Sorry if this should be in another folder. Not truck or engine specific.


The clutch pulley gave out on my 96 Ram1500 AC compressor. With 278,000 miles on the original compressor, I figure better to just replace the compressor rather than put a new clutch pulley on.

Warranty info on all the comps. I have looked at say that the accumulator and/or drier has to be replaced also.

Up until the pulley gave out, the system blew nice and cold.

Aside from voiding warranty the remanned compressor, will the system be compromised and likely to fail if I do not replace the other part(s)?

 

After opening a system that old I would definitely replace the accumulator. The desiccant can only hold a certain amount of moisture before it becomes saturated.

 

Since the compressor didn't have catastrophic failure you should be good. But if you wanted to be on the safe side you can flush the system. They sell an A/C cleaner that you spray in the line and then push through the system with compressed air. I would def replace the in line filter (there is a technical name for it that I can't remember right now).

 

That's the accumulator. On systems with an expansion valve, the filter is called a receiver drier. Their job is to filter the refrigerant and remove moisture from the system. They do have a lifespan.

 

No, I'm talking about the orifice tube. The accumulator only filters the moisture out of the system. I should also clarify that when I say he should be good, I mean he should be ok with simple replacing the accumulator and the compressor and recharging. But I would also replace the orifice tube, it's cheap and could cause problems. When you take it out check for trash, if you see a lot of trash it's probably worth flushing the system.

Brad

 

Followup:



Being the frugal (my wife says cheap a$$) person I am, I wanted to save my money.

After taking the nut off the front of the pulley, the clutch assembly came off in 2 pieces. Supposed to be one piece.

Since the ac was working fine before all this, I bought a a rebuilt clutch pulley for $50. I would have rather replaced the entire pulley, clutch and coil, it was going to be a little hard.

So, I took the clutch assembly from the new pulley, added new shims, and I got cold air.



Turns out the shims were so worn that the clutch plate was rubbing the pulley and and caused the failure.


Thanks for the replies.