Air Conditioning Issues

[michael33r]

When I first bought my 97 4Runner the previous owner said the ac doesn't work. They told me they thought it was the compressor. From my experience it worked most of the time and sometimes would stop blowing cold. A couple months ago I replaced my engine with a JDM that came with a new compressor. The lines had to be bent a little to connect to the compressor but I'm not sure if they're kinked too bad to have flow or not. After recharging my ac now I have no cold air at all ever. And I start to smell rubber as if the belt going to the compressor may be slipping. I'm thinking the expansion valve may be bad but I'm not sure. Anyone else have any ideas? At some point if I still can't figure it out I'll probably get new lines put in that aren't kinked.

 

[IBallEngineer]

When I first bought my 97 4Runner the previous owner said the ac doesn't work. They told me they thought it was the compressor. From my experience it worked most of the time and sometimes would stop blowing cold. A couple months ago I replaced my engine with a JDM that came with a new compressor. The lines had to be bent a little to connect to the compressor but I'm not sure if they're kinked too bad to have flow or not. After recharging my ac now I have no cold air at all ever. And I start to smell rubber as if the belt going to the compressor may be slipping. I'm thinking the expansion valve may be bad but I'm not sure. Anyone else have any ideas? At some point if I still can't figure it out I'll probably get new lines put in that aren't kinked.

Did you recharge it yourself? What kind of pressures did you get, if the expansion valve was plugged you would have high low side pressures.

 

[michael33r]

Did you recharge it yourself? What kind of pressures did you get, if the expansion valve was plugged you would have high low side pressures.

Yes I did charge it myself but used a vacuum first. I'll need to go home to check the pressures again. I can't remember for sure what they were. I'll check those tomorrow probably.

 

[nevada]

When I first bought my 97 4Runner the previous owner said the ac doesn't work. They told me they thought it was the compressor. From my experience it worked most of the time and sometimes would stop blowing cold. A couple months ago I replaced my engine with a JDM that came with a new compressor. The lines had to be bent a little to connect to the compressor but I'm not sure if they're kinked too bad to have flow or not. After recharging my ac now I have no cold air at all ever. And I start to smell rubber as if the belt going to the compressor may be slipping. I'm thinking the expansion valve may be bad but I'm not sure. Anyone else have any ideas? At some point if I still can't figure it out I'll probably get new lines put in that aren't kinked.

pop the hood and check it.

if the belt is slipping enough for you to smell it, you would be able to see which pulley isn't spinning.

 

[michael33r]

pop the hood and check it.

if the belt is slipping enough for you to smell it, you would be able to see which pulley isn't spinning.

Pressures are high on the low side and low on the high side which means it's the compressor. Took a look at it and found that the outer pulley is spinning but not the inner piece. I'm going to test the ohms on the compressor coils next. Anyone know the specs on what they should be?

 

[Drcoffee]

The clutch may be worn down. You can use a feeler gauge and readjust the clutch. What you are smelling is probably the clutch just making contact.

Clutch clearance: 0.02 +/- 0.0059 in.

I am sure you can find a youtube video on how to do this.

http://youtu.be/Hqp9IJ2ivl4

http://youtu.be/v-nMDFvSjFk

If the compressor is engauged and low is high and high is low, the book says its a bad compressor. If the clutch wont engage, then its either electrical or clutch issue.

 

[michael33r]

The clutch may be worn down. You can use a feeler gauge and readjust the clutch. What you are smelling is probably the clutch just making contact.
I am sure you can find a youtube video on how to do this.

http://youtu.be/Hqp9IJ2ivl4

The compressor came with the JDM engine with under 60,000 miles on it so I wouldn't think there could be anything wrong with it. But I'm sure it's possible.

 

[Drcoffee]

The compressor came with the JDM engine with under 60,000 miles on it so I wouldn't think there could be anything wrong with it. But I'm sure it's possible.

