A/C Bearings Replaced!

["therealdmcvegas" <DMCVegas@xxxx>]

Thanks to everyone for the advice for my initial question on replacing the A/C 
bearings on my car. As it turns out, the job really was not that difficult at all. 
But, there were a couple of interesting items I discovered along the way.

Removal of the bearings is pretty much a snap. Once removed, you can 
unbolt the the pulley bolts by holding the brackets in your hands. A vice isn't 
totally nessisary. For the smaller bracket, just slide the curved end thru the 
bolt slots on the large bracket, and it will lock in place to give you enough 
leverage to hold it down with your hands. The bolt on the smaller bracket was 
more difficult one to remove. When the cam cover was last installed (or first), 
the mechanic who put it in pinched the 'O' ring, and it allowed a good amount 
of oil to leak out. What oil got onto the bolt had "cooked" and burned into 
place. It took a bit of force and a few soakings of WD-40 to break it loose. To 
reseal the cam cover, I just used instant gasket. It was clean, simple, easy, 
and held the cover in place when I reinstalled the brackets.

Removal of the bearings was a snap! Once you unbolt the assembly from the 
brackets, the bolts slide out. Then you just need to remove the retaining clips 
on either side of the pulley. I had recieved a few e-mails advising to use an 
old socket head to drive the bearings in and out. It tried this on the old 
bearings to get them out. But it didn't give me enough leverage, and I got a 
metal sliver in my hand in the process. Long story short, I found that a 4-way 
lug wrench was a perfect fit! This coupled with a 3 lb. sledge hammer, and the 
old bearings came out with only a few hits! The inside of the pulleys, that hold 
the bearings in place are steel. Since it is closer to water spray, the adjustable 
pulley had more rust, and took an extra couple of hits to remove.

Inserting the bearings was simple, as everyone else stated. I first used 400 
grit sandpaper to remove the rust, and then reassembled. First clip went in, 
and the bearings just slid most of the way in. A couple of *gentle* taps, and it 
was in place. Then it was reverse.

If the idler bearings on anyones car are a bit noisy, and/or hard to turn, just go 
ahead and replace them. It's an easy job, and one that's inexpensive.

-Robert
vin 6585 "X"