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I replaced my AC clutch yesterday and now everything is working great; it was 105F outside here in Phoenix yesterday and my AC was blowing at ~45F even when idling, and the compressor engages and disengages without any drama. (I found that my original clutch was a bit rusty and the casing on the power wire had deteriorated, leading to intermittent shorts.) BUT, there's an important word of caution about installing the new clutch that I haven't seen posted anywhere, and the mistake it led to nearly wound up requiring me to buy a new compressor.
The two washers that fit inside the clutch plate before you secure it onto the clutch assembly are not all equal; I'll go further to say not all replacement clutches are equal and tolerances can vary slightly. As I'd read online, I made sure the two washers were inside the clutch plate before I tightened the torx bolt that holds the clutch assembly together. Well, after I tightened the torx bolt it turned out that there wasn't enough of a gap between the pulley and the clutch plate and the pulley wouldn't turn freely, so I had to remove the clutch plate to add another washer or two. This is when the torx bolt stripped and I ended up having to drill and re-tap the mounting spline. It seems to be holding together (a lot is resting on the red locktite I used), but, trust me, this is NOT a mistake you want to make. There NEEDS to be a small gap between the clutch plate and the pulley, and you need to ensure the washers you are using will provide you with a sufficient gap BEFORE you tighten down the torx bolt. I couldn't find the proper gap spec, but the gap I have is ~0.75mm and the AC engages and disengages properly. I would also advise using a hex-head bolt instead of a torx bolt for this job as the torx bolts strip too easily, especially if they get a bit rusty.
Update: Ended up having to replace the entire compressor because my MacGyver fix didn't hold. I tried to re-tap the hole but the bit broke off in the hole and it all went downhill from there! So, all because a .50 cent bolt failed, I had to purchase a new compressor (OEM Delphi), and I decided to replace the condenser that had 19+ years of rock dings in it while I'm at it. I had a mobile mechanic come out this morning to evacuate the system, took off the condenser and gave the radiator a good cleaning with a brush and no-rinse detergent foam. Oh well, the upside is that now I'll have pretty much an entirely new AC system... but it was working perfectly until my MacGyver fix failed!
I'm glad you noticed the clutch gap. Usually, the specification I find for clutch gap is 0.50mm. This is the same across several different car brands, so I just use it as a general rule of thumb now. As you have seen at 0.75mm, there is some wiggle room in there.
So, all because a .50 cent bolt failed, I had to purchase a new compressor (OEM Delphi), and I decided to replace the condenser that had 19+ years of rock dings in it while I'm at it. I had a mobile mechanic come out this morning to evacuate the system, took off the condenser and gave the radiator a good cleaning with a brush and no-rinse detergent foam. Oh well, the upside is that now I'll have pretty much an entirely new AC system... but it was working perfectly until my MacGyver fix failed!
