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I took a friend out earlier for a 'brisk' drive, I stopped for a bit and the fan had cut in so I let the car cool down before turning it off. When I restated there was a distinctive whine constant with engine speed, I popped the bonnet and noticed it was coming from the A/C compressor, when I switch off the A/C (econ) the noise is gone.
I've not noticed any other issues with the A/C or fans.
Any ideas?
Cheers guys!
If it didn't do it before and from what you said started after a brisk drive, I would check again after the car had an overnight rest.
Could be as simple as a re-gas as named symptom seem to be related to heat build up and lack of lubrication.
Whining seems to be a warning to you that the compressor may be ready to seize. I'll be posting soon about my own aircon experience which has involved three compressors - the original which seized solid and threw the belt thus requiring a flatbed truck trip home at vast expense, the replacement compressor which unforunately was installed by a garage who failed to flush the system and so suffered the "black death" (also at vast expense) and now the third one which is running well. The second one started whining after a while as the black death worked its grim work. The new compressor does not whine at all.
My car has now done 40,000 miles and the seizing of the aircon compressor seems to be a problem that can manifest itself around that mileage (depends how much you use it, or perhaps not use it, ie leave the ATC in Econ mode). My advice would be to replace any whining compressor with a new one from the US as soon as practicable before yours seizes and the cost of replacement escalates. Have a look at techchoiceparts.com - our FS10 compressors (new, not rebuilt or "remanufactured" as the Yanks call them) are half price just now ($US130)!! Search the site for 4.6 li Ford Mustang GT Mach 1 2004.
There is a guy listing some 260 stuff on ebay at the moment who has them for £150 plus shipping
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/gtracingno1/m...&_trksid=p4340
This morning it was silent! Fingers crossed a gas and some service oil will stop it from happening again :|Quote:
Originally Posted by VMax1000
The car has done 60k miles and the previous owner tells me it was replaced not so long ago..Quote:
Originally Posted by Malcolmr
Keep those fingers crossed and make sure your roadside recovery insurance is up-to-date!
bugger- I need a regas, and am suffering whine- do I spend a lump of the supercharger hoard on compressor, condenser, and labour, or just regas and hope for the best .
Start with a regas it's the cheapest - if it's not that then you've wasted the least
Mine has been regassed this week, and serpentine belt changed; as soon as I get her back I'll let you know if it's sorted the whine on mine out
thanks Colin, yes let me know.
wuld sooner keep the money stashed- evry little helps
Hi, just to tell you that I sourced a air con compressor from these people autoaironline, the chap I spoke to told me that infact Visteon no longer manufacture there own units but is out sourced to a Korean company, armed with that info I purchased a new unit replacement not visteon branded but also made in Korea the cost with shipping + the dreaded import tax of £32 was in total £184 compared with over £250 here for a recon. Delivery took about 2 weeks you could get it sooner via DHL but at a cost. The chap I spoke to was Rick here info@autoaironline.com
I hope the regas sorts your probs out but if not I hope this info is of some help to you. Martin
PS he has a full range to offer the one I chose was not the cheapest but middle of the road his recomendation as best value for the "bucks"
Mine did that as well. Had it re-gassed at Austin Garages and was advised that there wasn't anything untoward in the gas (i.e. bits that tend to accompany the seizing). (Although it was overgassed a bit). Still whines from time to time now, but I don't tend to put it on that much due to economy hit!
To a degree I think some whine is normal, but it depends how loud it is I guess.
One person's whine may be different from someone else's.
I would expect a little bit of noise but I could hear this in the cabin with the windows shut :|
That is quite loud then!!
It was re-gassed just before Christmas, Can honestly say never has any symptoms before selling.
Aircon in a performance car, demisting aside do we really need it?
Can a reduced length belt be bought to bypass the compressor completely?
Just a thought!
In the old days, you could just open your quarter vent window and wind down the other windows and life was sweet. You could even smell the gorgeous fragrances of the countryside as you motored along. In modern cars if you open a window your brain gets sucked out of your ears and the 200% additional glass (for visibility, safety and aerodynamics reasons) turns the inside of the car into a greenhouse on even a moderately warm day, hence the need for aircon.Quote:
Originally Posted by Keith
Have car designers let us down do you think?
I have a spare compressor of an engine that threw a rod with 22k on the clock.Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveyLC
I also have avalable loads of other parts.
Mike.
Strangely I've not had any problems since that evening I was giving it "billy big balls".. I'm having the system flushed, gassed and oiled on the weekend though.
These two photos show the result of the flushing of my system after the compressor had seized. The flushing liquid is Shellite and is suitably murky when stirred up. You can see the pile of iron filings settled in the bottom of the beaker in the second photo if you look closely enough. This is what the first garage failed to remove so it is no wonder the replacement compressor died with all that ironmongery running in the refrigerant.Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveyLC
Apologies guys, if I've posted this in the wrong place - I'm a bit new to the whole forum thing so not entirely clear on etiquette - but this 4 year old discussion seemed to be the most appropriate place to chip in with a quick novice question.
I have a suspect failing aircon compressor - gradual loss of cold air con over a 200 mile period, but a constant flow of very hot air into the cabin when the A/C is switched-off completely, then a strong smell of burning electric motor which occurred during the next journey (I originally thought it was the racer-boy next to me at the traffic lights in his Ford Fiesta - but the smell reappeared 40 miles later when I was stationary at the next set of lights!) and after a bit of investigation, a rattly front plate on the aircon pulley, which will turn by hand but no longer seems to rotate with the belt system....
So my main question is, can I drive the car a reasonable distance like this, as long as the Econ button is selected to disengage the aircon clutch? Or is a compressor seize now inevitable, a belt snap on the cards and an expensive afternoon with a man from the AA in my future? I'm just wondering if I dare use the car while I source the parts and pick a garage.
