[xj40] Replacing a/c compressor pulley bearing

I thought about replacing only the bearing since the compressor
works fine. Maybe need some oil and new O rings that I already
have. I assume my car still has the original compressor which is a
Sanden SD7H15 with a single groove clutch. I can buy a replacement
bearing at bearingsdirect.com for about $46.
This would save me a lot.
Any opinion and thoughts will be greatly appreciated! :smiley:
Up the Irons!
Joseph–
'94 XJ40, 703111, Matilda, My sweet sixteen, Naples, Fl
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In reply to a message from Joe77 sent Fri 16 Jul 2010:

Correction: the bearing would cost around $27 :smiley:
Joseph–
'94 XJ40, 703111, Matilda, My sweet sixteen, Naples, Fl
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In reply to a message from Joe77 sent Fri 16 Jul 2010:

I would also consider replacing the gasket between the front plate
and the compressor body. I only found out after reinstalling mine
that this gasket was leaking.–
The original message included these comments:

I thought about replacing only the bearing since the compressor
works fine. Maybe need some oil and new O rings that I already
have. I assume my car still has the original compressor which is a
Sanden SD7H15 with a single groove clutch. I can buy a replacement
bearing at bearingsdirect.com for about $46.
This would save me a lot.
Any opinion and thoughts will be greatly appreciated! :smiley:
Up the Irons!
Joseph
'94 XJ40, 703111, Matilda, My sweet sixteen, Naples, Fl


Syd. 91 XJ40
Covington / WA, United States
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In reply to a message from Syd. 91 XJ40 sent Sat 17 Jul 2010:

Syd,

thanks for the reply. Have you done this job before? I just wanna
know if it’s doable and how long the new bearing would last. I
stopped at a mechanic shop yesterday but the won’t do this job,
they told me the bearing will fail soon. I don’t see why it would
happen.
Cheers!
Joseph–
'94 XJ40, 703111, Matilda, My sweet sixteen, Naples, Fl
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In reply to a message from Joe77 sent Sat 17 Jul 2010:

You will need to dismount the compressor for good access to the
bearings, but leave the refrigerant charged. You will need a
clutch puller and installer (probably can borrow them from
AutoZone). Remove the center nut and pull the inner hub off the
compressor shaft. Mind the small Woodruff key.
Remove the snap ring holding the bearing on and pull off the pulley
and bearing. Remove the second snap ring and the double-row,
sealed bearing will almost fall out of the pulley. Slide in the
new bearing, replace the snap ring, slide the assembly onto the
compressor and install the other snap ring. Put the Woodruff key
on the shaft and start the compressor hub. You will need the
installer to pull the hub all the way on. Put the nut on the end
of the shaft and remount the compressor and tighten the drive belt.
Really a simple job if you have snap ring pliers and the correct
pullers.
Since the bearing is a double-row sealed ball bearing, it should
last at least for another 20 years before you’d have to do it again.–
The original message included these comments:

thanks for the reply. Have you done this job before? I just wanna
know if it’s doable and how long the new bearing would last. I
stopped at a mechanic shop yesterday but the won’t do this job,
they told me the bearing will fail soon. I don’t see why it would
happen.


Pete Peterson 70E(193K) 88XJ40s(253K & 242K) 94XJ40 (122K)
Severna Park, Maryland, United States
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1 Like

In reply to a message from Jaguarpete sent Sat 17 Jul 2010:

Thanks Pete for the info. My friend who works at the local Lexus
dealer as a mechanic already discharged my a/c system. I replaced
the receiver/drier and I’m gonna replace the expansion valve as
well. I’ll start to find the pullers and a ring plier.
I found the following online:

http://www.bernardembden.com/xjs/comclutch/index.htm

Cheers!
Joseph–
'94 XJ40, 703111, Matilda, My sweet sixteen, Naples, Fl
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In reply to a message from Joe77 sent Sun 18 Jul 2010:

That’s an excellent reference for the Frigidaire A6 compressor, but
the XJ40s ran Sanden compressors. Same idea, same procedure, but
Sandens are Metric, Frigidaires are English, so you’ll need the two
pullers.
For what it;s worth, those old A6s were good for 60,000 BTU/hr (5
tons) of refrigeration at 3,000 compressor rpm. The Sanden 510s
(early XJ40s) are good for about 26,000 BTU/hr, same rpm. Later
Sanden 715s were up around 40,000 BTU/hr.
If I could find the bracketry from a very early XJ40 (for the A6),
I’d grab it in a heartbeat!–
The original message included these comments:

Thanks Pete for the info. My friend who works at the local Lexus
dealer as a mechanic already discharged my a/c system. I replaced
the receiver/drier and I’m gonna replace the expansion valve as
well. I’ll start to find the pullers and a ring plier.
I found the following online:
Replacing The AC Compressor Clutch


Pete Peterson 70E(193K) 88XJ40s(253K & 242K) 94XJ40 (122K)
Severna Park, Maryland, United States
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Looks like I need to do this on my car very soon - @Joe77 did you do this job yourself?

