| OK, 911 air conditioning won’t ever remind you of being above
the Arctic Circle. And because of its design, the system has a lot of
places in which leaks can develop. One of the more common points for a
refrigerant leak is at the shaft seal of the compressor. You may
notice some oil on the compressor mount or on the underside of the
decklid in a line from left to right above the compressor. Many folks
decide to buy a new compressor to solve this problem. But if you’ve
priced new or rebuilt A/C compressors you know that they can be quite
expensive. However, with about $25 in parts, a three out of 10 skill
level and 3 beers worth of time you can reseal your own compressor.
Tools you will need:
1. A strap wrench or a large pair of channel lock pliers,
2. A pair of snap-ring pliers,
3. A set of deep metric sockets, especially 10mm, 11mm, 12mm, and
13mm,
4. A 7/8” open-ended wrench,
5. A 6mm hex key or socket,
6. A phillips head screw driver, and
7. A flat blade screw driver (for gentle prying).
Supplies and parts you will need:
1. Lots of rags or paper towels,
2. R-12 (Freon) or R134a compatible refrigerant oil (if you are
using R134a make sure that the new oil is the same as what is
already in the system),
3. An compressor shaft seal kit, and
4. A compressor o-ring gasket kit.
The compressor that I rebuilt is a Nippondenso model 10P15C
and the system is still using Freon (R-12) but make sure that you have
the same compressor by looking at the model number on the small plate
on the back of the compressor.
I ordered both a shaft seal kit and a gasket set so that I
would end up with a totally rebuilt compressor. You can, though,
choose to replace only the shaft seal. The shaft seal kit has: 1) a
new spring-loaded, carbon shaft seal, 2) a metal seal retaining
ring/seat, 3) the o-ring for the seal seat/retainer, 4) a new circlip
to hold the assembly in, and 5) new washers for the head bolts (these
are the long bolts that hold the compressor sections together).
The compressor gasket set contains mostly o-rings: 1) three
large o-rings for resealing the case sections, 2) four small o-rings
for resealing the suction and discharge fittings - where the shraeder
(sp?) valves are located (you know, like the valves on a bicycle
tire/inner tube), 3) one small o-ring for the shaft seal seat (a
duplicate for the one in the shaft seal kit), and 4) five washers to
use with the head bolts (again, duplicates for the ones in the shaft
seal kit).
Before beginning you should have any Freon that’s left removed
from the system by an A/C shop - it shouldn’t cost much and with Freon
at $50+ per lb. they should give you some sort of credit for when you
have it refilled. Discharging Freon (R-12) into the atmosphere
contributes to the destruction of the earth’s ozone layer and is
prohibited by U.S. EPA regulations.
Now you are ready for the rebuild. Begin by removing the
compressor from the car and the clutch assembly from the compressor.
1. Undo the two hoses from the compressor - the smaller
fitting uses a 7/8” or 22mm wrench and the larger fitting uses a 1
and 1/16” or 27mm wrench but I carefully used a big pair of channel
lock pliers since I didn’t have an open-ended wrench that large.
Secure plastic wrap with rubber bands around the hose fitting ends
to prevent system contamination. Don’t loose the o-rings on the hose
fittings. See
Figure 1.
2. Remove the three bolts that hold the compressor to its
mounting plate, using a 13mm socket. Now you can tilt the compressor
forward and take off the belt. Also disconnect the clutch wire. See
Figure 2.
3. At the bench, kitchen table, or wherever (but probably not
at the local tavern), remove the 12mm nut that is exposed at the
nose of the compressor/clutch assembly. You need to hold the clutch
drive plate in place to get the nut off or the assembly will just
spin. This is the outermost piece of the clutch that has the rivets
showing. It’s only about 3/8” or ½ “ thick and is separate from the
pulley. Again, I carefully used a large pair of channel locks but
the proper tool is a strap wrench. Once the nut and lock washer are
off, the plate just pulls off. You can help it by carefully prying
between the plate and the pulley assembly behind it. Watch for the
spacers between the drive plate and the pulley and set them aside
for reuse. See
Figure 3.
4. The pulley is held in place with a 37 mm circlip. It
doesn’t come with the kit so try to remove it carefully enough that
you can reuse it unless you have a good local source for such
things. I don’t. The pulley may be somewhat difficult to take off
but you should not need anything like a gear puller. If you look
inside the pulley’s shaft tube you can see the bearing that carries
the pulley held in by a retaining spring. This may need to be
replaced at some point. Mine did not require replacement. See
Figure 4.
5. The ground for the clutch and a clip for the clutch wire
are attached to the compressor by a phillips head screw. Remove it
now. I had to slot the screw head with a Dremel tool and use a large
flat-bladed screw driver because the screw was too tight.
