Ticking from Compressor Area when AC is On

[TiN]

A few weeks ago, I noticed that my AC light on the HVAC controls would flash when I tried using cold air. Read into it a bit and it appears that the AC light flashes when there's a malfunction with the AC compressor...

Fast forward to today; as I turned on the HVAC to heat up the cabin, I noticed that there was a fairly loud ticking noise coming from the engine bay. Checked it out and it is definitely coming from the AC compressor area of the engine. With truck turned off, I went ahead and spun the AC compressor clutch housing by hand and there was an obvious resistance once per revolution. Based on other threads and my own findings, it seems like my AC compressor clutch might be bad. Am I on the right track here? Any more troubleshooting I can perform myself?

 

[TiN]

Another question would be... If it does turn out to be just the clutch, is it replaceable on its own on the 2UZ? I'd hate to have to replace the whole compressor just because of a bad clutch.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Eh, it's been a while since I have seen anyone replace just the clutch; I think it's something like $300 for the clutch assembly itself last time I looked. You need a special tool to hold the pulley and the washers have to be aligned a certain way, then a run-out gauge to measure some stuff. It's doable, but not very easy compared to installing a new one to be honest with you.

 

[TiN]

Eh, it's been a while since I have seen anyone replace just the clutch; I think it's something like $300 for the clutch assembly itself last time I looked. You need a special tool to hold the pulley and the washers have to be aligned a certain way, then a run-out gauge to measure some stuff. It's doable, but not very easy compared to installing a new one to be honest with you.

Ah, well if that's the case, I should probably just pick up the entire Denso compressor for around the same price. Thanks!

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Ah, well if that's the case, I should probably just pick up the entire Denso compressor for around the same price. Thanks!

They should give you a core charge to help reduce the price, try Carquest; they tend to be pretty good about that stuff.

 

[TiN]

Plan on fixing this soon but not right away... Won't been needing AC for the time being, but I would like some heat (getting pretty cold around here). The issue is, the compressor still kicks on occasionally even when the HVAC is set to heat. Any good way to disable the ticking compressor so I can still have heat without running the risk of further malfunction?

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Plan on fixing this soon but not right away... Won't been needing AC for the time being, but I would like some heat (getting pretty cold around here). The issue is, the compressor still kicks on occasionally even when the HVAC is set to heat. Any good way to disable the ticking compressor so I can still have heat without running the risk of further malfunction?

You could pull the A/C clutch relay.

 

[TiN]

You could pull the A/C clutch relay.

That's what I was thinking. Wasn't sure if it would have any side effects like putting the HVAC system into limp mode or something. I'll give it a shot, thanks!