Ac compressor kaputt

XJ
1

Pulled into the garage with a cloud of smoke today, coming from the hood.
Popping it open revealed smoke coming from the front of the AC compressor.
It looks as if the clutch seized.
Checking on-line reveals clutches are not sold separate, and the whole assemblies are not available.
Are there substitutes (GM, Ford, etc)? And if so, would they be fairly direct swaps or miracles of adaptation?

2

What kind of car? And/or what kind of compressor?

Cheers
DD

3

Same thing happened to my '74 XJ12 years ago, it is a standard GM compressor, I got one from a used parts recycler, came off a Cadillac as I recall.

4

Woops, sorry 'bout that.

'77 XJ 6 - C

5

You probably have the Harrison/GM “A6” compressor. Tons of parts are available, including clutch assemblies. Complete rebuilt compressors are readily available as well.

Also, some vendors sell a brand new, updated version of the A6

Google “Harrison A6 Compressor” and you’ll see lots of choices for parts and replacements

Cheers
DD

6

I believe that the A6 is identical to the GM A6 so here is the seal rebuild kit I got for mine, I have yet to install it but it looks like it should work. Doesn’t hurt to rebuild once its out anyways, its a while you’re in there kinda thing. https://www.shopcenturyautoair.com/store/c29/GM_A6_Compressors.html

7

Ok, you guys have given me some good info.
Thanks

1 Like
8

Mitch, if you put that info into the “My Cars” field in your profile then people can see it when they click on your avatar.

9

Thanks, I gotter done.

10

Wait, didn‘t they use a different thread for the mount?
I think mine is metric and not sae. God knows why.
No shortage though, you‘ll find dozens for cheap.

11

Did the clutch seize or the compressor?

If you were not operating the A/C, it’s possible (but rare IMO) that the clutch idler bearing itself seized. More common would for it to become noisy, then perhaps become hot enough to smoke.

If the A/C was on, then the compressor itself seized (more common) which would make the clutch smoke if the belt were still turning it, or more common, cause the belt to slip. OR, the clutch simply slipped, generating heat, because it lost adjustment or wore out–just like the clutch between engine and tranny.

My point is that compressor seizure can result in crud remaining in the system. You can tell if it seized by determining if you can rotate it. Without knowing the condition of the clutch, the simplest way to do this is remove the belt and (first) try rotating the pulley by hand. If it rotates the compressor, the clutch has failed. If it spins freely, try rotating the compressor itself (part at very front of clutch). If that rotates, you are probably OK. If it doesn’t, the compressor has seized. IMHO.

1 Like
12

t this point (The clutch got hot enough to burn off the paint), I’m just planning on changing out the compressor.
Obviously at this time I might as well convert to 134a.
Are there any vids of this being don on S II cars?
It all looks straight forward, but this is a Jaguar, so there must be a catch somewhere.

13

I did this on my 1984 Series 3 last month and I couldn’t find any videos on the whole interwebs, at least not for old Jags.

14

Lots of opinions and approaches to r134 conversion, all in the archives.

As far as the refrigeration side of Jaguar climate control, it’s all plain as mud. Nothing exotic about it at all.

'Tis the control side where things get a little weird :slight_smile:

Cheers
DD

1 Like
15

Jaguar (and GM) used both.

Make sure your bolts fit before attempting to mount the compressor. It’s struggle enough without discovering that you have the wrong bolts :slight_smile:

Cheers
DD

1 Like
16

Mitch,
I don’t believe that switching over from R12 to R134A is "obvious ". I have recently repaired/restored inoperative R12 A/C systems in three of our Jaguars and had them all seviced professionally with R12 after I made sure that I fixed the leaks (o-rings, hoses, compressor).

The A/C systems in these older cars were designed to work with R12 and from what I have read the R134A conversions don’t cool as well. Search for a recent string from Mel Friedman about this.

I have one more inoperative Jaguar A/C system to fix (1990 XJ-S convertible) and will be keeping that an R12 serviced system as well.

There is a lot to read about R134A conversions in the Jag-Lovers archives.

Paul

1 Like
17

One of my reasons for converting is there is only one shop in town thta
does r-12, and he’s getting old.
It just seems the conversion now is
wiser than a conversion in a few more years.
maybe I’m wrong -
although that would be my first this century (Not!)

On

Mitch,
I don’t believe that switching
over from R12 to R134A is "obvious ". I
have recently
repaired/restored inoperative R12 A/C systems in three of
our
Jaguars and had them all seviced professionally with R12 after I made
sure that I fixed the leaks (o-rings, hoses, compressor).

The A/C systems in these older cars were designed to work
with R12 and
from what I have read the R134A conversions don’t
cool as well. Search
for a recent string from Mel Friedman about
this.

I have one more inoperative Jaguar A/C system to
fix (1990 XJ-S
convertible) and will be keeping that an R12
serviced system as well.

There is a lot to read about
R134A conversions in the Jag-Lovers

18

My current compressor is a GM

[quote=“davidsxj6, post:10, topic:378172, full:true”]

Wait,
didn‘t they use a different thread for the mount?
I think mine
is metric and not sae. God knows why.
No shortage though,
you‘ll find dozens for cheap.
[/quote]

Jaguar (and GM) used both.

Make sure your bolts fit
before attempting to mount the compressor. It’s
struggle
enough without discovering that you have the wrong bolts

:slight_smile:

Cheers
DD

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19

Mitch,
I just wanted to point out that you had more choices than to automatically do the R134A conversion.

Paul

1 Like
20

Oh, I understood that. I’m just looking up the road a few years to
continuing R-12 availability.

Mitch,
I just wanted to point out that you had more
choices than to automatically
do the R134A conversion.

Paul

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