Ah crap... what could have caused this?

[drobertson]

My a/c was never working in the past and all of a sudden this happened. What now?

 

[kjalltrac]

Could be a bearing or the clutch in the ac pump

 

[eric383]

Could be a bearing or the clutch in the ac pump

X2......Looks like it is locked up.

 

[super-bee_ski]

Yup,
Common in older units

 

[super-bee_ski]

Is that a York compressor?

 

[mrsnicks]

Even though you weren't running the A/C the compressor clutch was free-wheeling because of the belts. Looks like it engaged and locked up somehow... belts are still spinning, but clutch is not.

 

[demonram]

That's what happened to me. Had to have the car towed home. I took the heads off the compressor, took out the rods and pistons (they were beat to a pulp) cleaned out the housing, filled it with 10/30 and drove it for 3 years. I just bought the complete non air pulley system from bouchelon and pulled all the air stuff off. Haven't installed it yet, hopefully it goes together nice. Good luck and take care.

 

[Darthomas]

When this happened to me in 1987, I was using the AC, and it was a hot muggy cloudy morning. I was on a toll road, almost at work, and about a mile before I got off the highway, the clutch locked ON, and the evaporator got so cold, the air coming out of the vents turned into white clouds shooting out about 1 foot.
I just had to drive with full AC for a day.
Sorry yours locked the unfortunate way.

 

[drobertson]

yeah I was stuck in basin for about an hour waiting for a local parts shop to find a belt that was short enough the bypass the A/C compressor. I'm gonna just remove the A/C for now until I can afford to get it working...

 

[747mopar]

If your not concerned about original I'd look into replacing it with a modern Sanden pump, a lot smaller, lighter, efficient and pretty inexpensive. You'd likely wrap more money up in fixing that one than the $185.00 price tag of a new Sanden unit. Just throwing it out there.

 

[kiwigtx]

You'd likely wrap more money up in fixing that one than the $185.00 price tag of a new Sanden unit.

And the Sanden pump will likely be more efficient. Good luck with the fix which ever way you go.

 

[drobertson]

If your not concerned about original I'd look into replacing it with a modern Sanden pump, a lot smaller, lighter, efficient and pretty inexpensive. You'd likely wrap more money up in fixing that one than the $185.00 price tag of a new Sanden unit. Just throwing it out there.

So what would need to be changed when converting to a sanden unit? I'm not worried about originality. Brackets? Wiring harness? and would I be able to run the sanden unit with R134a?

 

[Darter6]

No change in wiring needed.Check Classic Auto Air web. They have a kit that will get you Compressor,Dryer,Brackets and Hoses to the firewall with the correct fittings. Flush Evaporator,Condenser.Charge with R-134.That's if you want one stop shopping...

 

[drobertson]

No change in wiring needed.Check Classic Auto Air web. They have a kit that will get you Compressor,Dryer,Brackets and Hoses to the firewall with the correct fittings. Flush Evaporator,Condenser.Charge with R-134.That's if you want one stop shopping...

that sounds great! I'll have to check that out.