2002 P5 A/C Compressor noise looking for an easy fix!

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'02 Mazda Protege5
My AC system works , blows ice cold air but the compressor makes a freakin' racket. I can hear a fast knocking sound coming from it. It's mostly when its turned on but sometimes I can hear the same noise faintly when it's off. sometimes the belt squeals as well like when i first start it up and drive off. The clutch disengages when I turn off the AC but it seems to "Drag" a bit you can see it spinning slowly with the pully.

I saw on another Mazda site, for Mazda 3/6 I believe, that there was a cheap fix for this as it may not require the compressor to be replaced, they just took the center clutch plate and pully out and replaced the bearing inside the pulley/clutch assembly, without even having to evacuate the refrigerant. IS this possible on the Protege5?
 
My AC system works , blows ice cold air but the compressor makes a freakin' racket. I can hear a fast knocking sound coming from it. It's mostly when its turned on but sometimes I can hear the same noise faintly when it's off. sometimes the belt squeals as well like when i first start it up and drive off. The clutch disengages when I turn off the AC but it seems to "Drag" a bit you can see it spinning slowly with the pully.

I saw on another Mazda site, for Mazda 3/6 I believe, that there was a cheap fix for this as it may not require the compressor to be replaced, they just took the center clutch plate and pully out and replaced the bearing inside the pulley/clutch assembly, without even having to evacuate the refrigerant. IS this possible on the Protege5?

Imho for the time it takes to do so I'd just replace the whole compressor. I have the same issue but as long as the ac still blows cold I'm not changing anything!
 
Imho for the time it takes to do so I'd just replace the whole compressor....

You're supposed to evacuate then recharge the system to replace the compressor... And you're supposed to evacuate at a shop. A new compressor goes for $300- $450 CDN as well.

There's a huge advantage to just replacing the bearing.

I've never heard of anyone doing it on the P5 but it may be possible ???

They do rebuild them so they must come apart somehow..

I say go ahead and try to take it apart... You'll run the risk of breaking something then you'll Have to replace it, but you should be able to take the old bearing to a bearing place and match something up and it should be numbered.

I'm assuming that your clutch might be damaged from a sloppy bearing and compressor parts don't seem to be available.
Maybe something off a junker...
 
You're supposed to evacuate then recharge the system to replace the compressor... And you're supposed to evacuate at a shop. A new compressor goes for $300- $450 CDN as well.

Idk about you but if I asked a shop to evac my ac lines they would do so for free. I also know that ac tends to be more expensive that rolling the windows down so spending 300-450 would be about right. Rock auto has one for $230 or you can just find one from a junk yard.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog...7,heat+&+air+conditioning,a/c+compressor,6628

Overall I would much rather spend the money on my ac then shred some belts due to a "drag" on the pulley and potentially strand myself.
 
I didn't think a shop would evacuate the AC for free.

But I still think he should try to replace the bearing.. It could be a ten dollar fix.

If something goes wrong he could just leave the belt off till he gets a replacement compressor.... He'll loose power steering and AC but the car will be driveable.

If he shreds the belt, he may very well take out the other one at the same time, then he is pretty much stranded.
 
You can take them apart, but it takes a special tool set to do so.

Even then, you can't do it on the car, it still requires evacuation of the system.

It's not the bearing anyway, these compressors just rattle, my P5 has been doing it for two years, my Ranger just started doing it too. And my brother's Miata does it. Run it until it quits, if it ever does.
 
You can take them apart, but it takes a special tool set to do so.

Even then, you can't do it on the car, it still requires evacuation of the system.

It's not the bearing anyway, these compressors just rattle, my P5 has been doing it for two years, my Ranger just started doing it too. And my brother's Miata does it. Run it until it quits, if it ever does.

^^
 
You can take them apart, but it takes a special tool set to do so.

Even then, you can't do it on the car, it still requires evacuation of the system.

It's not the bearing anyway, these compressors just rattle, my P5 has been doing it for two years, my Ranger just started doing it too. And my brother's Miata does it. Run it until it quits, if it ever does.

