A/C Compressor Clutch Fell off... WUUUT??

The Jetta just threw me a curveball. The A/C clutch decided to disassemble itself while I was driving the car. Looks like the nut backed off, and the clutch hub just fell off. The pulley didn't come loose, just the hub. So the car is driveable, just no A/C.

Thankfully, the belly pan caught the hub and nut. So I didn't leave any debris on the road. But the hub is toast. It is not reusable. The A/C system is still holding a full charge of refrigerant, so I don't think the compressor is damaged. Also, the splines on the compressor (where the hub attaches) look good. And the face on the pulley looks OK.

So I'm thinking of slapping on another hub. Should be easy enough. Local parts stores don't sell it. I see clutch hubs on FleaBay for about $30 or so. Seem legit? I'm in Florida, and summer is coming (insert meme here). So I have to act on this ASAP.

Thanks in advance.

PS: Link to clutch hub ---> https://www.ebay.com/itm/A-C-Compre...Jetta-Golf-Beetle-SD7V16-CH-201/221784109478?

Very common problem on the ALH. I always check the AC front clutch face nut when I do a timing belt.

You can gamble on that fleabay one or just find one in a pick and pull for a couple of bucks and maybe find some other treasures while there.

Yep, common. The diesels shake the Japanese compressor shaft nut loose (the gassers don't, despite spinning faster and declutching more often). I too check these frequently.

These cars are outside my wheelhouse, so forgive the noob post.

I checked with a couple local boneyards, and they're pretty proud of their junk. So off to FleaBay...

PS - Thanks for the info. I'll have to add "check A/C clutch" to the maintenance schedule.

I’ve used this kit off amazon, I know it’s more than the eBay kit but I’ve used it twice on two different cars and it’s complete and works.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0081SDEG0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If the tiny spacers are still on the shaft remember where they are how many and what position they are in.

If you order an aftermarket one - see if you can find one that includes some shims. They may be needed to get the spacing proper.

I ended up buying a kit, instead of just the hub. The kit also includes shims, and a lock-nut for the hub.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/391842872133

Fingers crossed...

This happened to me a couple times. Luckily, the belly pan caught all the parts both times. The second time, I reassembled with red locktite on the nut and haven’t had a problem since.

OP, when you reassemble, consider applying something to the threads to retain the nut. If I had it to do over again, I’d probably go with blue locktite. The red stuff can be very difficult if you ever need to remove it in the future.

williambill said:

This happened to me a couple times. Luckily, the belly pan caught all the parts both times. The second time, I reassembled with red locktite on the nut and haven’t had a problem since.
OP, when you reassemble, consider applying something to the threads to retain the nut. If I had it to do over again, I’d probably go with blue locktite. The red stuff can be very difficult if you ever need to remove it in the future.

Click to expand...

Little bit of heat turns loctite to liquid and breaks it down, even with the strongest applications. I had to rebuild my sled clutch and the weight pins (and other bits) call for green loctite 620. It's basically a compression fit, bearing loctite for high shear applications. Few seconds with the torch and the hardware spins right out. You try to do it cold though, you're rounding heads or breaking tools (maybe not for red).

Blacktree said:

I ended up buying a kit, instead of just the hub. The kit also includes shims, and a lock-nut for the hub.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/391842872133

Fingers crossed...

Click to expand...

That looks like the right kit, let us know what you think of the quality and if it fits and works right. That’s a much better price than the amazon one I linked to.

The parts came in today. They look like direct copies of the originals, with some small differences. First of all, the nut for the hub is a Nylock nut. The original is a flange nut. I think I'll put a washer under the Nylock nut. Second of all, the original hub has a "missing tooth" on the splines, which I assume is used to orient the hub correctly (the hub appears to be counterbalanced). The new hub, however, does not have that missing spline. So I need to be careful to orient it correctly during the install. Speaking of the install, that will happen tomorrow. Wish me luck!


Photos:

Make sure you put the shims in the correct order. You may even have more than you need.

Rocksett is a medium strength threadlocker with heat fastness to +1200F . Good stuff. Easy (enough) to remove with tools.

So your nut didn't just come loose, the clutch beat itself to death. That is quite often a symptom of a failing compressor, just FYI. Notice how the sheer pins broke? Those are there to keep the belt/engine from suddenly stopping should the compressor lock up. The load the clutch was dealing with was far too great and the outside components broke.

You may want to make sure that:

the system has a full charge

both radiator fans work when they should

there is no strange noises or vibrations when the compressor engages

Otherwise, it will just break again.

oilhammer said:

You may want to make sure that:

the system has a full charge

both radiator fans work when they should

there is no strange noises or vibrations when the compressor engages

Click to expand...

Yep. Checked all that stuff already.

I have a theory about the compressor clutch. When I bought the car, unbeknownst to me it had a solid pulley on the alternator. Somewhere along the line, the OEM alternator pulley got replaced with a solid one. Also, when I bought the car the belt tensioner was beat to hell. I even had to replace some of the bolts, because they became oval-shaped. So I fixed all the broken stuff in the tensioner assembly, and installed the correct alternator pulley.

There's no telling how long the car was run with the wrong alternator pulley. But it was long enough to practically pulverize the belt tensioner. So I'm guessing it beat up the compressor clutch, as well.

The new compressor clutch is installed, and the A/C works. No funky noises. No rattles. No leaks. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Yeah, that may have contributed for sure. Lots of morons with tools out there, sounds like you found the fruits of one of them after you bought the car!

Good job on getting it back on the road!

Did you install this? How was it? I lost my clutch so I need to do this.

Yes, I installed it. And it's still working. (fingers crossed)

I made a video about it, too. --->

Blacktree said:

Yes, I installed it. And it's still working. (fingers crossed)

I made a video about it, too. --->

Click to expand...

Finally did this a few weekends back. Wasn't too bad except for the ring nuts which were quite annoying. Have to absolutely use a proper sized one. But I have AC again which is awesome.

Thanks for the video, it was helpful.

Awesome!

Also, mine is still working. Granted, it's only been about 6 months. But if anything was terribly wrong, it should have showed by now.

Hey man I really appreciate the little video you made. Mine fell off the other week and down in FL without AC was killer. Did it last Sunday and was an easy job. Went to the junkyard to grab the clutch, the shim and the nut, bought a new nylock nut and a washer and was in business. Went at it through the tire and underneath the car. The splash shield underneath and the fender one both had to come out, along with the intercooler pipe from the turbo. Didn't have a pulley wrench so used a good ol flatblade to hold the pulley in place while I torqued down the nut. Didn't seem to do any detectable damage thus far. Totally fixed it and checked to make sure was not spinning when not engaged, and then spinning when engaged. Thanks for this post!

The snap ring holding the intercooler pipe in place was a bit bizarre on the turbo side. I put it back on incorrectly and had a turbo whistle and major boost loss. Had to clean up that pipe but was easy after that to reinstall correctly. So just thought I'd throw that out there.