Simple AC Question

[falcon]

I accidently broke off part of the compressor mounting plate and thumbscrew that prevents the mounting bracket of the compressor from sliding. I was removing the belt to get to the alternator.

I would like to remove the AC belt until I can get a new mounting plate.

Question: Can I just remove the belt? or is there something else I have to plug or tweek?

Thanks in advance.

[Rot 911]

just remove the belt.

[falcon]

Oh, I forgot to mention. I will be running the car without the belt until I fix the mounting bracket.

Is just removing the belt OK?

[88911coupe]

Running without the belt is fine except that your compressor needs to cycle on occasion to keep all the hoses from drying out and leaking all the freon.

[triwave]

I'm in the process of replacing my ignition wires (bought a set of magnecors) and discovered the right bank looks a bit more difficult to route - the originals seem to go directly under the A/C compressor and are held in place by an ignition wire holder. I can't imagine removing and replacing the wires without removing the compressor.

Looks easy enough to unbolt and loosen the belt, then maybe I could slide and lift it up to remove and replace the wires. Real question is how difficult is it to get back in place, properly aligned, and with the correct tension on the belt?

[toolman]

I think you will be able to route the wires under all that bracketry without removing it. Take the wire retainers (holders) and after you remove the wires from them, bolt them back together and run a 9mm or equivilent drill bit through them. They are too small to squeez the magnacores through them. I also used small pieces of the thick cover from the old wires to make up the space around the fan retainers.

[triwave]

So you have actually done this huh toolman? I originally thought I could do it but then found the existing wires attached to a retainer underneath the compressor. I couldn't figure out how to remove and open up the retainer to get the old wires out and the new ones in. I thought the wires just passed underneath the compressor, now i see they are held in place with the wire retainer. I'll have another look after this ...

[toolman]

It is pretty tough to get that retainer under the compressor off, try bending it over a little to gain better access. Remove the AC compressor and put it on a thick towel on the right rear fender, but of course, don't remove the hoses. This might be a way to get better access too. Here is a picture to encourage you, Good Luck with the project.

[Joeaksa]

Randall,

Believe that my 85 had the same problem when I bought it and 7 years later its still the same way. You can live without it unless you want to fix it to make adjusting the compressor and belt easier.

JoeA

[falcon]

Joe,

Are you running the AC compressor with just the 4 hold down bolts only?

[Joeaksa]

Randall,

Yes, and I used a prybar or such to push the compressor out and tension the belt, then tighten one of the four bolts up to snug it down. If you put a wrench on the bolt, then adjust the compressor, you can hold the prybar just enough while snugging the bolt with the other hand.

Worked fine for all this time and while I would love to have it the way it should be but, was too busy doing other things on the car to fool with the A/C mount!

Believe that this happens when someone tries to tension the belt and the four bolts are not totally loose and breaks the end off. It was that way when I purchased the car and it could have been that way for a long time.

Joe

[triwave]

Toolman,

I have final had some time to review and study further. I think I may have the a/c belt adjustment straight but wanted to clarify. Using the picture you posted I added a few markings for discussion.



What I believe to be the removal process is the following:

1) remove 3 bolts at the locations that I have Red arrows pointing to
2) remove nut on top of the stud at location I circled in Yellow

Question: Does the nut I point to with a Blue arrow have anything to do with the procedure? I don't think it does but some described to look for the nut on the left side (which that is) but it makes sense the way I described as well.

What I don't see as obvious from the photo, is how the nut at the yellow circle would actually adjust the position of the mount to tighten or loosen the belt??

Thanks for the insight!

[toolman]

No, the blue arrow is a bracket to hold the mount still. To tighten the belt, you must loosen all the red arrows and the yellow and use the adjustment bolt on the right side of the compressor to strech the belt, but no too much. Ill send another picture with it all together.

[toolman]

Nevermind, I already did that and after I re-read the post, I see what your problem is. You might have to use a pry bar to get the right tension on the belt, then tighten all the bolts.

[triwave]

Pry bar huh ... so is my '86 a different setup than the '87 you worked on? I guess at some point they moved to an easily adjustable system, where perhaps mine is still a pry it over and tighten it down approach which is a bit tougher to fine adjust Also, I read elsewhere about people damaging the bracket using pry bars so I wanted to avoid that if possible...