Needed to go to OSH today so I took the opportunity to drive Helen. This seems to be when I will take one of the girls out because its a longer than usual "errand" type run and the parking lot is big enough I don't feel cramped trying to park a large car.
Of course, the ride started out on the wrong foot when one of the first intersections I came to, some fine California driver just drove right through the stop without even slowing down or looking in my direction. The car was nice but the driver was some dumpy female with a cigarette dangling out of her mouth. No comment as to the type of person who looks and drives like that, but it reminds me how many people like that there happen to be around here and it leaves me feeling less and less interested in going out for a drive. And the point of having nice cars if you loose interest in driving is...?
Meanwhile, Helen needed some fuel so a stop at Shell was in order. The car is big and comfortable to ride in, and floats along like she always did. There are a lot of rattles and noises that Los Angeles streets are so good at bringing out in a car. Overall it was more enjoyable coming back from OSH than going, as my mind has gotten past the stop sign incident by then... more or less. Still, I wonder how often I will drive her and if I shouldn't offer her for sale. She is one of the nicest cars I've ever driven, and would be hard to replace.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Startup
It's been awhile since I unlocked the door and slid into the velvety disco-era warmth of this nice car. I had new tags and insurance papers to put in the car so I took the opportunity to fire her up after months of sitting. She has been moved over to my collector car policy to save some money and I haven't driven her since I bought the GMC pickup. With the change in parking at work, I'm less inclined to drive her to work much so the current insurance prohibiting that is not a big deal. I can change it to allow occasional work drives at extra cost later if I want to. Anyway, she fired up and ran smoothly. I put her in gear and she was ready to go for a run, but I just let her get nicely warmed up and put the papers in the glove box an sticker on the license plate. The quartz clock has stopped. It was noisy before, so I think a good cleaning and lubrication will put it back in good order. I may pull it and have it serviced by The Clock Works or I may just go through it myself. She has about a quarter tank of gas. I should fill the tank and add stabilizer.
Friends Anja and Stephan have both indicated they would love to buy her from me if I were interested in selling. I thought for awhile I would sell, but getting into her today I am thinking I would be foolish to sell her. No hurry to do so, for sure.
Friends Anja and Stephan have both indicated they would love to buy her from me if I were interested in selling. I thought for awhile I would sell, but getting into her today I am thinking I would be foolish to sell her. No hurry to do so, for sure.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
A/C Clutch Repair
The rest of the tools trickled in and today, hot as blazes, I had time to do the repair.
Service instructions start on page 9B-40 of the 1976 BUICK SERVICE MANUAL. However, I had found a web site that showed a step-by-step approach to this repair on a Jag with the same GM A6 compressor. I followed that guy's steps and never even cracked open the Factory Shop Manual (FSM) til I was writing this. A very easy task with the right tools and a little care. I'm glad I found the page linked below or I might never have attempted the clutch replacement.
http://www.bernardembden.com/xjs/comclutch/index.htm
Since web pages have a habit of moving and disappearing, I'm going to use a few of Bernard's pictures here for quick reference. Please do refer to the original page if the link still works as you are reading this.
As he points out, don't even think about trying this without a proper puller and installer. I bought a Mastercool (MSC91000A) Deluxe Clutch Hub Puller/Installer Kit from Amazon for about $55. I am sold on this brand as I have found the previous tool sets I've gotten from them are outstanding.The kit has several different pullers and installers for various brands/types of compressors. You can probably just buy the ones you need for *this* compressor for a lot less.
So, I removed the center nut from the compressor shaft using a thinwall, deep 9/16" socket. I found I could jam the tip of a screwdriver into one of the three "slots" on the face of the clutch and wedge the shaft against the socket that was over the nut and it would keep the clutch from turning with the socket as I backed the nut off. The nut was not on very tight and it mostly seems to be there as a safety backup. Trust me, that clutch is not coming off even if the nut isn't there.
The clutch removal tool threads into the clutch and the center bolt pushes against the shaft. Fairly simple. I had no trouble at all getting this part off.
With the clutch off, you can see the snap ring that secures the pulley. As the reference web site says, snap rings have a habit of flying off the pliers and disappearing forever. He put a towel down but I was just very, very careful. And yes, I nearly had mine fly off! Large snap ring pliers are required. I bought K-D Convertible Internal & External Snap Ring Pliers - Large from Amazon, at around $20.
