Air conditioner compressor belt removal

Topic: Air conditioner compressor belt removal (Read 1089 times) previous topic - next topic

Air conditioner compressor belt removal

August 26, 2020, 03:11:48 pm

My dash air doesn't work and the po spent $3500 with little improvement. I want to remove the belt on the compressor as why turn it if it doesn't work. Only item the belt turns. Any reasons I shouldn't do this?

Re: Air conditioner compressor belt removal

Reply #1 – August 26, 2020, 03:16:34 pm

Ours has been removed as well! I did it when the clutch froze up!

Re: Air conditioner compressor belt removal

Reply #2 – August 26, 2020, 03:25:16 pm

Quote from: dans96u295ft – August 26, 2020, 03:11:48 pm

My dash air doesn't work and the po spent $3500 with little improvement. I want to remove the belt on the compressor as why turn it if it doesn't work. Only item the belt turns. Any reasons I shouldn't do this?

Only if the belt is operating other accessories. If the compressor is not turing very little power is used.

Re: Air conditioner compressor belt removal

Reply #3 – August 26, 2020, 03:26:06 pm

Our A/C belt has been MIA for 5 years. No adverse effect that I can see. DWMYH

Leaving the useless belt in place and the A/C clutch pulley turning does not take much power...BUT...in a "Worst Case Scenario" it could possibly cause other problems. Like, if the compressor clutch bearing froze the belt might continue to turn and slip until it got so hot it burst into flame. OR, the compressor clutch bearing freezes and the belt breaks, gets tangles up in the serpentine belt that drives your water pump and alternator, causing them to stop operating.

So for me, removing the belt just makes sense.

Re: Air conditioner compressor belt removal

Reply #4 – August 26, 2020, 03:27:14 pm

Ours started squeaking, loud enough to here while driving so just pulled the belt. Extra alternator is going in it's place when I have time.

Pierce

Re: Air conditioner compressor belt removal

Reply #5 – August 26, 2020, 03:44:48 pm

I would be fairly unhappy to not have our dash air. Driving west into the setting sun the dash air fills in for the roof air at the dash.

Like you all did not already know that.

Sorry.

Re: Air conditioner compressor belt removal

Reply #6 – August 26, 2020, 04:42:13 pm

I run the genny and roof air if it's to hot but very seldom need it in summer camping in Colorado and Utah. I'll remove so it can't freeze up

Re: Air conditioner compressor belt removal

Reply #7 – August 26, 2020, 06:15:17 pm

Wish we knew where he spent the $3500 so we could cross that one off the list.

Re: Air conditioner compressor belt removal

Reply #8 – August 26, 2020, 06:22:17 pm

Quote from: John44 – August 26, 2020, 06:15:17 pm

Wish we knew where he spent the $3500 so we could cross that one off the list.

My experience with so called "Air Conditioning Shops" is that many of them are simply peddling expensive parts. They just keep swapping out parts rather than trying to actually deduce the real cause of the problem.

Re: Air conditioner compressor belt removal

Reply #9 – August 26, 2020, 07:11:06 pm

I could buy a new compressor, expansion valve, condenser fan and drier filter for under $500.00 labor for the expansion valve would be whatever they charge for 2 hours work 30 minutes to change the compressor and depending whether you remove the left rear fender up to 1 hour labor for the drier filter. I'd like to get $3,500 for that work. I think that the shops aren't taking the time to make sure there are no leaks. The Monaco I had needed a hose changed that only my sniffer found. The dye never showed up as it was such a slow leak. Charge a coach up and say it's fixed and a week or two later the refrigerant is gone, repeat at another shop and it never gets fixed.

Re: Air conditioner compressor belt removal

Reply #10 – August 26, 2020, 08:33:47 pm

In June 2019 we departed D-FW metro area headed for Blue Ox factory in Pender NE. About 20 miles out of D-FW the dash air turned warm/hot. I thought we needed freon. Stopped in south OK City for fuel and when I checked the engine I found a broken A/C compressor belt and the tension pulley spinning next to the main drive pulley off the engine. A bolt had broken that held up the tension pulley. I wired up the tension pulley assembly and we hit the loop around OK City looking for a engine shop to fix the problem. Didn't find a suitable repair shop so stopped for the night in Guthrie OK for the night. A Tractor Supply store was close by so was able to find s suitable grade 8 bolt and put the pulley assembly back together. Biggest challenge was tightening the bolt and keeping tension on the new belt. There must be a special tool for this.

Re: Air conditioner compressor belt removal

Reply #11 – August 26, 2020, 08:52:17 pm

Quote from: Chuck & Jeannie – August 26, 2020, 06:22:17 pm

My experience with so called "Air Conditioning Shops" is that many of them are simply peddling expensive parts. They just keep swapping out parts rather than trying to actually deduce the real cause of the problem.

That's not reserved just for AC shops. And they swap parts at your expense.

Pierce

Re: Air conditioner compressor belt removal

Reply #12 – August 26, 2020, 09:08:11 pm

Quote from: WagonWheels – August 26, 2020, 08:33:47 pm

In June 2019 we departed D-FW metro area headed for Blue Ox factory in Pender NE. About 20 miles out of D-FW the dash air turned warm/hot. I thought we needed freon. Stopped in south OK City for fuel and when I checked the engine I found a broken A/C compressor belt and the tension pulley spinning next to the main drive pulley off the engine. A bolt had broken that held up the tension pulley. I wired up the tension pulley assembly and we hit the loop around OK City looking for a engine shop to fix the problem. Didn't find a suitable repair shop so stopped for the night in Guthrie OK for the night. A Tractor Supply store was close by so was able to find s suitable grade 8 bolt and put the pulley assembly back together. Biggest challenge was tightening the bolt and keeping tension on the new belt. There must be a special tool for this.

