shawscove928s

Help
With the engine warmed up and at an idle the a/c pump or a/c clutch rattles. It seems to be more apparent when the a/c clutch is engaged. The car is a 86.5 s and the a/c pump was replaced less than 2000 miles ago. The car was stored for most of the time since the new compressor was installed. the a/c still gets very cold . The shop that did the work guaranties the work for 12 months or 12000 miles. The bad news is it has been 18 months since the work was done. What do you all think ???

dr bob

Make sure it's bolted in securely. makes sure the heat shield is not rattling against the plumbing or the exhasut manifold. It's real tempting to leave that heat shield out when you see it on the bench after the whole thing is assembled. It also gets bent up a bit if it's not assembled in the proper sequence on installation. If you believe that the compressor itself is rattling when it runs, get the car up on a lift or at least on tall stands, and get under there with a mechanic's stethoscope to find the exact source of the noises. It's possible that the compressor was installed a little short on oil, or perhaps the old oil was left in during a R-134a retrofit. Either can contribute to mechanical noises from within the compressor.

There are some normal noises from the compressor when it runs. Not a lot of rattling usually, but it does make some noise as valves click open and closed.

nosnow

My 86.5 had a rattle that acted in a simular manner and it turned out the top pivot bolt was not tight and had backed out. I'm not sure why it only rattled with the A/C on but that was the only time it made any noise.

Garth S

The compressor pulley spins freely until the AC head unit orders the electric clutch to colse - when closed, the compressor internals are now spinning ..... causing it to walk around within its loose mounts to make noise ...