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So... my fiancee's 93 Subaru Legacy L wagon neither had an AC belt installed nor the AC clutch wire connected. So I figured, I've got an AC belt sitting in my garage doing nothing, I'll pop that thing on and see if her AC works. $950 car, would be an unexpected bonus.

Surprise, the AC engages and actually appears to be cooling the air! (although I tested this on a cold day so the output temperature of the air proves nothing -- but the compressor engaged and spun the entire time. Would it do this without a good charge?)

Oh! The real reason I posted... yeah, the AC clutch appears to make quite a bit of noise. You can't even hear the valve ticking this engine has over the loud metallic squeal that is coming from the inactive AC compressor. This noise wasn't here before I installed the AC belt. Quite obviously coming from the compressor somewhere.

Is this noise something I can apply some lube somewhere to fix? Servicable by a complete amateur? Could this work and think it'll fail quickly? ...Catastrophically? Or just stop working one day?

Should I just take the belt off and look into a new compressor and recharging and all that crap?

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Getting the AC compressor clutch assembly off (which is where the clutch pulley bearings are) is not easy. I tried removing the clutch without any success. You are probably better off getting another compressor.

I'll share this....when AC comressors are not run frequently, at least once a month they don't get the oil they need and when you start them up they will have increased wear. So over time the compressor may eventually start knocking and seize. I went through 3 used compressors before I broke down and bought a new one. I now have all the equipment to do AC work (gauges, vacuum pump, leak tester, etc). I got tired of having to take my car somewhere to do that work...and not have it done right.

free5ty1e wrote:but the compressor engaged and spun the entire time. Would it do this without a good charge?)

It's not terribly hard. You'll need to pick up a couple bolts from the hardware store first, but that's all.
Before you do anything, turn the center piece by hand and check for smooth rotation without gritiness.
Leave everything in place. Unplug the clutch and activate it with 12v with the car off so you hold it in place. Turn the center bolt just enough to break it loose. Remove power and disassemble.

Check this out:
http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin ... ch-116835/

Use common sense and tighten down like when you're tightening lug nuts. You should be able to squirt some oil into the pulley bearing from there once you have the clutch out.

You'll need a pulley puller and perhaps a snap ring pliers to get past this. I've not taken it further myself so I don't know.

Legacy777 wrote: I'll share this....when AC comressors are not run frequently, at least once a month they don't get the oil they need and when you start them up they will have increased wear. So over time the compressor may eventually start knocking and seize. I went through 3 used compressors before I broke down and bought a new one. I now have all the equipment to do AC work (gauges, vacuum pump, leak tester, etc). I got tired of having to take my car somewhere to do that work...and not have it done right.

That's the shaft seal. The one that's making noise in his case is the pulley bearing which is always spinning whenever the car is on.

It's supposed to. These compressors are variable displacement and changes displacement instead of cycling it on/off all the time. There's a sensor, so if its flat, it wouldn't engage, but the fact it engages doesn't mean that its got a proper charge. Once you have that bearing lubed, feel the two lines going to the compressor. One should get hotter and the other one should get colder. If all works good, it'll be worth actually pulling the pulley to replace the bearing.

Awesome info, I shall educate myself further on the subject there and see what I can figure out. Thanks!

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