Rep Power: 0

Hey y'all,

my engine started making a funny noise yesterday, initially it was very soft and almost sounded like trance music. at first it sorta sounded like a noisy water pump bearing. i added some water pump lubricant to try and fix the problem but the sound is getting noiser and its starting its starting to sound like a binding alternator at this point.

The noise seems to be affected by the throttle, I'm pretty sure its not the steering pump. The sound is noisiest when the car is idling and gets quietest when the a/c is on full blast. Okay veterans, give a listen and share you thoughts.

2002 Honda Civic Is Veloz (D17A2 like the US civic ex but with a different tranny)
135,000 miles
Sounds like an echo-ish binding/grinding sound but fairly high pitched.
Its noticible from inside the car.
Affected by throttle (louder and pitch gets higher)
A/C seems to have issues since the issue started (no cold @ 60/mph+)
Tranny, oil, etc (all fluids) clear and good levels.
Not a vacume leak or exhaust.
Timing belt done 20,000 miles ago

 
Rep Power: 149

Maybe the bearing on the serpentine belt tensioner. Pull it back, drop belt down off crank pulley and see if it goes away. If so, turn tensioner and the the alternator by hand. Should be able to fill if it's a bearing. If it went away and if it's not them, compressor...ouch

 
Rep Power: 0

There are metal shavings coming out of the compressor. Probably meaning the bearings have seized up and they're slowly getting whittled away.

Do I need a a/c clutch assembly, or the whole thing?

 
Rep Power: 0

When a Honda gets a timing belt change it also will need new cam seals, valve cover gasket, all belts changed, waterpump, valve adjustment, and coolant replenished to level. Skipping these steps only causes more problems down the rode. The sound is very hard to distinguish but the whining noise that is changing from throttle response sounds very similar to a bearing going bad. I think your compressor is a great start to diagnosing the issue. Remove belt and see what happens with the sound.

 
Rep Power: 518

Honda sells just the pulley and clutch, and the field coil separately from the compressor.

If the compressor is still ok internally, I'd opt to keep it and replace the pulley parts whatever it needs.

 
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The a/c still blows cold at low speeds. The belts were replaced with the head gasket (and the water pump, and the fluids, and the water pump, etc).

So I hear you saying it's possible to just remove the belts, and power steering pump and alternator to get at the a/c then swap off the part that turns and call it a day?

 
Rep Power: 0

Thanks for the reminder to do a complete job when servicing the timing belt, I agree with you. Considering I see the metal shavings coming from the compressor I'm going to save removing the belts for when I swap out the bad part.

 
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And call it a day?

 
Rep Power: 518

^That's the stuff.

You will also need various snap ring pliers and a way to measure clutch gap and be able to set clearance to specs.

 
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Oh... I can just do the bearing maybe. Will that save me from having to measure the clutch, etc?

 
Rep Power: 518

I suppose you could try that (if the bearing is removable and not staked in place), but measuring and adjusting the clutch clearance is still part of the job.

 
Rep Power: 0

Okay, last question.

If I re&re the whole compressor unit, the clutch and bearings come pre-bolted on the assembly. Does this mean I don't need to measure or set the clutch?

 
Rep Power: 518

Aftermarket compressor? You are on your own.
I don't trust an aftermarket reman compressor to last more than one year.

That's why I prefer to fix the original whenever possible.


Why not just buy a $5 set of feeler gauges and DIY the clutch parts for your original unit?
You can get books with instructions and specs if you need it.

 
Rep Power: 0

^ +1. In the long run, that aftermarket compressor will cost you more in headache and dollars than just the clutch on the OEM unit.

This applies to pretty much every OE A/C compressor assembly out there. The few dollars saved up front for the aftermarket ones aren't worth swapping them out again when they die after a season.