Air Con Compressor Clutch Pulley Bearing - A Positive Experience

MatthewH · April 8, 2013

I just wanted to share a very positive experience I had in trying to get a problem with my AC magnetic clutch bearing replaced on a 2004 IS200 Sportcross. It's taken me a few months to get this sorted but the results are very satisfying.

When I bought the car at the end of 2012 it had an oscillating, slight grating or scratching noise coming from the front of the engine, which I thought immediately was a bearing somewhere among the dozens of pulleys and tensioners lurking there. The noise was constant even when the aircon was switched off, not loud, but irritating enough at low speed and at idle to want to get it fixed pronto. So, to cut a long story short....

A local garage diagnosed it as the pulley bearing - £20 in labour/stethoscope time...

Lexus dealer wanted to fit a whole new magnetic clutch assembly (£200 for parts alone), plus the same amount again in labour. Lexus do not supply only the pulley bearing for the Denso 10S15C A/C compressor, nor does Denso for that matter. The pulley bearing was all that needed replacing. It is a double row angular contact bearing sized 30 x 52 x 22 and I found them cheaply in various places. The UK stockists were the most expensive (they wanted £55-60). Some Chinese manufacturers will sell and ship a bearing like this for as little as £6, which I was very tempted by but ultimately went for a name-brand good quality Japanese one by NSK (the OEM one is made by Nachi) from eBay in the USA for around £23 including air postage.

I considered fitting it myself - I think it could be done by removing the air cleaner assembly and draining off some of the coolant, then removing the pair of fans at the back of the radiator for better access to the front of the pump (or just remove the entire radiator). Ramps would be useful as access underneath is much better, having removed the undertray. After removing the pulley belt you need a 10mm socket to undo the nut at the front of the compressor and then some circlip pliers to free the pulley. Take care not to lose the spacer washer(s) on top of the pulley. A bearing press is ideal to swap the bearing, as the pulley itself is very bendy and easily damaged. Hammering is best avoided here.

In the end, after a LOT of searching for an air conditioning specialist in south west London or nearby, I found Adrian Poile of Horley Service Centre in Surrey. A fantastic bloke who did a great job in just over two hours, swapped the bearing and regassed the aircon system all for just £100. Adrian is an air con specialist and works from Horley Service Centre, Unit 12C, Bridge Industrial Estate, Balcombe Road, Horley, RH6 9HU - tel 01293 822800

The car is reborn, it's so quiet it's blissful. Happy days! Hope this helps anyone with the same problem. With a bit of patience and searching you can cure problems like this and save hundreds on parts and labour, even if it take a few weeks to get everything sorted out.

Matthew

The Transporter · April 8, 2013

Your franchised dealer isn't the be all and end all.... Plenty of good independants who can do the job just as well and for a fair bit less.... Glad you are all sorted