Prudence, my 87 Town Car

[Lutrova]

I've often thought about what it must be like for first responders out here in the Mojave, particularly along 15 from Barstow to the Nevada border. A lot of traffic - some of it racing - through some pretty remote areas. There can't be too many resources available when things go south. It's a little sobering passing big black marks on the pavement, what I assume were vehicle fires. And the heat doesn't help anything.

Took the car on a longer drive to Barstow and back. I think I'll replace the wheel bearings after all. The constant vibration is gone, but there's still some pulsing going on when going downhill, and the steering feels both vague at higher speeds and heavy at lower ones. The rear bearings were done with the differential and rear axle work, so all four wheels could be put on the same interval.

I'm also wondering whether I should replace the AC clutch. AC still blows fairly cold, but I can really feel a load put on the engine when I turn the AC on, which lifts immediately as soon as I turn it off. There's a noise coming from the compressor that sounds like a playing card stuck in the spokes of a bike wheel. And if I spin the AC pulley by hand with the belt off it sounds like a rock is stuck in there. I also get a very loud and long belt squeal on a cold start, but I haven't been able to conclusively track that down since it doesn't happen on subsequent starts.

So my current theory is the AC pulley bearing is bad. I'm not sure whether there's more diagnosing to be done or if all the symptoms above are conclusive. If so, is the best play to replace the clutch, or can just the bearing be done? Or should the whole compressor be replaced? The system has already been converted to R134a.

[Mainemantom]

Yes the traffic from Barstow to Las Vegas on a Friday afternoon/evening is bad. What is worse is on late Sunday night/Monday Am the people leaving Las Vegas after staying up to do whatever, drive home. They fall asleep at the wheel. High speed crashes/roll overs used to happen all the time. Whatever you do, stay out of the fast lane. Drunks think it is the slow lane when they are driving the wrong direction. Life flight was busy. Except for special details,I worked the other side of the desert. The black marks on the road are the car/truck fires from not properly maintained vehicles. Overheated vehicle and driver keeps driving, Fuel leaks that never were fixed. A/C or alternator fires. Wheel bearings and brakes that overheated. Especially big rig brakes. Just let them burn as there is nothing to do out there.
As far as your A/C. Keep in mind your system is very old. It has been converted but the compressor is under more pressure with R134. Your lines are old. You are in the desert with very high heat. Any a/c strain is putting more pressure on your cooling system. I would have the system checked out by a "honest" shop. I also would consider a complete upgrade. At least a NEW compressor, dryer, orifice tube,high pressure line, maybe a condenser. I would not get a rebuilt or reman compressor. It might be a bit expensive but if done right, a one time expense, not several expenses. Just my thoughts. I have only been stranded in the desert one time for four hours in the summer when three of four tires came apart. Learned my lesson fast. Vehicle maintenance was a constant task.

[gadget73]

I bought a fresh reman Motorcraft compressor and it sounds like a dying air raid siren but it works fine. A lot of FS6 pumps have that sort of noise even when they appear to be working normally. Even with all new stuff, it puts a lot of load on a not exactly excessively powerful engine. You should feel what it does to my Continental with it's 115 hp / 150 lb-ft leaning tower of power.

[matth825]

Prudence, my 87 Town Car

I bought a fresh reman Motorcraft compressor and it sounds like a dying air raid siren but it works fine. A lot of FS6 pumps have that sort of noise even when they appear to be working normally. Even with all new stuff, it puts a lot of load on a not exactly excessively powerful engine. You should feel what it does to my Continental with it's 115 hp / 150 lb-ft leaning tower of power.

My reman motorcraft sounds exactly the same but works great except for the minor refrigerant leak at the shaft seal. I still can’t help but worry it’s going to blow up one of these days. I’ve got a NOS motorcraft one I keep meaning to install but procrastination…


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[gadget73]

I have an NOS one too. It will go in if/when the reman explodes.

[Lutrova]

I realize the AC may be on borrowed time, and ultimately a full upgrade may be the best way to go. But if the pulley bearing is the source of my squeal, I'd rather start with the cheaper option and go from there. The compressor turns smoothly by hand, and I know the clutch kicks in when I ask it to. I can accept the compressor is probably working overtime in this heat, and might sound more strained than usual. I didn't run the car at all last summer, so this is its first time dealing with temperatures like this.

A replacement bearing is $27 from O'Reilly. I think I'll swap it out, see if it takes care of my belt squeal.

I'm not too worried about a compressor failure leaving me stranded. I always carry the tools to loosen the AC/smog belt. Unlike the time maybe 10 years ago when the compressor locked up on the '78 Camaro I was driving for the summer. Had to use my grandparents' AAA for towing. Right before the truck arrived the heavens opened up and dropped the biggest rainfall I've ever seen.

[Lutrova]

Can the AC clutch pulley be replaced with the compressor bolted in place? Or is the pulley bearing pressed on?

I was thinking I could just replace the noisy bearing on my old clutch, but if the compressor has to come out to get it off that would really take away a lot of the appeal of the job.

[gadget73]

yes and yes but it doesn'' matter. Clutch face comes off, there is a nut in the center and the plate may or may not slide off. There is a tool to yank it if its stuck and you may want the triangle tool to hold the clutch face from spinning so the nut will come off. Under that is a snap ring that retains the pulley with the bearing in it. Pull the snap ring and the pulley comes off. Bearing presses into the pulley, but its off the car.

or just swap the pulley and clutch as a pair if they are damaged. R&R process is the same either way.

