Aircon dryer & what a stupid place to put it.

[frank rabbets]

Worth stripping the pump and seeing the condition of the PTFE coating on the pistons. If it's not damaged by lack of oil the pump could be rebuilt. The other point is the condition of the shaft where the seal goes. If rust is there it might not be possible to polish it out on the lathe. However parts from other similar pumps are interchangeable subject to a quick side by side check.. I made a good pump from three scrap ones.These pumps are fool proof re leaks after reassembly especially if done by someone as careful as you Chris. I'd never done one before. I'd put 8 ounces of oil in even though some might be left in the system. I think a lot is lost in the form of lost mist when there's a leak leaving behind not much of a witness mark.

 

[Chris]

OK so a glimmer of good news. I dragged the spare pump out of storage and remembered that it was the clutch that appeared stuck last time I looked. Well the dousing in oil that I gave it must've worked its magic because it's all freed up. OK slightly dragging so it needs a clean up but all working and it has sufficient suction to pull my finger in and enough pressure to push my finger off when spinning. Genuine Denso pump of course so it should be a winner winner chicken goujons.

So do I strip it and do a rebuild just to be sure? I just hate tackling this sort of job really. I'm a big girl when it comes to anything involving precision. To begin with I can't even get the pulley off. I don't want to bust it, but there's a 6mm bolt in the centre and no other visible means of it being held on. Does the clutch come off separately to the pulley? If so how?

 

[frank rabbets]

The centre bolt unscrews and then the outer splined clutch plate slides off. Under this is a shim/washer up inside the splined tube.Then there is a circlip holding the rest of the clutch on. After circlip removal the rest of the clutch should slide off the nose of the compressor. The cross section of the circlip is tapered and the diagonal should face outwards on reassembly. That way you can close the eyes up tight. This jams the bearing tight on to the nose so the centre does not turn and wear the nose. Mine was loose and the nose was completely worn out.

If you've got the 6mm bolt out it's just rusted splines holding it on. Perhaps a few light taps and a light bit of heat might move it.

Ha Ha Ha 3 Edits!! Don'y pull on the pulley part. Thats what i did and broke the front of the nose off as the circlip was still in. Just try and pull on the outer plate only. It's difficult to grip though. A screwdriver each side may lever it off.

 

[frank rabbets]

Chris I wrote a thread showing assembly on Oct 17 2015. "Frankenstein 10PA 17c replaces 10PA 15l compressor".

 

[Chris]

I'm going to have another look at it. But it seems from the Denso number that it's off a 100 series so the gasket kit is different. If I'm going to rebuild, it's really a toss up between doing this one or the OEM one that's already on the car.

 

[StarCruiser]

Whatever you do Chris, cover the pipe ends well to try and keep air and moisture out. If the garage compressor has been open, drain and replace any oil. The PAG oil they use is seriously hygroscopic.

 

[Chris]

Firstly the one on storage has been on the shelf for about 9 years. What oil? I don't think that's worth bothering about at this stage. The other one is still connected to the car.

OK so I have stripped it and the seals are toast. Really just nasty. But worse than that, one of the bores has some extreme corrosion / porosity / scouring in it. I'll put up a pic. It seems otherwise perfect but just one bore has an area that looks like either swarf has been in there or acid. I think it's effectively done. I'll pull the one on the car this week if I can and look at that for a rebuild. I know it's good other than leaking on the main body seals.

Grrrrr.

 

[frank rabbets]

The oil will dissolve in degreaser then blow all parts with the air line.

You've been watching football Chris rather than working lol.

 

[Chris]

And the great big holes in the cylinder?

What football?

 

[frank rabbets]

No the one you're about to strip.

THAT football.

 

[Chris]

Oh right I'm with you. I'll get it off at some point and give it a look see. The replacement seals look like a lot of money for what they are. It's the alloy worm that really affected the spare unit in that area. Once the smoke escaped and the water got in, the seal channels have turned to dust. The AC company that I deal with used to rebuild pumps. I might just hand it to them and look hopeful.

 

[frank rabbets]

One of the companies offered to rebuild mine for a guaranteed £200. Now in view of what they might have found, as they had not even seen it, I think their practice is to just bin it and supply a Chinese one. That way all the cost is known. They can't get new Denso parts either. I would be surprised if yours had much corrosion if it's been on a car all it's life.

 

[Chris]

Quick up date. Got the old pump off the truck today and it came apart with barely a touch. Looks to be in fantastic condition other than the main O rings have shrivelled up and died. Very pleased with condition overall. Gasket kit ordered. Will clean up fully and rebuild then reinstall and get my local chap to recharge it. Should be good to go before the big trip. Everything else in the system is pretty new.

 

[frank rabbets]

Great news. If you clean all the o ring surfaces, spin/polish the spindle and clean the bolt heads and recesses where the aly washers go it won't leak. I used the Toyota main seal not the inferior US one. I found getting the pistons back in quite difficult. There is no bore clearance and the edges of the bores are sharp. It's worse than one of those rubix cubes.

 

[Chris]

I'm not planning on rebuilding it all Frank. It was working perfectly and super cold. It's just the two main end O rings that were weeping. It wasn't even leaking from the shaft. I'll change that as there's one in the kit, but all the pistons and such are staying right where they are. False economy maybe, but there it is. New end seals and back on the truck. Wham bam, thank you Ma'am.

 

[frank rabbets]

Ah I see Chris. I would add some oil but it's a bit of a guess as to how much but it will defo have lost some if the gas has come out. My idea is it comes out as a mist so it does'nt leave much of a puddle to give an idea as to how much has been lost.

 

[Chris]

I shall leave all that to the AC guy. He's been doing this since cars were first invented Frank. I shall replace the seals, tidy it up, bolt it back on the car and hand it over to him.

 

[chapel gate]

empty the remaining oil and put 2 floz in.

 

[StarCruiser]

Not false economybto leave the pistons where they are though there is a split down the middle and a seal there IIRC. I’d be inclined to part it gently, about 10mm, remove seal, replace with new rolled over the cleaned body if possible then close back up but if it’s not leaking it’s tempting to leave well alone.

 

[Chris]

You can split the thing into three very easily. Two end plates come off leaving all the moving bits in one piece. Nothing falls out, no tiny pieces, just a big lump with sequentially reciprocating pistons in cylinders. I shall make sure it's all spotlessly clean with the air gun then put the new seals in. If you don't tinker about with the clever bits, it's a 15 minute job. The old seals weren't really that bad; what has happened is that over time moisture and salt etc has worked into the outside of the joints leading to that alloy fuzz. They will need flatting carefully to clean them up so that the mating faces - mate. Should be good to go then.