'99 A/C compressor OR clutch replacement

[dhardison]

The A/C on my '99 Silv (w/178k miles) has been acting up. Basically the A/C works fine at idle but when the truck is driven, the compressor kicks off and will not come back on unless you press the A/C button and wait ~5-10 minutes before restarting. Then it just repeats again.

Anyway I couldn't figure out the problem (replaced the low pressure switch and tried jumping out high pressure switch) so I took it to my local dealer .

They say the compressor clutch is "flaky" (i.e. bad) but want a gazillion dollars to R&R just the clutch. I can pick up a reman'd compressor w/clutch for ~$260 at OtterZone and save myself ~$400.

How hard is it to replace the compressor or just the clutch itself? I'm very mechanically inclined and have all the ordinary tools at my disposal.

Any other opinions/thoughts are welcome.

Thanks,
Dan

[chuck16]

Well to replace the Clutch/Compressor you have to discharge the system and then have it recharged once you replace the compressor.

As far as the clutch is concerned I am not sure if you can take just the clutch off the Compressor, clean it, and put it back together again??? I'm pretty sure it's a total replacement.... sorry.

[dhardison]

Originally Posted by chuck16

Well to replace the Clutch/Compressor you have to discharge the system and then have it recharged once you replace the compressor.

As far as the clutch is concerned I am not sure if you can take just the clutch off the Compressor, clean it, and put it back together again??? I'm pretty sure it's a total replacement.... sorry.

The discharge/recharge isn't a problem, I have a vacuum pump and the necessary gauges to handle that.

OtterZone sells just the clutch, so I assume it can be replaced separately, but the whole reman'd compressor w/clutch is only $100 more, so I'll probably do the whole deal at once.

Thanks,
Dan