I took my 88TII to a shop to get the a/c leak tested and charged today. They guy said my compressor is shot b/c when you turn the clutch by hand there is little to no resistance. The compressor was out of the car for a while so it has no charge at all, could this be the reason for no resistance, or is he right about it being bad?

 

Can the compressor be dis-assembled and repaired? If it can be rebuilt, it would be worth it to know that it won't disintegrate and ruin other parts of the a/c system.

 

There should be some resistance, about like turning your air (smog) pump by hand. If it is almost no resistance then I would agree that your A/C pump is shot.

 

Greetings

This answer may sound stupid.
The clutch is supposed to turn freely.
Until power is applied to the coil it free wheels on a bearing.
If power is applied to the coil and clutch does not lock up then coil/clutch is bad.
If clutch has power and locks up then turning it should result in a sucking sound from the compressor. If compressor is dry you may not get the sound but yes there should be drag from the pistons etc. inside.
Do not put any oils other than proper refrigerant oils into the compressor!!

Hope this helps.
Ken

 

Thanks for all the replies. The clutch was working properly, it would spin free of the compressor and when 12 volts was applied it would engage.

I was in Wal-Mart the other day and saw a 134 conversion kit, I decided what the hell, $33 isn't going to put a huge dent in my bank account and at least I would know if it was shot. I charged it according to instructions this past Sunday and as of today (Tuesday), it is still blowing ice-cold. Surprised the hell out of me, I didn't think 134 would get that cold from everything I have read. Hopefully I don't have any hard to reach leaks (I know the high side connection to the compressor is leaking a little). Thanks for the replies and I will keep you all updated.