Any tips, tool advice, gotchas etc?

I have a spare clutch assembly - can this be replaced easier than changing the bearing?

A few AC questions to increase my knowledge:

If a 1990 XJ40 has been dealer converted to R134 will the efficiency of the system be improved by fitting a Sanden 715 if I ever have to replace my compressor? Is that a direct bolt on replacement? I have learned on the forum that the limiting factor is the condenser on cars converted to R134. My car has only 72K miles.

I do not understand how the compressor can be dismounted leaving the system charged, Educate me.

And finally, I only wonder if the front bearing has worn out how likely is it that the compressor itself is likely to fail next and it’s false economy to replace the bearing only on a high mileage compressor.

Ok from my limited knowledge - the compresseor can be unbolted and if no strain is put on the hoses and it is supported, it can be moved into a position to allow better access to remove the pulley.

The bearing is in the pulley behind the clutch and has buggerall to do with the internal werkins of the compressor. Kind of like a 4-speed manual clutch being changed without affecting the tranny.

OK, Thanks, dismounted but not completely removed from the car. I remember the old York compressors had small shut off valves on the two hoses at the compressor so these could be taken off the car leaving the system charged.

Larry, I ended up buying a complete compressor on ebay. Installed it then my friend refilled the A/C system. He doesn’t work at the local Lexus/Toyota dealership anymore, he’s got his own shop but doesn’t have the A/C charge/discharge machine and wheel alignment machine.

Ok Joe, thanks for letting me know.

I’ve got a spare low mileage compressor in my pars stash.
I looked at it today and the clutch and bearing look good so I picked up a clutch removal/installation toolkit on ebay tonight, not a bad price, $30 canadian incl express shipping. I’m just going to swap over the clutch assembly.

Kit should arrive next week and between the info in this thread, the Sanden service manual .pdf, a pair of circlip pliers and a new set of feeler gauges I should be good to go. (famous last words!)

all the best Joe

Larry

I hope your compressor project is gonna be successful. Upload some pics if you have a chance. I’m anxious to know the difficulty of this job. Let us know how it went.
Take care Larry!

Ordered this compressor bearing clutch removal/installation tool kit on Friday, eBay, delivered tonight (Sunday, 7pm), :cowboy_hat_face:

image

picking up a stethoscope tomorrow just to make sure the noise is coming from the compressor …

Nice! You’re on the right track, Larry.

Took the parts car compressor clutch assembly apart on the bench last night and even using this ‘universal’ kit, there were a few ‘gotchas’ :grimacing:

Main one was that the puller centre was way too fat to enter the shaft aperture, so once the face pate of the clutch pulled out flush with the end of the shaft it bottomed out and stopped.

I had to rig a kluge to continue pulling (plate was very stiff on the keyed shaft) that involved a short, fat, Philips head bolt. I needed 6 fingers to keep it in position but eventually I was able to locate the bolt on the end of the shaft and use the centre ‘cross’ of the Philips to centre the puller. Once I got it started, it came right off.

Not looking forward to doing the same thing underneath the car, but do it I must. At least now I know what I’m in for.

There was one spacer I found and the snap rings came off fairly smoothly, but the pulley certainly did NOT fall off and required quite a few good bangs with the dead blow mallet to get it off the shaft. Again, I hope there’s room to do all this banging and swearing underneath the car …:woozy_face:

The only thing that came off easily once I removed the snap-ring, was the stator. It just pulled off with finger pressure.

I’m sure glad I got to do this ‘dry run’ on the bench first - now I know what I’m up against.

here’s a few pics of the bits:

Reassembled the parts car compressor… clutch not the problem after all :unamused:

Took off a/c belt, noise still there. Took off air pump belt. Noise persists …kind of an initial cold start scraping sound, then a metallic ding ding ding - only seems to be at idle, and disappears after car warms up, even at idle.

Tried mechanic’s stethoscope, noise seems external, no component relayed the noise -could only hear noise with the stereoscope OUT of my ears :woozy_face:

Only a few things left to check - the alternator, water pump, harmonic balancer and maybe the belt itself? …any ideas?

Larry, when I replaced the harmonic balancer, I had the same symptoms. The outer ring slips on the inner one when it’s cold but after warming up the rubber between them expands then the noise goes away.

Joe, I just checked the painted marks on my harmonic balancer and they didn’t move, so it looks like that ain’t it …leaning toward alternator bearing now, will check next. unfortunately no place to work so it may be next week before I can get to it😖