutch bearing? My story--Car had a noise coming from the belt area, one day it the noise was horrible and AC belt ripped in the freeway. I took off the belt and it drove fine. I replaced the belt today and the sound is back.

 

No, the bearing he replaced is the idler/tensioner bearing. Usually replaced as a unit, but the bearing itself can be pressed out/in by hand w/ a socket. If bearing is lightly growling, you may be able to remove end cap, repack w/ grease, and run for another 100K.

good luck

 

Actually I replaced the clutch bearing that is part of the compressor's pulley. You may have that problem as well, but check your idler tensioner pulley first like TexasHonda noted because it's an easier fix and usually goes out as well.

 

Is this a good diagram on the topic? Is the bearing right behind part number 4? http://parts.sonsacura.com/showAssem...0&searchString=

 

I have the same problem, it sounds like it is the tensioner making the noise. If it turns out to be the ac clutch bearing, do you have a diagram for the installation.

 

Not a service manual diagram, but this should give you an idea of what to expect.

http://www.acuraoemparts.com/delray/...All&vinsrch=no

It's really not that bad once you get the snap ring off. Snap ring is a bit tricky if compressor is left on the car like i did. Just remember to put back what you took out in that order. Hopefully it's the tensioner since that's an easier fix.

 

Hi main70072, thanks for the link. also i am convinced it is the clutch bearing, because the noise is louder from the bottom of the car than from the top. The ac is on the bottom and the tensioner is on top above the alternator. i think i would do what you did, order a compressor with a new bearing pressed in and just change the pulley with the clutch and bearing. Also did you just replace the bearing or you replaced the clutch pulley and bearing since they come off as one piece.

 

Forgot to say my car is a 3.2, so hence the theory of the noise.

 

I replaced the clutch pulley and bearing since it came off as one piece. I have a 2.5 and had very little room to work with the compressor on the car. I'm not sure if there is enough room to leave the compressor on and do it on a 3.2, so before you do anything make sure that is the problem or you will be looking at a lot of work including discharging/recharging the refrigerant.

 

hi main7002, thanks for the response. I got it fixed and it all sounds just smooth like before. It was not the ac clutch bearing, it was the small idler tensioner pulley for the ac. I got a mechanics stethoscope and listened to each of the parts close to where the noise was, it was evidently the idler bearing. "Easy fix it was" taking the idler pulley off and reinstaling was perhaps the easiest part, it only took abt two 2 minuits taking it of and on. The hardest part was finding it locally, i couldn't purchase it at my local parts store and they couldnt match it. Only options were order online or from the dealership, which cost 80 bucks and 70 after a 15% discount. Also i am happy that it wasn't the ac clutch bearing, there is indeed no way i can do it without taking the ac off. The ac compressor is located at a very tich spot at the bottom, and the center nut is behind a big metal bar. Thanks again

 

You're welcome