A/C Compressor Clutch
Oct 4th, 2009 by C. Alexander Leigh
Looking at the FSM I realized the pulley and belt routing for the 4.0 6cyl Jeep engine is the same whether or not you have A/C, the belt is just a little shorter. With the belt off, all the accessories seemed to spin fine except the A/C compressor, which sounds like it has a bag of rocks instead of bearings.
I went and bought a new serpentine belt for a no A/C application, and put it on. Sure enough, noise solved, and now we can drive the Jeep without worrying about the clutch seizing up and dropping the belt until I get around to worrying about it. Since its getting into the chilly season here in Seattle, and you don’t really need A/C in the summer anyways, this is low on my list of DIY repairs compared to the multi-switch and double cardan which need more immediate attention.
They headed out to Discovery Park today in the Jeep so we’ll see if the transmission repair holds or if they call me for a rescue. I have faith, though.
The A/C clutch on Jeep1.0 rusted solid too. Seems like it’s a fairly common problem to have. Woo for Clementine not having an A/C!