6. The magnetic coil is held on with a 46mm or so circlip.
Remove it and, again, set it aside for reuse if possible. Pull the
coil off. Notice that there is a locating pin on the compressor that
mates with a hole in the coil for reinstallation. My coil had three
holes but only one is in the right place.
7. Take the woodruff key from the compressor shaft and set it
aside so that you don’t lose it.
Now for the actual compressor stuff. The compressor consists
of four sections: two end caps and two thicker middle sections with
the pistons, cylinders and wobble plate (on the compressor shaft).
1. Remove the five compressor head bolts using a 6mm hex
socket or key. Each has a washer and you can discard them since you
have new ones from either kit.
2. If you are going to reseal the compressor take off the
suction and discharge fittings, noting their placement. They will go
on the wrong way (ask me how I know) and if you do happen to get
them on wrong during reassembly just remove and switch them. Don’t
remove these if you are not going to reseal the case.
3. Once the head bolts and the suction and discharge fittings
are removed the case sections will just split apart under hand
pressure. To replace the shaft seal only, pull off just the front
section of the compressor. You will be able to see the tops of the
compressor pistons and one of the large o-rings for the case. See
Figure 5.
4. The front piece of the compressor with the “nose” is where
the shaft seal is located. Look inside the nose, find the felt seal
and its brass retainer and remove them. They are to be reused.
5. Remove the circlip from inside the nose. You do have a
replacement for this so don’t worry about ruining it. See
Figure 6.
6. From the inside (compressor side) of the nose drive out the
seal and its retaining ring with a 10mm or 11mm deep socket and a
hammer. Go carefully so that the seal and ring don’t “cock” in the
housing. You will destroy the old seal - when you see pieces of
carbon don’t worry about it. The retaining ring is held in place
with a friction fit using an o-ring. It may help you to remove the
seal if you lubricate the nose with some of your refrigerant oil.
The seal itself sits loosely inside the shaft housing (nose); it’s
not pressed against the sides.
7. Once the seal is out, clean the shaft housing so that you
don’t have bits of carbon in there. See
Figure 7.
8. Install the new seal. The spring-loaded carbon assembly
drops in first, the carbon facing out and the spring toward the rest
of the compressor. You should avoid touching the carbon itself. Now,
you may notice that the retaining ring is different than the one you
removed. One side of the new ring has a flat surface - put the
retainer in with this flat surface facing the carbon seal after
lubricating the new o-ring with refrigerant oil. Now here I made a
judgement call. The new retainer will not take up the whole space
between the seal and the circlip that you removed . I drove the
retainer (with a 13mm deep socket) to a point just below the groove
for the circlip. If you study the assembly, the actual seal is
formed by the carbon piece pressed against the retainer’s flat
surface and the circlip just prevents the pieces from working their
way out along the shaft. When you place the compressor nose back on
the compressor the seal will be spring loaded against the retainer
creating the seal. I suppose that you could drive the retainer all
the way to the seal but I chose not to.
9. Install the new circlip in its groove.
10. Allow as much of the old refrigerant oil to drip out of
the compressor as you can and put 2 oz. of new oil in the
compressor. Where you add it doesn’t matter - it just circulates
throughout and is carried by the refrigerant around the system.
11. If you are not resealing the case you are finished and can
begin reassembly. When replacing the compressor nose piece be
careful to avoid nicking the carbon - just put the shaft through the
seal as straight as you can.
12. If you do reseal the case simply separate the sections,
replace the large o-rings and put it back together. All of the
components are constructed in such a way that proper reassembly is
made obvious with pin locations and non-symmetrical parts. Also
replace the four o-rings at the hose fittings. Hint: separate the
two large case sections, replace that o-ring (lubricate with
refrigerant oil), replace the four hose fitting o-rings, put the
fittings back on and only then remove the rearmost case section to
replace its o-ring. This will make sure that the pistons and wobble
plate don’t wander out of the compressor while you are working. They
are a royal PITA to put back together. See
Figure 8.
13. Using the new washers, reinstall the five compressor head
bolts. If not yet reinstalled, replace the hose fittings.
14. Replace the clutch assembly. Make certain that you
reinstall the spacers between the pulley and the clutch drive plate.
15. Remount the compressor, hook up the clutch wire and
reattach the hoses, lubricating (and replacing, if necessary) the
hose o-rings.
16. Take the car to an A/C shop and have it refilled. To be
secure and happy you may want the technician to put a leak detector
near the compressor shaft to check your work.
17. You’re done!
If you use this article to rebuild your compressor and find that
I’ve forgotten something or have been unclear, please e-mail me with
feedback. Good luck!
Rod Walter
PCA Lincoln Trail Region
rwalter@winco.net |