^^^ Good Answer !!!
You'd swear MrGiggles knows a few things about cars !!!
 
Update: Problem solved! I was able to remove the clutch plate and pulley with bearing from the compressor without having to drain the freon. I replaced it with a new bearing/pulley/clutch from a rebuilt unit. noise is gone. A/c runs great now.
 
Just a socket wrench and a pair of snap ring pliers. literally all I needed. undo the belt, unscrew the little bolt in the middle of the pulley, pull out the clutch plate (without losing any washers), take the snap ring out which holds the pulley on, slide it off and replace with new part. voila. saved over $500.
 
Just a socket wrench and a pair of snap ring pliers. literally all I needed. undo the belt, unscrew the little bolt in the middle of the pulley, pull out the clutch plate (without losing any washers), take the snap ring out which holds the pulley on, slide it off and replace with new part. voila. saved over $500.

Great now do a write up with pictures! [emoji23]
 
ive always had that rattling noise when the a/c engages. i've never thought anything about it. pics would be great! and part number for new part
 
You can take them apart, but it takes a special tool set to do so.

Even then, you can't do it on the car, it still requires evacuation of the system.

It's not the bearing anyway, these compressors just rattle, my P5 has been doing it for two years, my Ranger just started doing it too. And my brother's Miata does it. Run it until it quits, if it ever does.

So you did a great job of not removing your dash to fix your AC, proving the FSM wrong, but I'm kinda disappointed with your advice on the AC compressor...

I think in an effort to redeem yourself, you should fix yours and your brothers clattering AC pump Without draining any freon... And post some pics so we can all do it...

PS... I have the SST required (snap ring pliers)
 
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Idk about you but if I asked a shop to evac my ac lines they would do so for free...

But would they charge you to put it back in after you've changed your compressor ??? Like $100 or so ??

Just An FYI..

R 134A refrigerant (which is in our cars) is a Chlorofluorocarbon ...

Screenshot_2017-08-03-00-50-47.png


Screenshot_2017-08-03-01-07-10.png


CFC's, float up into the stratosphere and destroy the ozone layer....
They are pretty much banned in first and second world countries but they can be recovered from old refrigeration units and reused. BUT.. Freon is free to use in third world countries...

Smuggling freon from Mexico into the US is more lucrative than smuggling cocaine... Pound for pound.


I used Duracool to recharge my AC...
It is made from propane and specially treated so is doesn't explode if it leaked out. (they raised the ignition point)... It has no chlorine or fluorine, won't kill the earth, and you can just release it into the atmosphere...
No worse the blowing off a big fart outside...

IMG_20170803_011432.jpg
 
R 134A refrigerant (which is in our cars) is a Chlorofluorocarbon ...

EDIT... There is no chlorine in tetrafluoroethane... I was thinking of R-12... (still bad though... 1/8 as bad...)
 
So you did a great job of not removing your dash to fix your AC, proving the FSM wrong, but I'm kinda disappointed with your advice on the AC compressor...

I think in an effort to redeem yourself, you should fix yours and your brothers clattering AC pump Without draining any freon... And post some pics so we can all do it...

PS... I have the SST required (snap ring pliers)

The diesel-like rattle that is common on these compressors is not caused by a bearing. The noise is only present when the compressor is running, which rules out the bearing as the cause, since it spins all the time, whether the compressor is engaged or not.

Maybe his bearing was bad and making a similar rattle, or maybe since the rattles tend to come and go, the problem just hasn't came back yet.

The vast majority of compressors require a special threaded puller to take apart, I'm surprised that these don't.

I wonder if he bought a reman compressor, took them both apart, did the ol' switcheroo and returned it?
 
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I've had customers bring in a car blowing hot as the Sahara only cause they had a bit too much freon. Now I honestly don't know how else to measure freon and I used to do this service for customers for free so I can't say for every place.

Do ask I'm sure it won't hurt either way.
 
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