tfurr0ws

1992 Taurus GL Wagon, 3.8L V6 -
Recently my engine started making a grind/whir/airy noise while stopped (pitch increases as rpms raise, so the noise is not noticable but it's still there I'm sure).

I localized the noise to the A/C compressor, and noticed that when the A/C is OFF the clutch plate seems to spin, stop, spin sporatically. When the A/C is on, it seems to spin all the time, then stop randomly for short periods of time (accompanied by a louder screeching noise).

I assume what's happening is the clutch is not fully disengaging, and not fully engaging.

My question is this: is my A/C clutch bad? Is there a way to diagnose this without taking off the a/c compressor? Also, is the cycling clutch switch possibly a culprit, or perhaps another component of this electronically controlled clutch system?

Any thoughts or pointers would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks in advance.

tfurr0ws

No replies? Don't tell me I'm the only one with A/C problems on my Taurus!

Anyway, I called a Ford Dealer and spoke with a few of their service guys, they recommended removing the bolt from the clutch plate to disable the clutch and see if the grinding went away (assuming I just wanted to disable the A/C for now). They assured me that the C-Clip would hold everything in place.

I did this, but the C-Clip didn't hold everything, the clutch seemed to be sliding off... so, I took the whole blasted car apart (removed radiator, etc.) to get to the compressor.

Now my question is, is it possible to take off the clutch from the compressor without decompressing the system? I think the bearing may be bad, can I take this off as well without actually removing the compressor from the vehicle? I have the bots taken off, so I've got all the clearance I need, but how hard is it generally to remove the A/C clutch, and how do I go about it? Thoughts?