Technical Air Con Compressor Pulley Noisy

[zigleon]

After some advice please guys....

Punto 1.2 Sporting mk2

Just failed the M.O.T today and the garage also noticed a fairly noisy Air Con Compressor. Sound disappears when air con is switched on and it's seems to be working as normal.

Switch it off.....noise comes back. Sounds like failing pulley bearings. They've quoted me over £400 quid for a new one fitted

Is it possible to bypass the compressor.?

What happens if the pulley bearings completely fail? Will it cause more damage to the engine?

Thanks.

 

[jon1612]

After some advice please guys....

Punto 1.2 Sporting mk2

Just failed the M.O.T today and the garage also noticed a fairly noisy Air Con Compressor. Sound disappears when air con is switched on and it's seems to be working as normal.

Switch it off.....noise comes back. Sounds like failing pulley bearings. They've quoted me over £400 quid for a new one fitted

Is it possible to bypass the compressor.?

What happens if the pulley bearings completely fail? Will it cause more damage to the engine?

Thanks.

not sure if same but give them a call with your reg they may be able to help, system will need regassing after fitting but should be able to get done for £30

http://www.fiatalfadealerparts.co.u...compressor-grande-punto-idea-panda-doblo.html


Jon

 

[AndyRKett]

When its switched off the pulley spins freely, when you turn it on the electromagnetic clutch engages the compressor and the pulley is then fixed in with the main compressor shaft,

Stands to reason the problem is most likely as you say with the bearings that allow the pulley to turn freely

 

[zigleon]

Thanks for the replies so far....

...but can the compressor be bypassed as to avoid having to replace the unit?

or can the bearings be changed...?

Thanks.

 

[oldhammer]

Thanks for the replies so far....

...but can the compressor be bypassed as to avoid having to replace the unit?

or can the bearings be changed...?

Thanks.

to switch to non/aircon
You wouid need:

New Alternator,
New Belt.
And bottom pulley,

as above mentioned, you wouid need aircon system' De-gassed.
it is illegal to do this your self and also its potentialy lethal, not only too lungs/eyes /skin.. but fingers will freeze and fall off,

 

[zigleon]

Thanks for your reply Oldhammer.

This isn't something I would ever do. I'm crap with fixing cars!

I was wondering if an alternative belt can be fitted without attaching it to the compressor pulley...Just leaving it there unused until funds become available to replace.

Or can the bearings be changed?

Basically... is there anyway of fixing the failing pulley without the need to replace the whole compressor with a new one?

 

[oldhammer]

Tbh. if iwas you iwouid take this punto else where and get a 2nd opinion,


Did you see Garage mech, take off belt and inspect tensioner and its pulley?

if iwas the garage, icouid easily lower someone into buying new compressor
and just replace tensioner and belt,

someparts look good to customer once theyve been shined up with old rag and what not,

not saying this is the case here as we shouidnt tar all garages with same brush
but be aware it can happen, 2nd opinion elses where might save you some Dollar

 

[AndyRKett]

if it were me i'd just fit the aux belt from a non air con car taking the compressor out of the loop should cost no more than a tenner and an hours labour if you don't want to do it yourself

an alternative would be to find a replacement compressor on ebay or similar and swap the pulley over that way you dont have to worry about degassing the system, really would be only slightly more involved than swapping the belt

 

[Andrewedwardjudd]

On other cars the air con compressor pulley has a replaceable bearing and the pulley can be removed from the compressor to change the bearing.

Since my timing belt change yesterday my air compressor clutch seems to have got a loud click as it goes on and off. I had already noticed the pulley had some play while searching for the source of the horrible noise coming from what was eventually traced to the water pump bearing. At the time I never realised there was a clutch in the air con with the potential for there to be a simple fix for the air con pulley.

So..........has anybody replaced the air con pulley bearing on a punto mk2b?

Over at alfa romeo forum a member has made a puller to get the pulley off while the compressor is still on the car.

 

[AndyRKett]

I'm a bit confused by what you are asking, you have a loud click from the clutch but you want to change the pulley?