[Lutrova]

Replaced both sets of front wheel bearings over the weekend. I still might be getting a bit of pulsing, intermittent vibration, especially going up or downhill. Both lower ball joints are completely caked in darker stained dirt than everything around it. I haven't jacked up from the lower control arms to test them, but if the vibration continues my next theory is that it's the ball joints. At any rate, some older guy at the auto craft shop came over to make small talk while I was swapping out the wheel bearings. He felt they were loose enough to justify replacement. So I don't feel too bad about doing that job. Plus I know how to do it now. And all four wheels have fresh bearings at more or less the same mileage.

I tried pulling off the AC compressor pulley tonight to take to the auto craft shop for pressing the bearing out tomorrow. Got as far as trying to remove the pulley before I gave up. The nut, clutch plate, and snap ring all came off, and I could pull the pulley about a half inch forward and back, but it wouldn't move any farther off the compressor. The one video I found on doing this job showed the guy using a three-jaw puller to get the pulley off. They're 20 bucks at Harbor Freight, so I guess I can pick one up. Hopefully there's enough room to get it in there with the upper radiator hose in place.

The pulley bearing is definitely on its way out. But I've got to take the car into Los Angeles on Thursday, and I currently have working AC, so I've put everything back together for now. Those snap rings are a real pain to get back on.

For an added dimension to the project, it's been in the mid to high 100s for the past few days. While it feels cooler working at night, it's still apparently hot enough that sweat still pours off my face, pools on my glasses, and makes it even harder to see what's going on.

[Mainemantom]

Doesn't the auto shop on base loan or rent tools ? Hopefully the H.F. puller will work. I used to have a special tool specifically for that job.
Do you wear a head band ? It helps keep the sweat from dripping on your glasses. That dry heat is like a furnace.

[Lutrova]

The auto craft shop is hit or miss on tools. They've got all kinds of sockets, wrenches, and hammers, but not a lot of anything that might be more niche. Fluid exchange machines? Yep. Road force balancer? Sure. But if you want a handheld vacuum pump/gauge you'll have to look elsewhere. I once asked for a 7/32" socket from the counter and the guy looked at me like he'd never heard of it before. So I've taken to just getting any specialized tool ahead of time. Really I'll only go there if I need a lift or a second opinion from the guy who runs the place.

But the puller might be moot for now. I went on a test drive tonight and when I pulled into the garage I heard a hissing from under the hood. It was coming from somewhere around the accumulator/drier, which was covered in a fresh mist of what I assume to be refrigerant. It was perfectly clean before that so I guess it's a fresh leak. And it was in the mid 80s during the drive - not the sort of heat I'd consider extreme. So maybe it is time to have a real shop look at it. At least do a diagnosis.

Also the alignment seems to pull decently to the left now. Vibration is still present intermittently, mostly when going downhill. I didn't expect wheel bearings to have any effect on alignment, unless they had been bad when the last alignment was done a couple years ago. Or maybe I didn't seat a race or bearing properly? But I'd think that would cause a constant shake.

[DerekTheGreat]

I'd lift the front end off the ground and try to move the wheel up & down or side to side. If there is any play, it's either front end parts or something isn't right with the bearings- you'll have to watch & see what moves as you move each wheel to narrow it down.

[gadget73]

Take a small file and lightly file the snout of the compressor after you remove the snap ring. If it moves, the bearing isn't seized but there is probably a burr hanging it up. If you use a puller to plow it past a burr you may cause some damage, but a light filing to take off any high spots won't bother it.

[Lutrova]

Made it into Los Angeles and back last week. Averaged over 20 mpg through the trip, even in LA, rush hour traffic. I've since replaced my EGR valve, as the old one wasn't holding vacuum, so hopefully fuel economy will tick up a bit more still.

As for handling: steering still pulls to the left, though occasionally there are conditions where it'll pull in the opposite direction. Vibrations still present intermittently, as before. I've also noticed vibrations seem to get better or worse with road surface - pretty rough on concrete, but smooth on fresh asphalt. There were two or three times during the trip when I felt the car slide or shift to the side while driving down the freeway. It might've been from a wind gust, but it's definitely new behavior.

When I got home I checked the front right wheel and found a little bit of bearing play. I'll tighten it up a bit. My fear is always tightening too far and burning things up. Too loose seems easy enough to identify on the lift - so long as the wheel is solid and there is no play it ought to be good. The shop manual says to tighten to X ft-lb, loosen, and then tighten again to something like 12 in-lb. My torque wrench begins at 20 in-lb, so that's easier said than done.

I also lifted the car from the lower control arm, hoping to find some play in the ball joint, but it seemed to be solid. Not that my judgment is infallible, or even reliable, but I was hoping to find some clearer evidence that the ball joints were the culprit.

My current theory is the front shocks are to blame. Using the push test, the rear corners rebound immediately, while the front corners take 3-4 bounces to even out. This has been the case for over a year, but maybe things have only recently worn out to the point it's affecting handling.

A pair of KYB KG4515 Gas-a-Justs are on the way. I was expecting the job to be involved and require special tools, since the shocks live within the springs, but the shop manual seems to suggest it's pretty easy. Do you really just unbolt the top and bottom and pull them out through the lower control arm? There's nothing tricky like compressing springs or lifting the car from the control arms or something? (Out of curiosity, I called Midas in Barstow about replacing the shocks. At first they declined to even work on the car because it was too old and parts would be too hard to find. Then they quoted $140 in labor if I brought my own parts. Seems most shops around here still aren't touching anything pre-2000.)

[gadget73]

inch-pound wrenches are usually wee little beam things. My small one is 3/8 drive and the whole thing end to end is about palm-length. I think it tops out at 60 in-lb, or 5 ft-lb. Its an absolutely adorable little torque wrench Its just the right thing for bearing preloads though.