Oh. Then i would consider the possibility the compressor was contaminated during the removal/install and failed. I dont think I would have used the unit that came on the replacement engine.

 

[michael33r]

Oh. Then i would consider the possibility the compressor was contaminated during the removal/install and failed. I dont think I would have used the unit that came on the replacement engine.

Oh yeah that's true it could have been contaminated. Because I don't think they put any caps on it or anything. This would cause the clutch to not engage? I do still have my old compressor but the previous owner told me they thought it was bad so I don't know if I should use that one. I don't really want to spend the money on a new one but if it comes down to it I may have to.

 

[Drcoffee]

Oh yeah that's true it could have been contaminated. Because I don't think they put any caps on it or anything. This would cause the clutch to not engage? I do still have my old compressor but the previous owner told me they thought it was bad so I don't know if I should use that one. I don't really want to spend the money on a new one but if it comes down to it I may have to.

If the compressor is dead you can get what you need from rockauto


Thank you for being a RockAuto customer! To show our appreciation, we have a special discount for you.

Your discount code is:

3308561130222067




How to Use Your Discount Code
Enter the code above in the "How Did You Hear About Us?" space on the checkout page (above your payment information). Do not enter any other text in that space or the discount will not apply.

Please note: Discount only valid for orders placed online. Code must be entered before order is submitted.

The discount takes 5% off our already-low prices. There's no limit on order size or the number of orders. Use the code for your next order, and share the code with anyone you know who works on cars or trucks.

This discount code expires on August 30, 2015 so don't wait!

Thanks again for buying your auto parts at RockAuto!

 

[michael33r]

If the compressor is dead you can get what you need from rockauto


Thank you for being a RockAuto customer! To show our appreciation, we have a special discount for you.

Your discount code is:

3308561130222067




How to Use Your Discount Code
Enter the code above in the "How Did You Hear About Us?" space on the checkout page (above your payment information). Do not enter any other text in that space or the discount will not apply.

Please note: Discount only valid for orders placed online. Code must be entered before order is submitted.

The discount takes 5% off our already-low prices. There's no limit on order size or the number of orders. Use the code for your next order, and share the code with anyone you know who works on cars or trucks.

This discount code expires on August 30, 2015 so don't wait!

Thanks again for buying your auto parts at RockAuto!

Thanks for the discount code! My only concern with buying a new one is this: Hopefully the JDM engine is compatible with what parts stores would consider a 97 4Runner ac compressor. There are some things that were different on the engines.

 

[michael33r]

The clutch may be worn down. You can use a feeler gauge and readjust the clutch. What you are smelling is probably the clutch just making contact.

Clutch clearance: 0.02 +/- 0.0059 in.

I am sure you can find a youtube video on how to do this.

http://youtu.be/Hqp9IJ2ivl4

http://youtu.be/v-nMDFvSjFk

If the compressor is engauged and low is high and high is low, the book says its a bad compressor. If the clutch wont engage, then its either electrical or clutch issue.

Looked at the compressor clutch and I can see where the rubber has been broken into little pieces and melted and splattered everywhere. I took my old clutch off of the old compressor and it only took 5 seconds. Just unscrewed a bolt and the clutch slid right out. On the new compressor it's seized though and after removing the bolt it won't come off even with prying with a screwdriver. I need to get it into my brother's shop though because he has power tools and we can remove the skid plates then for better access. I may need to get one of those press tools that has the bolt in the middle that presses down and raises the outer part up.

 

[michael33r]

I was able to get the clutch off of the newer compressor and put the old clutch on it. The clutch I took off was eaten up very badly and had no friction surface on it at all. After putting the original (273,000 mile) clutch on it fixed my ac completely. Now it blows cold and my pressures are correct. One only thing is after having the ac on for a while I did notice it starting to get slightly warm again. Not so far that it wasn't working at all but it just wasn't 100%. Not sure what that's all about but hopefully I can figure it out. Maybe it just needs charged or it may need some pressure released.