HOWTO: AC Rotor (Pulley/ Clutch) Bearing Replacement In Situ (1HDT/FT) (1 Viewer)

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As our trucks get (quite) older, it's not uncommon to have the bearing go on the AC compressor rotor (pulley/clutch) assembly. When mine went on my HDJ81 (1HD-FT) the other day, I was surprised to find that most people recommended taking the compressor off to replace the bearing. That was not something I wanted to do as I did not want to (re)discharge my system and possibly deal with a whole host of related issues like bad seals, etc.

Turns out that it's really not that difficult to do it in situ, i.e. without removing the compressor. As I did not think that I would be doing a write-up I did not take a lot of pictures, but hopefully the instructions will be clear as they are.

PROBLEM: When AC clutch kicked in, the pulley wobbled on engagement, and then also wobbled (although a lot less) under load. Here is what it looked like when I took the belt off:


DIAGRAM:
1666978280898.png


SOLUTION:


1. Remove compressor drive belt (I took off the tensioner pulley entirely, but it can just be loosened as well).

2. Remove the M8 (10mm) bolt the bolt attaching the pressure plate to the shaft of the compressor. Since the shaft spins, the FSM says to use an SST that presses against the pressure plate, and this is one of the reasons people recommend doing this with the compressor off the engine. That's not necessary, however. I did the following:

(a) remove the crossover battery cable from the clips attaching it to the cooling fan shroud
(b) remove the two bolts attaching the cooling fan shroud to the radiator assembly
(c) remove the RH battery
(d) remove the plastic battery compartment assembly (5 bolts)
(e) now the fan shroud can be moved to the right and away from the radiator (you will not be able to remove it entirely without removing the fan, but that's not necessary)
(f) you now have enough of a gap between the shroud and the radiator to use a 90 degree impacter with a 10mm socket to remove the bolt as the impacter does not care about the shaft spinning.

3. Remove the pressure plate - the FSM says to use an SST, but mine came off without any issues. It has a conical mating surface so it may be somewhat stuck on the shaft, but nothing that some gentle tapping on the pressure plate won't dislodge.
4. Remove the snap ring holding the rotor. This may not be as easy as it sounds because access to that location and visibility is very poor, even with the shroud loose, the ring may be very gunked up, and it's a weird shape so the two holes are hard to find and can be confused with the curves of the ring. This is what it looks like (p/n 9009907125)
1666978975852.png

I cleaned out the area with brake cleaner and a small screw driver to get the gunk out, and then used 90 degree snap ring pliers, which I again inserted through the gap between the shroud and the radiator.

5. Remove the rotor from the shaft and the stator by using a rubber mallot and a block of wood to gently tap all around rotor.

6. You will need a new bearing, which Toyota does not sell (they only sell the complete rotor). The specs on the bearing are: double row deep groove, ID 30 mm, OD 52 mm, width 22 mm. Mine had the original Nachi p/n 30BGS10DST2, but current equivalents are Nachi 30BG5222UUS and NSK 30BD5222DUM6. None of my local bearing suppliers had them and I was told that they are "proprietary" to the automotive industry and Nachi/NSK do not sell them directly. CanadaBearing did have them, but at $80 CAD shipped I opted for a Chinese equivalent I found on Amazon for $23.
1666980886083.png


7. Since the bearing can only go in from one side of the rotor, press out the old bearing by putting pressure on the inside race, then press in the new one by putting pressure on the outside race. Re stake the bearing in the pulley (the 6 little marks that help keep the outer race in place).

8. The outer surface of the rotor that comes in contact with the pressure plate looked like it originally had some teflon coating that had mostly flaked off. I cleaned out the debris and generally cleaned out the gunk, but it still looks like a 26yo part.
1666981229295.png

9. Install the rotor on the shaft.
10. Install the snap ring - same access for the snap-ring pliers as when you removed it.
11. Install the pressure plate - because of the conical mating, it will be very loose until you install the bolt.
12. Install the retaining bolt - again, you will need to use the 90 degree impacter. The FSM torque spec is only 13 Nm, and its' a very small bolt (M8), so be very careful not to overtorque / break it. I used the 2/3 setting on my M12 Milwaukee impacter.
13. Install and tension the belt.

And that's it.

1666980112565.png
 
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A small correction - the bearing is 22MM wide, not 23.
Also, the original bearing it staked into the pulley (you can see the 6 stake marks around it on your picture). When you press the new bearing in, it might be a good idea to re-stake it.
 
A small correction - the bearing is 22MM wide, not 23.
Also, the original bearing it staked into the pulley (you can see the 6 stake marks around it on your picture). When you press the new bearing in, it might be a good idea to re-stake it.
Thank you, Yes, 22 mm. A typo on my part, I'll correct the post.
Oddly enough mine was not staked to begin with (see below) I wonder if it was swapped before. And yes, a good idea to re-stake it.

1666985368756.png
 
Thank you, Yes, 22 mm. A typo on my part, I'll correct the post.
Oddly enough mine was not staked to begin with (see below) I wonder if it was swapped before. And yes, a good idea to re-stake it.

View attachment 3153108
It WAS staked - you can clearly see the 6 small staking marks around it on your picture.
 
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The marks were there. But to be staked, don't the tabs have to protrude past the race so as to prevent the bearing from coming out?
They do protrude a little. You have to keep in mind that the outside edge of the outer race of the bearing is chamfered slightly. You can't really see it on the picture - you can only see the "flat" (shiny) part of the outer race. The staking "tabs" protrude into the chamfered part of the race. I would guess by 0.5mm or so.
 
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Great write up.

I did the same on my FZJ80 a couple of years ago. Super simple, and worth the effort to avoid the need to open up and re-gas the system.

FWIW, Nachi bearing was readily available in Aus, and cost me less than $30AUD
 

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