Hi guys, I have changed the serpentine belt today and checked the pulleys at the same time. Water pump pulley had a bit of play and bearing in idle pulley sounded a bit harsh so I took the note, put the new belt on and bought the parts.

Today the car started to shake a bit, so I checked the alignment of the belt and saw that it is a bit off center on the idler pulley. Adjusted it but the belt comes back to previous state after running the engine. I took the belt off and checked the pulleys again only to realize that the A/C compressor pulley has even more play then the water pump - somehow I must have missed it in the first round.

now comes the question - Can I order only the pulley/bearing for the compressor or do I need to buy the whole assembly? The compressor works fine so I don’t see the reason to replace it. I can’t seem to find the pulley alone, or is it the bearing I should be looking for and get the whole thing reconditioned?

thanks in advance

 

Hi, doesnt say what car you have, but if first series of XK the whole AC unit is part.number MCA7300AE:
https://www.sngbarratt.com/English/#...60MCA7300AE%60

if the pulley, or "clutch" part no is JLM20184
https://www.sngbarratt.com/English/#...%60JLM20184%60

you will have to empty/refill system if replacing AC unit, possibly also when doing the clutch

you might get these parts cheaper elsewhere,

Cheers,
k.

 

If the pulley is otherwise undamaged, then you should be able to get a replacement bearing. It might be a bit tight working with the compressor in situ, but to R & R the compressor is a pain.

Here's a couple of videos that may help:

 

Thanks michaelh, after watching the videos I know now how this thing is built which helps a lot. I’ll double check tomorrow if the clutch engages while still on the car but it looks like it’s a bearing then. I don’t see how I would possibly be able to replace it while attached to the car, even with the fan pack out of the way, so most likely will be taking the whole unit off.

..and almost forgot, it’s an early XK8 Coupe 97’

 

I would certainly give removing the pulley a good try before committing to removing the compressor. There isn't a lot of room, although taking the fans out may help.

However, if you do eventually have to remove the compressor, do consider replacing it with new rather than putting the old one back. It is not a job you will want to do twice.

I ordered from the US and it cost around $260, including freight (although that price seems to have increased somewhat since the beginning of the year).

 

try here for refurbished cluthes(for little money in comparison): https://www.autoreservejaguar.com/

cheers,
k.

 

Thanks Slugger, I’ll consider but so far my experiences with these guys were far from perfect.