k4vbb
Active Member
As I may (or may not) have posted before, my trip to Anaheim from the Denver area went OK. The truck did fine towing the RV over the passes on I-70, but as soon as we entered the Mojave desert the bearing on the A/C compressor died.
If you google a solution to the problem, all kinds of funny ideas pop up, clearly from people who have never been stuck on the side of the road before. Things like removing the A/C compressor and replacing it with a bypass pulley, replacing the bearing, ect...
These are things that can easily be done in the driveway or the garage, but not things that need to be done on the side of the road, all the while relying on pure hope that the auto parts house that is available to you has the required items in stock.
In order to finish the trip, I removed the existing belt and replaced it with a Gates K060806, size 81-1/8" belt. This worked and got me the rest of the way to Anaheim and back to Colorado. The only downside to this quick-fix was that the grooved side of the belt now ran on the smooth idler pulley. While this worked fine, there was a bit of belt squeal during engine start up.
When I got home I promptly replaced the A/C pulley bearing. Not a hard job -- the hardest thing is to get the little circlip out. Replaced it with a Timken bearing sourced from NAPA auto parts.
I just drove the Expedition to Phoenix and towed the RV here. When I got here I noticed that the bearing, again, is on its way out. I don't know if it's just a cr@ppy part or if there is a larger issue with the compressor that's killing these bearings, but I'll sort that out when I get home.
However, this time I approached the A/C bypass in a slightly different way because the Autozone that was available didn't have that belt in stock. This time I used a slightly different method. I used a Duralast 795K6 belt, and at the same time replaced the idler pulley with part number 231015. The 795K6 belt measures 80.09 inches, which is a bit shorter than the Gates one I used before. The belt routing is straightforward, but it won't fit with the stock idler pulley in place. The 231015 pulley is a bit smaller, allows that belt to fit, and accommodates the grooves in the belt. And while it was a bear to pull the tensioner back far enough to get the belt on, it does work well, and could be a more permanent solution for those who do not wish to fix their dead A/C compressor. There is no belt squeal with this setup whatsoever.
In short, both methods work and will get you where you need to go. Figured I'd post some truth to help someone out in the future.
If you google a solution to the problem, all kinds of funny ideas pop up, clearly from people who have never been stuck on the side of the road before. Things like removing the A/C compressor and replacing it with a bypass pulley, replacing the bearing, ect...
These are things that can easily be done in the driveway or the garage, but not things that need to be done on the side of the road, all the while relying on pure hope that the auto parts house that is available to you has the required items in stock.
In order to finish the trip, I removed the existing belt and replaced it with a Gates K060806, size 81-1/8" belt. This worked and got me the rest of the way to Anaheim and back to Colorado. The only downside to this quick-fix was that the grooved side of the belt now ran on the smooth idler pulley. While this worked fine, there was a bit of belt squeal during engine start up.
When I got home I promptly replaced the A/C pulley bearing. Not a hard job -- the hardest thing is to get the little circlip out. Replaced it with a Timken bearing sourced from NAPA auto parts.
I just drove the Expedition to Phoenix and towed the RV here. When I got here I noticed that the bearing, again, is on its way out. I don't know if it's just a cr@ppy part or if there is a larger issue with the compressor that's killing these bearings, but I'll sort that out when I get home.
However, this time I approached the A/C bypass in a slightly different way because the Autozone that was available didn't have that belt in stock. This time I used a slightly different method. I used a Duralast 795K6 belt, and at the same time replaced the idler pulley with part number 231015. The 795K6 belt measures 80.09 inches, which is a bit shorter than the Gates one I used before. The belt routing is straightforward, but it won't fit with the stock idler pulley in place. The 231015 pulley is a bit smaller, allows that belt to fit, and accommodates the grooves in the belt. And while it was a bear to pull the tensioner back far enough to get the belt on, it does work well, and could be a more permanent solution for those who do not wish to fix their dead A/C compressor. There is no belt squeal with this setup whatsoever.
In short, both methods work and will get you where you need to go. Figured I'd post some truth to help someone out in the future.
