Rep Power: 0

I read the other AC threads but didn't seem to address my issue:

2003 Honda Civic Hybrid. 156,000 miles. Southern California. AC for a short while now (maybe longer?) will 'rattle' very heavily at the lower belt wheel when the AC compressor turns on.

Video of the noise and conditions are here:

https://goo.gl/photos/tn3qMZ9BUrhJB3r27

and

https://goo.gl/photos/7An6ACPqJnJLbNb29

and you can see in the 2nd engine video that some times (1 in 20) the compressor turning on will NOT produce the rattle / heavy noise, but most of the time it does rattle / knock when the compressor is on.

AC is blowing cold and this happens in both "AC" only mode and "AC" + "ECON" mode.

Semi-recently in June I did have service done on this engine, with a new side motor-mount added (they said the one of the two was cracked and needed replacing). Perhaps when they added the motor mount they didn't tighten the AC mount or there is just something slightly off-set?

any help would be greatly appreciated!

 
Rep Power: 517

Video #2, the bearing inside the compressor pulley is shot. Pulley should never wobble like that.

It's still cooling OK so the compressor is still good internally and the freon level is ok.

I'd put a clutch and pulley set on it, or (considering the mileage) add the extra $ and include the field coil replacement with the clutch set.

Do it ASAP before the bearing completely disintegrates and lets the pulley lock up or come off....that could damage the compressor and make things worse. If it throws the belt off, you'll be walking home because the water pump also uses the same belt.

 
Rep Power: 0

Hi all,

I have a very similar issue, I think, with my 2004 Honda Civic hybrid, but I wanted to check that it is just not normal operation.

The vehicle has 75,000 miles and is new to me.

When the a/c kicks in there is what I might describe as a rattle that does not sound normal to me.

As with the prior post I thought a video would really help, so I filmed the issue. The sound is definitely coming from the a/c compressor, and during the video the a/c compressor goes on and off, which is handy.


So, do I have an issue with my a/c compressor?

Thanks!!

 
Rep Power: 517

Looks that way. I was watching the side-to-side movement of the compressor pulley while it's engaged, that does not look normal.

Remove the drive belt, verify the pulley has side to side play, that should confirm something is very wrong.....
Spin the pulley, it may not be quiet and smooth.

Assuming the AC still gets cold, that means the compressor itself is probably still good...You can buy the clutch and coil parts separately from the compressor through Honda.


You can also bypass the compressor completely using a shorter belt.

 
Rep Power: 0

Thank you eZone.

The AC does indeed get cold, so it looks like I just need the clutch and coil parts.

I saw in another post of yours that "It's pretty easy to change the clutch/pulley/coil "in the car" without removing the compressor or messing with freon. On a 7th gen car it's hanging right out after you take off the tire and splash shield, nothing really in the way of getting the work done."

Do you know of a good YouTube video that shows this being done? I'm fairly handy with this sort of stuff, but no where near mechanic status!!

Also, who do you use for Honda parts? I was looking at hondapartsguru.com, but I'm looking for recommendations!

Many thanks!

 
Rep Power: 517

The hybrid version isn't horribly different, other than the engine sits on the passengers side of the car instead of the drivers side.

Give this thread a read, this person took his compressor pulley off...but never really updated his thread: https://www.civicforums.com/forums/182-7th-generation-civic/367843-loud-noise-motor-bad-bearing.html


I took a bunch of pics while doing this job on an 8th gen car (2008?) in this thread, some of these may be of use
https://www.civicforums.com/forums/1...ml#post4691850

As mentioned in the thread linked above, check out how it is done in general then decide if you want to try to tackle it on your own car.

I work for a dealer, I get whatever I need at work.

Many dealers sell genuine Honda parts at wholesale prices online, and have nice parts catalogs you can browse at your leisure.
Some people prefer to shop with someplace near their own side of the planet, but in this day and age IDK if that matters a whole lot though.
Check out a few different ones and compare prices and whatnot....check out shipping fees too.

www.hondapartsnow.com/
www.hondapartscheap.com/
www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/
www.bkhondaparts.com/shipping-promotion

You can probably fond a dozen more in 0.17 seconds LOL