Just use a pry bar to hold tension, could be a tire iron very large screwdriver etc. It helps if the lower bolts are real tight also.

Re: Air conditioner compressor belt removal

Reply #13 – August 26, 2020, 10:14:34 pm

Once I have the list of needed other parts updated and replaced, I may go after the dash ac. For now, I'll go without.
Thanks for the help
.

Re: Air conditioner compressor belt removal

Reply #14 – August 27, 2020, 01:28:59 pm

While we're on the subject.
Just finished replacing the compressor, expansion valve, filter / dryer, added 3 puller fans to the back side of the condenser AND all the O-rings. Now after all that I take it to local shop to get charged and he wasn't sure how much oil to add to the compressor. My search on the forum didn't show much.

Does anyone know how much ?

( and Craneman, your right all that was less than 500. ( so far- fingers crossed )

Re: Air conditioner compressor belt removal

Reply #15 – August 27, 2020, 02:24:48 pm

With all that's been spent on it you shouldn't like much having a good system..

Re: Air conditioner compressor belt removal

Reply #16 – August 27, 2020, 03:46:45 pm

Quote from: Bob & Sue – August 27, 2020, 01:28:59 pm

Now after all that I take it to local shop to get charged and he wasn't sure how much oil to add to the compressor. My search on the forum didn't show much. Does anyone know how much ?

See if this info helps:

Dash Air Conditioner Refrigerant and Oil Capacity

Re: Air conditioner compressor belt removal

Reply #17 – August 27, 2020, 03:51:20 pm

Quote from: Chuck & Jeannie – August 27, 2020, 03:46:45 pm

See if this info helps:

Dash Air Conditioner Refrigerant and Oil Capacity

That is certainly consistent with other articles I read that suggest most vehicles use 4oz of oil.

Re: Air conditioner compressor belt removal

Reply #18 – August 27, 2020, 04:06:38 pm

Thanks Chuck...
Temp amnesia on the Beamalarm thing, even though my DW mentioned trying the BA site. Now I just hope there's that tag on the new compressor.
Just an FYI , don't install the compressor without dumping the "transport / shipping" oil out first or you'll need to remove it and do that. Don't ask how I know.

Also just to mention,, I wasn't thrilled with the format for Beamalarm since MOT got it.

Re: Air conditioner compressor belt removal

Reply #19 – August 27, 2020, 04:41:16 pm

The new compressor I bought came with a tag and the correct oil and the amount needed. I had to add the 4 oz to allow for the long hoses on my coach.

Re: Air conditioner compressor belt removal

Reply #20 – August 27, 2020, 04:48:05 pm

Quote from: craneman – August 27, 2020, 04:41:16 pm

The new compressor I bought came with a tag and the correct oil and the amount needed.

Same here, when I replaced the compressor on the SOB.

Re: Air conditioner compressor belt removal

Reply #21 – August 27, 2020, 05:20:21 pm

Quote from: Bob & Sue – August 27, 2020, 04:06:38 pm

Thanks Chuck...
Temp amnesia on the Beamalarm thing, even though my DW mentioned trying the BA site. Now I just hope there's that tag on the new compressor.
Just an FYI , don't install the compressor without dumping the "transport / shipping" oil out first or you'll need to remove it and do that. Don't ask how I know.

Also just to mention,, I wasn't thrilled with the format for Beamalarm since MOT got it.

Here is the link to Barry's original site
http://web.archive.org/web/20191218121353/http://beamalarm.com/

Re: Air conditioner compressor belt removal

Reply #22 – August 28, 2020, 06:25:45 pm

I know I am late to the party but here goes.

In the food industry our plant was a firm believer in the HACCP program. ( Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point ). This program is designed to pinpoint places in the manufacturing process that if that point fails, there is the possibility of contamination of the product or ( and ) the failure would stop the production line. A good example is the temperature control mechanisms that controlled the temperature of the oil in our 500 gallon oil roaster for nuts. If it failed we could lose a couple of thousand pounds of pistachios ( expensive ) or worse, fire. Now of course we had in place another system for fire suppression ( with it's own set of HACCP points). So the question we had to answer is within the temp control, what parts we could replace quickly to keep the process going. Was it worth it to have that part on hand, could we work around that part, and a host of other questions that had to be answered and an action plan formed for each part. Some Control points are more critical than others so they had to be priority ranked. We had many motors and conveyor bearings replaced before each season whether they had failed or not. During walnut season we had sets of doubles scheduled for delivery every 20 minutes. Any proactive measure we could take to make sure that process went smoothly we did.
On my rig the dash air has failed. PO spent a couple of coach bucks but the return on investment was poor. Therefore I had a decision. I now had 2 HACCP points to fail. The belt itself, or the compressor bearing, clutch assembly, the failure of either had a real potential of "stopping the production line". The decision was easy. The removal of the belt took away 2 control points that actually were no longer a part of the process and 2 points I no longer had to worry about.
I apply this principal a lot on the rig in determining what kind of parts and tools I carry. Wish I could apply it to items in the coach kitchen cabinets and our closets but unfortunately I can't get the management ( DW ) of that department to get on board.

Re: Air conditioner compressor belt removal

Reply #23 – August 28, 2020, 06:46:55 pm

The M11's have a single dedicated belt for the air conditioning compressor and single dedicated belt for the alternator. No worry about stopping the production line on my coach just keep on truckin'

Re: Air conditioner compressor belt removal

Reply #24 – August 28, 2020, 06:55:20 pm

The coach is more comfortable and designed to have dash air, removes condensation in winter use, undriveable in real winter without ac dried warm air on the glass? But I am a fanatic on retaining all the various systems the coach had new

On defrost I assume the a/c compressor comes on?

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