deathrunner

Ok these is in regards to my 86 Celica, but I'm sure the system....aside from maybe wiring....should be the same as my 89 4Runner.

It stopped working the other day and I'm not exactly sure what to check or what is a common error.

Here is what I have thought of, but not checked all of them yet.

1. Belt broke (It's ok)
2. Fuse Blew (Not sure, haven't checked, but the AC light comes on)
3. The Freon escaped (How do you check?)
4. The clutch isn't engaging (How do you check?)
5. The Compressor is broken (Not sure how to tell)

Of course thge motor is sideways making it even more exciting.
Any suggestions?

deathrunner

Bump? someone help

dwh91102

if its the pump it will be locked up, most likely it needs a good charging.....take it to a shop now, I heard freon is going waaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy up in the next month or so

superjoe83

most likely you have a small leak and it has lost enough refrigerant that the low pressure switch has opened to protect the compressor, there should be a pressure switch with 2 wires coming from it on the high side of the system (small diameter lines), if you jump the connector and the compressor engages, then you are low on refrigerant or the switch is bad, to further diagnose, you need a set of A/C gauges...

deathrunner

What do you guys think about recharging it myself with one of those kits?

My motor is about to blow...it has massive rod knock....maybe I'll just wait for the new motor.

I've already put 5,000+ miles on this crap motor. Gotta love yotas. I think the guy who had it before was a ricer. It had the cheapo K&N lookalike filter and big old exhaust. It's loud, especially with the motor knocking.

superjoe83

i converted my tow rig to 134a with one of those kits, i had to get a couple more cans of refrigerant to fully charge it, but it works well and can still get 38 degrees out of the dash, the kit should come with enough refrigerant for the celica's system, but before you do that, you will want to take it to a A/C place so that any left R-12 can be recovered, or let it out to the atmosphere, its up to you on that one....

deathrunner

How do I tell if my celica has already been converted...I think it has.

Also where might a common leak be?

deathrunner

oh yeah nice rig superjoe!

superjoe83

look at the fittings where you charge the system, if they look like a tire valve stem, then its still r-12, r-134a fittings are a quick disconnect type, its kind of hard to explain, the only easy way to tell is that r-12 fittings will have threads on the outside and 134a fittings will have threads on the inside

there are a lot of places that it could be leaking from, usually there will be a film of oil around the leak

superjoe83

thanks, same to you

deathrunner

Sweet thanks a ton! I was tripping on your signature....IFS rear???? Then I remembered that my rear is wider than a stock 84 and that is what you meant.

MorphiasX

Have somebody sit in the truck and turn the A/C on and off, while you watch the compressor. Watch to see if the clutch kicks on and off, if it doesnt then that means that either your clutch is bad, or the system disabled itself due to low pressure to protect the system as superjoe stated... Also, with the truck off, reach down and try to turn the compressor by hand, if it turns freely then its still good, if it is locked up then its bad. When something goes bad in the system, alot of times shavings get sent through the system, and if any of these shavings get past the filter/drier, then they make their way into the compressor, now what does a compressor do? It compresses, well it cant compress a shavings of metal or other debris, so it screws up the valves and destroys the compressor, alot of times sending shavings throughout the entire system.

deathrunner

cool more good ideas.

will I be able to turn the clutch with the belt on?

superjoe83

yes, it should spin smoothly with no rough spots

MorphiasX

Yeah with the engine off it will turn freely... It might be a little stiff to turn, but it will spin smoothly... Dont think its locked up if its a little hard to turn...

ASU4runner

Anyone else know if this is true for the 3.4 (5VZFE). My compressor wheel has no belt on right now, and just trying to turn it by hand, it wont turn with the engine off. Oh, BTW the belt broke off a couple years ago and I have yet to replace it. Also, when the belt broke off, I heard a pretty harsh clicking sound and it caused the whole engine to stall.

Any advice?

superjoe83

if you cant spin the pulley, then the bearing is seized, if you cant turn the center part, then the compressor is seized

ASU4runner

Thanks for the info, i'll give it a turn again and see.