Thanks,
James
Sounds like it could be the clutch on the compressor which has failed. The smell of burning rubber is the clue.
Thanks Dave. It was a more metallic smell than burning rubber, but I think it's all semantics really. I don't know much about A/C compressors to be honest - so I'll take your guidance on it being the clutch on the compressor. That means new compressor presumably or can just the clutch be replaced? Biggest concern right now though is whether I should be covering any great distance in the car whilst the compressor is at death's door. Thoughts?
You can get a new clutch but the likelihood is that the compressor is the culprit.Quote:
Originally Posted by J.Dubya
Normally a seized clutch means the compressor will be running all the time
Run in econ will disengage the clutch so should be alright to drive if not seized.
If the clutch engages but the compressor is seized the clutch may slip (as it's a magnetic one) until the point it actually locks up due to the heat build up.
Lots of scenarios but the best advice I can give is to replace the compressor and clutch.
Attachment 6635
All makes sense. Thank you chaps.
Just have a quick read here http://www.accompressorpro.com/blog/...lutch-slippageQuote:
Originally Posted by J.Dubya
Further to the above, I covered 1500 miles over multiple journeys with the aircon set to Econ and was planning to have the compressor swapped at the next service, due in another 900 miles - however a fortnight ago, I stopped for a quick bite 120miles from home, returned to the car and on turning the ignition, the pulley seized solid and snapped the serpentine belt. Shrieking belt-slip, smoke and smell and then heavy steering... This was in contrast with my fiancé who fell silent; arms crossed.
Was going to be staying 15miles away in Glastonbury for the weekend, so before calling the recovery truck out, I (checked on the forum for recommended mechanics local to Glastonbury but couldn't find anyone mentioned) so searched for a local garage who might be up to the job. Called-up Finlandya Custom, as their website shows vehicle restorations and a lot of Land Rover work. Figured they'll have seen plenty of V8s. Turns out they have a penchant for the interesting, have a range of experience on air-con units and they like their V8s.
Details on the forum helped me shortcut some of the painful diagnosis and pointed them in the right direction on part numbers and sourcing and route of the belt etc. I don't claim to know whether this is correct, but apparently the internal compressor seemed OK, but the outer bearing on the pulley was to blame. I asked them to swap the whole unit and requested the thorough flushing of the system to be on the safe side. They sourced a brand new compressor from a company in Bristol within a working day or two. It wasn't cheap, but it was a solution.
Time will tell whether the workmanship was good, but I picked the car up yesterday and it's nice not to have pebbles in a dustbin sound effects on start up now. Perhaps I am just used to 'you are number Z in the queue' London service, but the guys at Finlandya were super friendly. When Rob discovered we were staying in the area for the weekend and needed to get around, he threw me the keys to a Disco to use for the weekend at no cost and his home address to drop it off on Sunday night! Salvaged our weekend and indeed partially restored my popularity.
There is one thing now which I need to address, which is the temperature of the aircon. The mechanic highlighted that despite having tested the system for leaks and filled the aircon unit with 475 (450 +/- 50 permitted, so well within tolerance) it was still blowing warmer than expected air. I needed the car back and knew the truth lies somewhere on this forum, so I'll start working through the various tests and solutions mentioned in several of the threads here. I now think the failure of the aircon and the rise in its temperature to above ambient, which occurred before the gradual failure of the aircon pulley can't have been linked, as a complete, replacement compressor unit has not improved the situation. Anyway, fortunately, we're heading into winter, so I have a few months' grace to sort it out.
Have a look for threads on failed heater valves and the Black Olive replacement. If your valve is leaking water through to the heater matrix the aircon will have little chance in keeping up. Putting a clamp on the bottom hose in the plenum will prove this one way or another.
My air con compressor seized recently but so did the bearing on the electromagnetic clutch which I suspect had been on its way out for a while. My car always sounded wrong but I couldn't pin it down and I suspect the bearing in the clutch was the culprit, I'd be checking it as well as re-gassing the system. I read in the forum somewhere Scooter stated not to decrease the amount of oil but use the full amount. I followed his advice and now my one runs very quiet. The compressor cost me £250 plus the dreaded vat but this is a new one. I did try another company I'd read about on here but the guy hadn't a clue what I was talking about, all he could say was they only do the parts listed on the online catalogue
Hi Les, where did you get your compressor from as i need to replace mine soon.Quote:
Originally Posted by Les4048
Ken...
I know it was asked earlier but I haven't seen an answer to it.
Is it possible to get a shorter belt so you can bypass the compressor?
Did they check the oil level of the new compressor as well?
Have a read here if not already done https://www.two-sixties.co.uk/mgoc26...ill-quantities
Not by just a shorter belt. You need a by-pass pulley.Quote:
Originally Posted by stevenw
http://pbhperformance.com/shop/modul...delete-pulley/
Attachment 6838
I did think about this too late as it happens as I'd the radiator etc back in but looking at the angles if you missed out the compressor I don't think the tensioner would work properly but I'd be happy if someone came up with a differnt answer. This would enable us to carry a spare belt which could be fitted instantlyQuote:
Originally Posted by stevenw
It dose not work you need a bracket and pulley to replace the a/c compressor.Quote:
Originally Posted by Les4048
Correct, see post #33Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken B
Many thanks James, very informative. Good to know about Finlandya Custom, I'll add it to the recommended list.Quote:
Originally Posted by J.Dubya
Nich.
Doh! Not sure. Doubt it. Thanks Herman. I'll check this week. Dare I ask what happens if you leave the factory fill level of oil in the compressor?
Mine makes a whistle noise which changes pitch as throttle is applied or eased off when air con is on and sometimes when it is off. Never thought anything of it ... till now