The pulley is not pressed on but is a "zero clearance" fit. If you're lucky it will slide off by pulling on it, but I was not lucky. As Bernard's web site described, I had to use a small puller to remove the pulley. The compressor shaft must not be used to pull or push this pulley or any other component not on the compressor shaft itself. As advised on the web page, I used a 1-1/8-inch socket which fit over the center shaft and rested on the compressor nose. I used a bit of flat metal stock on the socket for the puller to push against.
The coil that came with my rebuilt clutch looked awful! I decided since there were no apparent problem with the electric/magnetic portion of the clutch, I would leave the original coil in place and keep the rebuilt spare on hand in case I ever needed it. I am also decided to save the old pulley as a spare because while the face was a bit scored, I found out later from the FSM that this is normal and not a reason to replace it.
Installing the new pulley required a socket that would contact the edge of the pulley's bearing but slip over the compressor nose where the snap ring seats. I tapped gently until I could clearly see there was room enough for the snap ring. Then I popped the snap ring back on, making sure it was well seated.
The clutch shaft square drive key had stayed in the old clutch so I tapped it out with a screwdriver and placed it carefully in the new clutch keyway. Be sure to line up the slot carefully before you go bearing down on the installer tool! [According to the FSM, you should allow the key to project approximately 3/16" out of the clutch keyway. Oops! I did not check this.] The tip of the installation tool screws onto the compressor shaft threads, then the outer nut presses the bearing against the clutch face with one side of the bearing rotating with the nut to reduce friction as it forces the clutch onto the shaft. Super simple.
Per the web page, you want a clearance of .010 to .015 between the clutch face and the pulley face, measured with a standard set of feeler gauges. If you set the gap too close, put the puller back on to increase the gap. No surprise, my clutch was not perfectly flat so I got different readings at various locations around the circumference of the clutch. But I was able to keep the gap between .010 and .015 as Bernard's web page suggested. [The FSM indicates there should be approximately 3/32" space between the frictional faces of the clutch drive plate and pulley.] Then I put the nut back on the end of the shaft using the screwdriver wedge as before. [Again, the FSM contradicts this and says to tighten the nut to 14-26 lb. ft. torque. Then it goes on to say the air gap between the frictional faces should now be .022" to .057" and refers us to Figure '9B-70. Oh well. ]
Belts back on and everything tightened up, I now have a vibration free and perfectly functioning compressor clutch with a minimum of time and money invested. And, I did not need to open the system or do any recharging. Many thanks to Bernard for his excellent web page and instructions.
Service instructions start on page 9B-40 of the 1976 BUICK SERVICE MANUAL. However, I had found a web site that showed a step-by-step approach to this repair on a Jag with the same GM A6 compressor. I followed that guy's steps and never even cracked open the Factory Shop Manual (FSM) til I was writing this. A very easy task with the right tools and a little care. I'm glad I found the page linked below or I might never have attempted the clutch replacement.
http://www.bernardembden.com/xjs/comclutch/index.htm
Since web pages have a habit of moving and disappearing, I'm going to use a few of Bernard's pictures here for quick reference. Please do refer to the original page if the link still works as you are reading this.
As he points out, don't even think about trying this without a proper puller and installer. I bought a Mastercool (MSC91000A) Deluxe Clutch Hub Puller/Installer Kit from Amazon for about $55. I am sold on this brand as I have found the previous tool sets I've gotten from them are outstanding.The kit has several different pullers and installers for various brands/types of compressors. You can probably just buy the ones you need for *this* compressor for a lot less.
So, I removed the center nut from the compressor shaft using a thinwall, deep 9/16" socket. I found I could jam the tip of a screwdriver into one of the three "slots" on the face of the clutch and wedge the shaft against the socket that was over the nut and it would keep the clutch from turning with the socket as I backed the nut off. The nut was not on very tight and it mostly seems to be there as a safety backup. Trust me, that clutch is not coming off even if the nut isn't there.
