air con? any experience

[linfordfr]

so my cr has devolved a major squeal. the sort of squeal you would hear on a old car with a slipping or knackered belt. It does it on idle and under load (whilst accelerating) its not the cam belt as that's around 10k old. took her in for a diagnostic, I told them I reckon its a pulley or maybe the aux belt. they replaced both and still the same. They reckon its the aircon compressor itself that's shot and for the price of buying a new one (couple of hunder quid) just put up with the noise. which I have done but I've had enough of the squeal and want it doing. any one else had this, I did a quick ebay search and they are a couple of hundred quid, id rather not pay that just to get rid of a noise but needs must. I tried the air con last night and its no longer ice cold so im guessing they're right. just wondered if anyone else was this unfortunate or any recommendations to get one cheaper.

 

[ray]

The compressors are **** basically, the bolt that holds in the clutch plate threads somehow and renders the air con useless.

On mine the bolt was sticking out when I got
(If you shine a light down the front drivers side of the engine you can see it) so after finding a very old thread on a VW forum I bought the clutch plate and new bolts for around 15 quid. Eventually got my mechanic when he done the belts to change that and sorted the air con.

What I never had as any whining however my car had 70k on it when I got it, I read threads from people who’s compressor broke within 20k miles, so maybe this is an early symptom that at one stage stops.

Though, what I can’t understand is why it’s only at certain times you get the noise? The belt is constantly driven so it seems strange that it’s only in certain scenarios..


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[linfordfr]

The compressors are **** basically, the bolt that holds in the clutch plate threads somehow and renders the air con useless.

On mine the bolt was sticking out when I got
(If you shine a light down the front drivers side of the engine you can see it) so after finding a very old thread on a VW forum I bought the clutch plate and new bolts for around 15 quid. Eventually got my mechanic when he done the belts to change that and sorted the air con.

What I never had as any whining however my car had 70k on it when I got it, I read threads from people who’s compressor broke within 20k miles, so maybe this is an early symptom that at one stage stops.

Though, what I can’t understand is why it’s only at certain times you get the noise? The belt is constantly driven so it seems strange that it’s only in certain scenarios..


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cheers for some input ray. they said to me it looks like someones tried changing it before as the bolts all knackerd, its only had 1 owner and hes kept every receipt possibly so that threw me out. guessing this matches what you say.

the squeal is always there even without ac being turned on, however some days it can be stupidly loud where people in the street turn round to see what it is, some days I think its gone until I get out and can just about hear it

 

[ray]

Since they changed the belt surely they checked the pulley for any resistance or screeching?

Also if your bolts look knackered but the AC was working that suggests it was fixed? Seems strange, but even still it would be worth replacing the clutch plate. It can be done without removing the belt. You compressor may be busted but by fixing the plate (if that is the/a issue then this could either fix the issue or at least allow you to turn it off and hopefully stop the screeching.

Otherwise it’s replacing the pump but it needs to be done by a pro due to the harmful ac coolant then having it topped up again so will cost a good 3-400 quid even buying second hand.


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[linfordfr]

air con worked fine until this constant screeching started. had the noise a good few week now it was only last night I thought id turn the air con on to see if it works and it wasn't as cold as it should.

you seem pretty confident that this could cure me, you reckon I could easily do this myself as I don't fancy going back and showing them this lol be over the moon if £15 stops the noise to be honest

 

[ray]

Not from just hearing the screech. First thing would be to have a look at the pump and see if the centre bolt is sticking out (when it threads it pops out about 1cm)

If it is then for sure give it a go but mike never made any noise it just never worked, the wheel still spin freely.

As for doing it, I bought the clutch plate and tried on my own from underneath, it’s real difficult to get into and I just ended up damaging the torques. My mechanic took the drivers wheel and lining off and got straight into it which took him about half an hour in total.

It can never hurt to try these things when the alternative is so expensive. I’d hate to have convinced you to doing something that might be a wasted venture due to the whirring noise sounding like there may be more broken than mine.

Good luck man, I tried to find the part for the compressor on eBay but couldn’t go back that far, all I did do was find the AC model and search for it on eBay and the clutch plate came up from Germany.


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[Rusty2k]

Aside from the issue with the bolt working loose the compressors on these cars are actually quite a good design. They're a continuously driven design that doesn't have a clutch. Instead there's shear plate on the pulley that can break to allow the pulley to spin freely in the event of seizure of the drive pinion, and a pressure control valve to allow the AC system pressure to be varied.

This design has the advantage that the climatronic system can maintain minimal circulation in the system to prevent the seals drying out and perishing if the system goes unused for prolonged periods. My 2010 CR170 still provides lovely cold air from it's original factory refrigerant charge.

It's the splines on the shear plate that can become damaged needing replacement if the bolt works loose.

The alternator freewheel pulley would also be a suspect for noises coming from the belt area so worth checking that if it hasn't already been ruled out.