Vehicle: 1985 GMC S-15 w/2.8L V6 engine
A couple of months ago after letting this vehicle sit for over a year, I
went to have the A/C system recharged with refrigerant. Unfortunately on the
way home from the shop I heard an awful noise coming from under the hood,
turned the A/C off after about 4 minutes of hearing this noise, and upon
arriving home found the clutch mounted on the front of the A/C compressor
almost glowing hot. Apparently a seal somewhere in the system was not in
good enough shape to withstand a recharge. My question is - what do I do at
this point? Does this mean the compressor itself has been damaged or just
the clutch? If just the clutch, can I replace it idependently of the
compressor or do they come as a unit? The Haynes manual appears to show it
as a unit. The clutch has a bolt in the center of it, is this what holds it
onto the compressor? Will I have to get the system de-pressurized to fix
this problem? What I am trying to decide here is whether this is something I
can do on my own or if I have to take this to the professional again with
more money.
Here's a link to a photo of what I have, showing the center bolt of the
clutch:
http://web.infoave.net/~BN_cbrown/accompressor.jpg
Any help or advice would be appreciated.
Casey