I suppose it depends which engine you have but usually the idler pulley is held on with a bolt or bolts and the pulley can be removed with nothing more fancy than a standard 3 arm puller.
If the idler bearing is gone then by all means replace it, but it would be loud and Graunching, if there is any play in the compressor shaft then introduce the compressor to a bin and get a new one on order as soon as

 

[Andrewedwardjudd]

the problems:

1. When the air con is on there is a loud click from the area of the compressor that comes and goes as the engine speed changes. This appears to me to have only started since I did redid the timing belt this weekend.

2. Previously noticed when the auxillary belt was off, was the air con pulley has some play but is not noisy when spun by hand.

My theory so far is that the compressor clutch is creating the clicking noise as it switches in and out and the problem could be related to a loose pulley bearing.

I have the 16V 1.2 188BXB Mk2B made in 2004 bought new in Finland 2005

I dont want to take the compressor out at this stage as it might be possible to get the pulley off with the compressor in place?

OK so you are saying the play will be in the compressor rather than the pulley bearing.............

 

[oldhammer]

The aircon compressor shouid normaly click
when you switch it on/off


if its clicking on & off it might need topping up

 

[Andrewedwardjudd]

it happens perhaps once every 2 or three minutes.......it is a distinct click which i have not noticed before and it seems hard for me to think i just never noticed it.

I think it would be normal for the air con to switch in and out as it responds to the settings so the change in engine sound is familiar but not the single click that i hear as this happens.

 

[oldhammer]

*im not realy clued up on aircon,


but mine was cutting in and out. (click noise)


and it was just low. igot one of these kits, similar to that> http://www.aircontopup.com/


Its been ok since.

 

[AndyRKett]

The clutch will click. It maybe I. Changing the belt you dislodged some dirt or grease which was dampening the noise. Who knows, but the act of changing a belt shouldn't make the click more profound.

You might be able to remove the pulley and clutch plate in situ but there is very little room inbetween the pulley and the inner wing so if tools are needed it might be near impossible. Or if the pulley can't be removed over the idler bearing.

You might be right with your theory of worn idler bearing but I would expect the noise to be pretty obvious when the compressor is under load.

You need to take the bolt out of the end of the pulley and try to separate the pulley assembly from the compressor space permitting

 

[Brendan W]

Compressor clicking in and out is normal. On some cars it is possible to rotate the compressor without disconnecting the fluid lines and remove the clutch in situ. Generally open the centre screw, remove the outer part with a three bolt puller being careful to collect the shims. Remove the rest of the pulley with the bearing with a straight bar puller with a claw at each end. Check the clutch gap before you start so you can reset it to spec.
This is generic so check around on youtube as I haven't done a Punto.

 

[Andrewedwardjudd]

Thanks for your help. I now realise the car is sounding totally normal. The click last night must have been amplified by my anxiety while checking my work after the water pump and thermostat jobs.

 

[varesecrazy]

The aircon compressor shouid normaly click
when you switch it on/off


if its clicking on & off it might need topping up

sounds normal ' ish..,
Andrew..,
are you sure it wasn't just masked by the noise of the waterpump before..,

Charlie

 

[Andrewedwardjudd]

I suppose it could be in the mix somewhere, but I changed the water pump about 2 weeks ago but had a leak there because i used the wrong sealant so i redid it this weekend. So i have had two weeks of fiddling around with the car to notice things without the noisy pump to mask sounds

Probably when fiddling I had not switched the air con on and prior to recently what the car was doing has not interested me very much at all.

 

[Andrewedwardjudd]

I took the belt off to have another look at the bearing. The play was not as bad as I was thinking it was. I tried to film the movement but it was not possible to see anything.

The bearing does rumble a bit though.......



Nothing urgent but i will have a go at removing the pulley without undoing the compressor mounting bolts - just to see if it can be done - and probably whatever the outcome I will replace the bearing in the shorter term.

All the stuff i have read so far strongly suggests the pulley is able to come off without a puller.

Another job is likely to be taking the alternator off and having a look at the state of it after 215,000KM.