I've got an 83S and the bearing on the idler pulley/AC clutch is squealing all the time now. I went to a couple of shops to get a quote, and they were coming in around $425 (import shop) to $750 (stealership). Ouch! I found a replacement clutch at Rock Auto for $150. So a few questions:

1) how hard is it to replace the AC clutch?
2) do I HAVE to break open the AC lines to do this? Both quotes included pulling out and refilling the refrigerant.
3) does Rock Auto provide high quality parts?
4) i've still got R12 in the system. Should I convert to R134? If so, is this easy with one of the conversion kits commonly available?

TIA,

Dave

 

1) how hard is it to replace the AC clutch?

Not hard, but you need a special AC Clutch tool kit. Auto Grone may lend it, but I'm not sure...

2) do I HAVE to break open the AC lines to do this? Both quotes included pulling out and refilling the refrigerant.

No, I do not believe so, though I've only changed clutches on compressors off the car

3) does Rock Auto provide high quality parts?

Depends on what brand the part is...

4) i've still got R12 in the system. Should I convert to R134? If so, is this easy with one of the conversion kits commonly available?

This is argued quite a bit, but I have a bunch of cars pre-94, and I run R12 in all of them. There are a lot of possibilites for failure if the switch is done incorrectly, and IMO, R134 does not cool as well as R12 in a system designed for R12.

BTW, you can take an online class several places and get "epa certified" to buy R12. They're like $30 bucks, IIRC. Then you can go on ebay or wherever and buy your own R12, instead of getting bent over by some shop that's going to charge you $5000 an ounce because you "Can't get it any more". I picked up a new 40 pound cylinder on ebay a couple years back for $299... and you can still get the 12oz cans on ebay as well.