Hi i own a 1993 Mazda Roadster Mk 1 1600cc manual imported in 2000 , it is fitted with E/W P/S & A/C . I have only owned the car a few months and bought it from the people who imported it and it is in really good condition nearly show condition , but it has hardly been used less than 3000 miles in 5 years . When I bought the car the A/C was working but i did notice the pulley seemed to be wobbling about i put WD on it and thought that was that . But i have gone to get it out today to go for a run its been stood for two weeks and noticed the A/C was not working , the fan is working and there is over 12 volts at the wire that goes to the clutch and it is trying to engage but isn’t doing so . I would think there is enough gas in the system as i don’t think it would have the voltage at the wire going to the clutch , and how its wobbling about I would guess the Compressors gone or the magnetic clutch ( it is energising because when you engage the A/C the pulley is like a magnet on a spanner )
I do have a spare car with another compressor on it which seems OK , because when you put a feed to the wire to the clutch it engages and runs but it has no gas in the system so I cannot run it for long . What is the easiest way to get the compressors of the car , there seems very little room and i have bought three manuals but all say take to a specialist but if i can change the compressor myself i only need to get it re-gassed . Has any one changed a A/C compressor and could give me a run down on how to do it . Cheers Tony
Rod Graingers manual doesn’t recommend you doing hardly anything to the A/c system. Mainly I think because of the refrigerant not being allowed to be discharged to the atmosphere but, if it’s already leaked out ,hey ho if it was me I would just take it off. there are two A/C pipes attached to the compressor and it is held onto the side of the engine by, I think, 4 bolts 70mm x 8mm which are fastened to a plate that is itself fastened to the engine.
Cheers for answering , i can see the pipes and bolts but do you have to take the radiators off because there does not seem enough room just to unbolt it and drop it out of the car . Tony
Sorry can’t help you with that. I happen to have a spare compressor that I obtained from some one else, which is how I could see how it had been fastened to the engine.
How about just changing the clutch, that way you may not need to break into the A/C circuit. As you have a spare compressor with a working clutch you will probably be able to see how it is attached off the car giving you guidance on how to fit the working clutch to your compressor without needing to remove it from the car. (Is that as clear as mud?)
I didn’t realize you had a spare clutch. All you have to do is to remove the central nut holding the clutch on and then remove the clutch. You will need the bottom pan removing to be able to do this. There are also some very thin spacers behind the clutch so be careful you don’t loose them. Here is a picture that should help you. You will need two thin bladed screwdrivers or wood chisels at 180 deg apart to ease the clutch off.
I also want to attempt to remove the clutch off my compressor.
Any tips? How do I stop the clutch turning whilst trying to undo centre nut? Will the belt be loose once the clutch is removed or can I still drive the car sans ac?
My clutch seems to have deteriorated to the stage where there is black rubbery bits coming out between outer ring and dished centre hub thingy. The compressor spins easily if I turn the nut with a socket. I am hoping compressor is still good…
It is a nightmare, i myself have exactly the same problem, IE the Rubber Damper has gone so when clutch engages it does not turn the spindle that operates the compressor. The BIG problem is now the rubber damper has split even holding the pulley will not stop the compressor spindle turning when trying to undo the nut. I have a good spare compressor and in about 10 minutes I got the front pulley off it by holding it with a oil filter strap to stop it turning as i undid the nut. Then gently tapped the pulley off job done.
But as stated with the A/C compressor on the car even with A/C belt of and the pulley held with the strap because the rubber damper has gone trying to undo the nut just turns the compressor shaft !!!. You cannot get an impact gun in as no room and if you undo the pipes and take the compressor of the car so you can undo the nut with a impact gun to get the pulley off and a good one back on i was quoted £200 to have it re-gassed. Because our Mazda’s use the old gas and that is now not now used so the A/C people say they have to convert our compressor to use the new gas. I am fuming as i temporarily locked the two parts of the pulley and the A/C works perfect and is ice cold, but i dare not leave it incase the tempory repair flies off and damages other parts. So like youself if any one has any ideas how to undo a A/C compressors pully nut when the rubber damper ring has disintergrated BUT with the compressor still on the car i would love to hear from them. Cheers Tony
Find an Air Con/Refrigeration Engineer that can supply RS-24 refrigerant or an equivalent. RS-24 is a “legal” drop-in replacement for the old R12 refrigerant and is actually more efficient than the newer and more widely used R134a.
Trade price for a 13kg bottle of RS-24 is much less than £200 and you only need a fraction of this to refill your A/C system. £100 for a re-gas with RS-24 would be reasonable.
Thanks for the reply, but if you see my point if i could get the pully off with the compressor in the car i would not need to pay any money out full stop as i know the A/C will be ice cold if the pully turns the shaft. The refrigerant would not have to be touched, the only reason the A/C is not working is because the rubber damper ring has separated between the pulley. Cheers Tony
My point is that if you end up with no choice but to dismantle the system and re-gas then don’t be forced into having a half-ar$ed conversion to R134a and paying £200 for the privilege.
These pictures may help you. Unscrew the small nut that is holding the clutch on. In the second picture where it says “the clutch comes apart hear” place two sharp joiners wood chisels at 180 deg apart and you will be able to ease the clutch off. Note: there are some very thin spacer washers behind the clutch so be careful not to loose these while removing the clutch.
I have tried to undo the nut holding the clutch plate on and because the rubber insert has broken apart there is no chance of undoing the nut with the compressor on the car. All that happens is the nut and shaft turn even if you hold the clutch outer plate with a oil filter strap. Only way i can see you getting the nut undone even if off the car is with an impact gun because how can you stop the spindle turning when it is not attached by the rubber buffer to the outer plate. Any suggestions welcome.Tony
With an L shaped drill attachment used to drill etc in small spaces with an electric drill you could still possibly remove the nut if you first removed the fan to give yourself a little more room to work. It is a fairly easy job to remove the fan. Fortunately I have an electric impact driver that I have found very useful for removing stubborn nuts, bolts and screws etc.
By the way you don’t appear to have let us know where in the country you are. This info can help anyone near to you who maybe to help on a more personal level.
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