The clutch removal tool threads into the clutch and the center bolt pushes against the shaft. Fairly simple. I had no trouble at all getting this part off.
 |
| Photo by Bernard Embden |
With the clutch off, you can see the snap ring that secures the pulley. As the reference web site says, snap rings have a habit of flying off the pliers and disappearing forever. He put a towel down but I was just very, very careful. And yes, I nearly had mine fly off! Large snap ring pliers are required. I bought K-D Convertible Internal & External Snap Ring Pliers - Large from Amazon, at around $20.
 |
| Photo by Bernard Embden |
The pulley is not pressed on but is a "zero clearance" fit. If you're lucky it will slide off by pulling on it, but I was not lucky. As Bernard's web site described, I had to use a small puller to remove the pulley. The compressor shaft must not be used to pull or push this pulley or any other component not on the compressor shaft itself. As advised on the web page, I used a 1-1/8-inch socket which fit over the center shaft and rested on the compressor nose. I used a bit of flat metal stock on the socket for the puller to push against.
 |
| Photo by Bernard Embden |
The coil that came with my rebuilt clutch looked awful! I decided since there were no apparent problem with the electric/magnetic portion of the clutch, I would leave the original coil in place and keep the rebuilt spare on hand in case I ever needed it. I am also decided to save the old pulley as a spare because while the face was a bit scored, I found out later from the FSM that this is normal and not a reason to replace it.
Installing the new pulley required a socket that would contact the edge of the pulley's bearing but slip over the compressor nose where the snap ring seats. I tapped gently until I could clearly see there was room enough for the snap ring. Then I popped the snap ring back on, making sure it was well seated.
The clutch shaft square drive key had stayed in the old clutch so I tapped it out with a screwdriver and placed it carefully in the new clutch keyway. Be sure to line up the slot carefully before you go bearing down on the installer tool! [According to the FSM, you should allow the key to project approximately 3/16" out of the clutch keyway. Oops! I did not check this.] The tip of the installation tool screws onto the compressor shaft threads, then the outer nut presses the bearing against the clutch face with one side of the bearing rotating with the nut to reduce friction as it forces the clutch onto the shaft. Super simple.
 |
| Photo by Bernard Embden |
Per the web page, you want a clearance of .010 to .015 between the clutch face and the pulley face, measured with a standard set of feeler gauges. If you set the gap too close, put the puller back on to increase the gap. No surprise, my clutch was not perfectly flat so I got different readings at various locations around the circumference of the clutch. But I was able to keep the gap between .010 and .015 as Bernard's web page suggested. [The FSM indicates there should be approximately 3/32" space between the frictional faces of the clutch drive plate and pulley.] Then I put the nut back on the end of the shaft using the screwdriver wedge as before. [Again, the FSM contradicts this and says to tighten the nut to 14-26 lb. ft. torque. Then it goes on to say the air gap between the frictional faces should now be .022" to .057" and refers us to Figure '9B-70. Oh well. ]
Belts back on and everything tightened up, I now have a vibration free and perfectly functioning compressor clutch with a minimum of time and money invested. And, I did not need to open the system or do any recharging. Many thanks to Bernard for his excellent web page and instructions.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Parts
A/C clutch arrived today along with the puller-installer and feeler gauges. But the snap ring pliers did not arrive, so can't work on this little project just yet.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Bad Vibrations
I've been noticing a harmonic vibration in the engine area for awhile, but last week when I drove to work and back it was particularly bad. I was beginning to think that there might be a very serious engine problem, or perhaps transmission... it could be felt in the pedals and the steering wheel quite strongly and only at certain engine speeds. Well this morning I was going to take Helen to work again as is usual on Wednesdays, and the vibration had not magically disappeared. So I popped the hood and right away I saw the problem was with the Air conditioning compressor. The clutch, rather. There is a ring that slips when the compressor is off and locks to turn when the compressor is on. That ring has come loose so that it can slip off center on the shaft, causing an severe imbalance. The red arrow is pointing to the raised ring I'm referring to. The clutch is replaceable and a new set is arriving Friday. Actually just that front part is replaceable without buying the rest of the clutch, but I got a good price at Amazon and decided I might as well do the whole assembly.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Hosed
I'd noticed some time ago that the power steering pressure hose was leaking a bit. I'd ordered a replacement from Rock and figured I'd better git it put in today. The new hose works OK but it is a very different shape from the original. I had to chisel the old tubing at the fitting to get the fittings off, they were on so tight. I am quite sure that was the original hose from the factory. Topped off with fresh fluid and all is well. No leaks so far.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Wash and Wax
Took Helen to the car wash today. Lakeside, of course. Got her all cleaned up and even a foamy wax. But the foamy wax isn't great and she was looking a bit dull so I Simonized her at home. I took the opportunity to change out the trunklid lock cover, which had a lot of fogging on the plastic insert. The new one is pretty clean. Not NOS but well protected, apparently. She's happy.
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