I figured I would do a writeup of my overhaul of my 62's A/C for those who are able and willing to do their own. I'm not converting to R-134A since I have R12 still available and will be charging with that when I have it all back together. What I'm doing is replacing my evaporator, pressure switch, expansion valve, dryer, replacing all O-rings in the system and rebuilding my compressor.
Late last summer my A/C stopped working. The light in the button stayed on but there was no cool air at all coming from my vents. A quick check with the thermocouple on my multimeter confirmed that air wasn't being cooled whatsoever. Had I known more about the system at the time I would've first checked the pressure switch for continuity to see if there was still enough charge to close the circuit. As it was I just looked at the sight glass in the dryer and saw bubbles while it was running, which according to the FSM means not enough charge on the system. This was confirmed when I opened up the system to start this overhaul. I heard faint his for just a few seconds that confirmed that there was very little freon still in my system. Though it did indicate that there was still positive pressure, which was good in that no contaminates had any way of getting in. I would've made fixing it a winter project but I had just separated from my wife in September and she was always a control freak with our money. Now that I'm divorcing her, I have a little more freedom with MY money so I'm finally tackling it. AFTER several 100+ degree heat waves in the inland Northwest.
A list of what I ordered as far as supplies (these came from Coolstream so I'll post their item numbers too)
The FSM says the clutch and pulley assembly takes two bearings (and even refers to them in the plural), but this is inaccurate. There is only one bearing, which presses into the pulley piece.
The first thing I did was remove the compressor. This was somewhat straightforward, but took some working. I had to remove all three belts, the battery and tray, and the dryer in order to jockey it out of the truck. Took an hour or so of work because of trying to reach the A/C and power steering belt tensioners. My compressor is a Denso 10P15C, and should be the model used for all 60/62 and I believe most 80 series Cruisers. Other vehicles use this also, along with other Denso 10P and 10PA series compressors.
The compressor out and covered in nastiness:
I plugged refrigerant holes with a glove and cleaned the compressor as best I could with a brass toothbrush and two cans of carb cleaner. This is a fairly sensitive part so it's important to make sure any contaminants are cleaned off before you crack it open. And make sure you have pretty much a sterile work surface.
Cleaned up and ready for breakdown:
There's a nut at the end of the shaft. You'll need to remove it. I used a strap wrench to hold the clutch still while I broke the torque on the nut. Once that was done I was able to remove the nut and lock washer easily by hand.
Next, you'd normally need a SST to remove the clutch, but there is a trick that works as long as you're careful. It's a tight fit over the shaft so you can't just pull it off by hand. Luckily it's not super tight so my trick works (for mine anyway). I took the handle of my 3/8" drive ratchet and placed it against the front edge of the pulley. Next I took a flathead screwdriver and stuck it inside of the clutch a little ways next to one of the rivets. Gently pry up until you feel the clutch shift up a bit. Now switch to the other side and do the same thing. It doesn't take long and you'll be able to work the clutch off. Towards the end you'll have to do a little bit of prying against the friction surface of the clutch, but a piece of hard plastic would be best for this. If you're careful you can get it off with the screwdriver without marring the friction surface. I, luckily, was able to.
Prying with the screwdriver:
The lower gap you see here is the space between the clutch and pressure plate expanding as I raise the clutch up. The upper gap is where you initially want to pry (again, gently) with the screwdriver.
Once the clutch is off you'll want to remove the small shims that it rides on top of. Save these. They're used to set the gap between the clutch and pressure plate when you get it all back together. Now you can remove the snap ring holding the pulley in place. Next step is removing the key. Mine was a little stuck (moreso than I could get at with needle nose pliers), so I took a small flathead screwdriver and gently tapped it down between the key and the shaft. The key popped right out.
Removing the key. I had already gotten the stator (coil) off and cleaned it but I set it back in place for the sake of the pictures:
Late last summer my A/C stopped working. The light in the button stayed on but there was no cool air at all coming from my vents. A quick check with the thermocouple on my multimeter confirmed that air wasn't being cooled whatsoever. Had I known more about the system at the time I would've first checked the pressure switch for continuity to see if there was still enough charge to close the circuit. As it was I just looked at the sight glass in the dryer and saw bubbles while it was running, which according to the FSM means not enough charge on the system. This was confirmed when I opened up the system to start this overhaul. I heard faint his for just a few seconds that confirmed that there was very little freon still in my system. Though it did indicate that there was still positive pressure, which was good in that no contaminates had any way of getting in. I would've made fixing it a winter project but I had just separated from my wife in September and she was always a control freak with our money. Now that I'm divorcing her, I have a little more freedom with MY money so I'm finally tackling it. AFTER several 100+ degree heat waves in the inland Northwest.
A list of what I ordered as far as supplies (these came from Coolstream so I'll post their item numbers too)
- Seal kit for the whole system MT2582 $6.25
- Compressor body seal kit MT2133 $9.90
- Compressor Shaft seal kit MT2039 $9.99
- Shaft seal Protector tool MT4024 $11.36
- Clutch Pulley Bearing 23-30101 $21.14
- 8oz. Mineral oil bottle
The FSM says the clutch and pulley assembly takes two bearings (and even refers to them in the plural), but this is inaccurate. There is only one bearing, which presses into the pulley piece.
The first thing I did was remove the compressor. This was somewhat straightforward, but took some working. I had to remove all three belts, the battery and tray, and the dryer in order to jockey it out of the truck. Took an hour or so of work because of trying to reach the A/C and power steering belt tensioners. My compressor is a Denso 10P15C, and should be the model used for all 60/62 and I believe most 80 series Cruisers. Other vehicles use this also, along with other Denso 10P and 10PA series compressors.
The compressor out and covered in nastiness:
I plugged refrigerant holes with a glove and cleaned the compressor as best I could with a brass toothbrush and two cans of carb cleaner. This is a fairly sensitive part so it's important to make sure any contaminants are cleaned off before you crack it open. And make sure you have pretty much a sterile work surface.
Cleaned up and ready for breakdown:
There's a nut at the end of the shaft. You'll need to remove it. I used a strap wrench to hold the clutch still while I broke the torque on the nut. Once that was done I was able to remove the nut and lock washer easily by hand.
Next, you'd normally need a SST to remove the clutch, but there is a trick that works as long as you're careful. It's a tight fit over the shaft so you can't just pull it off by hand. Luckily it's not super tight so my trick works (for mine anyway). I took the handle of my 3/8" drive ratchet and placed it against the front edge of the pulley. Next I took a flathead screwdriver and stuck it inside of the clutch a little ways next to one of the rivets. Gently pry up until you feel the clutch shift up a bit. Now switch to the other side and do the same thing. It doesn't take long and you'll be able to work the clutch off. Towards the end you'll have to do a little bit of prying against the friction surface of the clutch, but a piece of hard plastic would be best for this. If you're careful you can get it off with the screwdriver without marring the friction surface. I, luckily, was able to.
Prying with the screwdriver:
The lower gap you see here is the space between the clutch and pressure plate expanding as I raise the clutch up. The upper gap is where you initially want to pry (again, gently) with the screwdriver.
Once the clutch is off you'll want to remove the small shims that it rides on top of. Save these. They're used to set the gap between the clutch and pressure plate when you get it all back together. Now you can remove the snap ring holding the pulley in place. Next step is removing the key. Mine was a little stuck (moreso than I could get at with needle nose pliers), so I took a small flathead screwdriver and gently tapped it down between the key and the shaft. The key popped right out.
Removing the key. I had already gotten the stator (coil) off and cleaned it but I set it back in place for the sake of the pictures:
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