Anybody know Chevy? June 23, 2009, 03:41:13 PM I know this isn't the best place for this question, but I don't feel like joining another board, heh. Plus you guys seem pretty versitile :hick:I was driving the wife's 1994 chevy caprice 4.3 v8 (yes they made a 4.3 v8, it's only in caprices). All of a suddden the AC got warm... I pulled over and the AC compressor was billowing smoke. It wasn't coming from the belt, it looked as if it was coming from the clutch assembly. I turned the ac off, and it was fine. If I turn it back on, it half-ass rotates, slips, makes noise, half-ass rotates, slips, noise, on and on... always happens when you are broke. I just wonder if I can replace the clutch or if the whole compressor is shot.If y'all know anything about it, chime in, if not, I needed to vent, lol.CoogarXR Quote Selected
Anybody know Chevy? Reply #1 – June 23, 2009, 04:14:35 PM I would guess that its probably shot. Sorry man. Quote Selected
Anybody know Chevy? Reply #2 – June 23, 2009, 05:30:57 PM X2 time for a new compressor Quote Selected
Anybody know Chevy? Reply #3 – June 23, 2009, 05:35:32 PM It also depends on a few things.If your condenser doesn't get cooled properly, the pressure can actually lock up the compressor. If that happened, it could have killed the clutch or possibly burnt up the compressor. When you turn your a/c on, does your fan come on?I'm pretty familiar with those engines, they're basically an iron head, smaller displacement LT1, and I've spent far too much time with the LT1. Quote Selected
Anybody know Chevy? Reply #4 – June 23, 2009, 09:03:33 PM Grab the front plate of the compressor and see if you can turn it by hand (with the engine off of course!). If you can turn it by hand, then the compressor is most likely OK, and all you need is a clutch and coil. If, on the other hand, the front plate doesn't turn fairly easily by hand, then the compressor is toast.Shiny Side Up!Bill Quote Selected
Anybody know Chevy? Reply #5 – June 23, 2009, 10:20:33 PM It turns kinda jerky. Like it starts out hard, then spins, then gets very hard to turn, etc. A local junk yard has a compressor and clutch for $60, I might just have to do that.CoogarXR Quote Selected
Anybody know Chevy? Reply #6 – June 24, 2009, 06:25:08 AM Quote from: CoogarXR;279447It turns kinda jerky. Like it starts out hard, then spins, then gets very hard to turn, etc. A local junk yard has a compressor and clutch for $60, I might just have to do that.CoogarXRJust make sure you get the clutch coil. Assuming your compressor is good, it's the coil that fried the old clutch. Shiny Side Up!Bill Quote Selected
Anybody know Chevy? Reply #7 – June 24, 2009, 03:47:58 PM I really can't tell or help you much with the ac issue, but I also have a '94 Caprice with the 4.3 (L99)Sometime, I'll have to pm you to bitch and moan about mine lol.Hope ya get it fixed :D Quote Selected
Anybody know Chevy? Reply #8 – June 24, 2009, 06:41:10 PM Not trying to hijack the thread, but is the clutch supposed to stop and go, ot just turn continuosly? Quote Selected
Anybody know Chevy? Reply #9 – June 24, 2009, 09:20:46 PM Quote from: 20thanniver-ls;279562Not trying to hijack the thread, but is the clutch supposed to stop and go, ot just turn continuously?The clutch should stop and go, but not stop-go-stop-go-stop-go... More of a gooooooooooo-stoooooooooop-gooooooooooo. With the blower on high on a hot and muggy day, the compressor will pretty much run continuously at idle however.Shiny Side Up!Bill Quote Selected
Anybody know Chevy? Reply #10 – June 24, 2009, 09:49:21 PM Thank you sir! Back to the original topic at hand..... Quote Selected
Anybody know Chevy? Reply #11 – June 25, 2009, 05:23:03 PM Update- I tried to run it again, and it seemed to run ok, just a little noisy. Air was cooler, but not cold (air never was icy cold anyway). I saw a can of compressor treatment oil "quiets noisy compressors" (and all that jazz). So I put that in. I figured what do I have to lose. While putting that in (I had to use my little charge-gage-tool) I noticed that the charge was a little low. So I put on a can of r134a. The needle didn't budge, and it seemed, if anything, to get lower? Now the AC is dead hot. The compressor kicks on and off in about a 3 second rythm. But here's the interesting part; it looks like when the clutch disengages, the compressor spins backwards about a half-spin! I also noticed that the pipes up front by the evaporator are sweaty and cold. But the AC in the car is dead hot. I am thinking I have a blockage somewhere. Is that possible?CoogarXR Quote Selected
Anybody know Chevy? Reply #12 – June 25, 2009, 08:17:34 PM Quote from: CoogarXR;279714Update- I tried to run it again, and it seemed to run ok, just a little noisy. Air was cooler, but not cold (air never was icy cold anyway). I saw a can of compressor treatment oil "quiets noisy compressors" (and all that jazz). So I put that in. I figured what do I have to lose. While putting that in (I had to use my little charge-gage-tool) I noticed that the charge was a little low. So I put on a can of r134a. The needle didn't budge, and it seemed, if anything, to get lower? Now the AC is dead hot. The compressor kicks on and off in about a 3 second rythm. But here's the interesting part; it looks like when the clutch disengages, the compressor spins backwards about a half-spin! I also noticed that the pipes up front by the evaporator are sweaty and cold. But the AC in the car is dead hot. I am thinking I have a blockage somewhere. Is that possible?CoogarXRSounds like a case of a plugged up orifice tube. Kinda a filter metering block type thing inside the hose. Usually it gets clogged with bits of stuff floating around inside the lines. I would pull all the lines apart remove old orifice tube and flush everything. Then install the new orifice tube. Prob time for a new compressor the only things that can float around to plug the orifice are little bits of compressor or pieces of the ac lines. Good luck and GM also used a small V8 like that in some Caddy's for a few years. Stuckman Quote Selected
Anybody know Chevy? Reply #13 – June 26, 2009, 05:59:33 AM Quote from: CoogarXR;279714Update- I tried to run it again, and it seemed to run ok, just a little noisy. Air was cooler, but not cold (air never was icy cold anyway). I saw a can of compressor treatment oil "quiets noisy compressors" (and all that jazz). So I put that in. I figured what do I have to lose. While putting that in (I had to use my little charge-gage-tool) I noticed that the charge was a little low. So I put on a can of r134a. The needle didn't budge, and it seemed, if anything, to get lower? Now the AC is dead hot. The compressor kicks on and off in about a 3 second rythm. But here's the interesting part; it looks like when the clutch disengages, the compressor spins backwards about a half-spin! I also noticed that the pipes up front by the evaporator are sweaty and cold. But the AC in the car is dead hot. I am thinking I have a blockage somewhere. Is that possible?CoogarXRThe quick cycle is usually a sign of an undercharge, not an overcharge. What are your low and high side readings? If the compressor is cycling because the low side drops below 33psi (or so) then you're undercharged. If it's cycling because your high side ishiznitting 350+ psi, you're overcharged. 134A retrofits are a little tricky to charge, but basically you want the evaporator inlet and outlet line temps to be close to the same, with the outlet line temps being slightly higher than the inlet (a couple of degrees). On an average 85* day, on low fan, with the A/C set on MAX, you should see outlet temps in the low 40s to high 30s (on most American built cars, imports tend to have less efficient systems). Shiny Side Up!Bill Quote Selected
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