My A/C quit working today, which was wonderful timing given that it was 106F today. The apparent cause was the belt (only 1.5 years old!), which disintegrated, and several pieces of which were wrapped around the compressor behind the pulley. I replaced the belt, but the clutch is not engaging the compressor. I'm guessing the belt damaged the wire that goes to the clutch when it came apart. Even with a mirror, I can barely see it, much less tell if it's damaged/disconnected because it is on top of the compressor and hidden behind the pulley, so I'm not sure if that's really the problem or not. I failed at getting the clutch and pulley off the compressor to get a better look at the wire because a special tool is needed to pull it. I couldn't get to the bolt on the back of the compressor well enough to loosen it and drop it somewhat, so I'm now trying to remove the alternator to get at the compressor from the top.
I've gotten both bolts off and it is loose, but can't get the mounting ears clear of the bracket they straddle. It almost rotates clockwise enough to clear them, but not quite. I can't get it to rotate counter clockwise very much. There isn't enough room to pull it straight off. Any suggestions from somebody who's replaced one? Thanks.
Alternator removal 95 Q45
I'm not clear yet on the need to remove the alternator, but to do so, carefully continue to try to forefully rotate the alternator. Not sure if maybe it needs to rotate counter-clockwise as you face the engine. It's a chore, but it should come off. The compressor, though, can be removed, but it has to be done carefully, and you have to support its weight at all times. The metal lines are very thin.
DAEDALUS wrote:I'm not clear yet on the need to remove the alternator, but to do so, carefully continue to try to forefully rotate the alternator. Not sure if maybe it needs to rotate counter-clockwise as you face the engine. It's a chore, but it should come off. The compressor, though, can be removed, but it has to be done carefully, and you have to support its weight at all times. The metal lines are very thin.
I got it to move enough eventually with persuasion from my pry bar. I had to move it because the wire on top of the compressor that engages the A/C clutch was slightly damaged by a disintegrating fan belt (single exposed strand), which had blown the A/C clutch fuse, which meant the clutch wasn't engaging. By removing the alternator, I was able to get to the wire, repair it, replace the fuse, and get the A/C working again.
It was a piece of cake though compared to replacing the alternator on the Aurora I made the mistake of buying in between Qs. That took me about 7 hours of work because several of the bolts are nearly impossbile to access, and most of them have to be removed and installed an 1/8th of a turn at a time. One of the bolts is between the exhaust manifold and the block. That one required some very creative arm contortions. The parts guy at the dealer told me they drop the motor/transmission/subframe to do them because they are so difficult to replace with the motor in place.
Removing the bolt on the back side of the compressor must require a trick I wasn't seeing. There just isn't enough room to get a decent sized rachet or wrench on it. I got my little rachetless rachet on it, but couldn't get it to budge with the limited space I had to hold the rachet and the limited leverage the rachet was giving me. Thanks for the reply.