AC compressor repair/rebuild? (Potential stupid question alert)

[jonathan909]

I'm catching up on getting the AC running in an assortment of cars, starting with the two '01 3.0 H6s.  On the car of present interest, I've chased down and replaced the various bad O-rings, think now that what I thought was a leaky condenser isn't, and just discovered a leak in the compressor, where the back plate mates with the body.

Seems to me that this should be a SMORAG (Small Matter of Replacing a Gasket), but there don't seem to be any gaskets or kits readily available.  What gives?  I mean, I'm not talking about a black-goo-and-broken-metal failure, just a leaky seal.

The context is that yes, I'd normally just go get a junkyard replacement and drop it in, but the H6 uses a serpentine belt, which means a 6-groove pulley rather than the usual 4-groove non-serpentine 4-cylinders - and there aren't any H6s in the yard at the moment.

Suggestions?

[edit]

Actually, I guess a clutch transplant from this one onto a compressor from a 4 would work... but what's the trick to removing the clutch?

Edited July 29, 2023 by jonathan909

[GeneralDisorder]

Take it apart. If it needs a gasket - make one. If it needs an O-ring - make one. 

Clutches are often pressed on. Sometimes splined on the drive plate and bolted or snap ringed. Often the clutch bearing is pressed onto the housing. 

What gives is that no one repairs them anymore. It's cheaper to have China make another one. So there's no market for repair parts. Thus no one makes them, no one stocks them, and they never will. Why make/catalog/stock something no one will buy? 

GD

Edited July 30, 2023 by GeneralDisorder

[1 Lucky Texan]

any chance this compressor can be found on some Nissan or Mazda or ???

[jonathan909]

16 hours ago, GeneralDisorder said:

Take it apart. If it needs a gasket - make one. If it needs an O-ring - make one. 

The gasket in question is a rather intricate coated metal one a la our head gaskets, so I don't think that's happening.  So my next thought is whether the existing gasket (once the coating has been cleaned off) might be reused with the addition of an anaerobic sealant.

16 hours ago, GeneralDisorder said:

Clutches are often pressed on. Sometimes splined on the drive plate and bolted or snap ringed. Often the clutch bearing is pressed onto the housing. 

This appears to be a single bolt retaining splines, but once the bolt is out it's... um... reluctant to separate.

16 hours ago, GeneralDisorder said:

What gives is that no one repairs them anymore. It's cheaper to have China make another one. So there's no market for repair parts. Thus no one makes them, no one stocks them, and they never will. Why make/catalog/stock something no one will buy? 

GD

Well, that's kind of a circular argument, isn't it?  If they're not available, nobody can buy them and do the repair.  If they were, they would.  By that logic, there shouldn't be any H6 head gaskets available because you prefer to replace the engine over the gasket (which I'm not arguing with, btw - your reasoning is sound).  As far as availability of a replacement goes, Rock (just a point of reference, not definitive) doesn't have one available for the H6.

Edited July 30, 2023 by jonathan909

[jonathan909]

1 hour ago, 1 Lucky Texan said:

any chance this compressor can be found on some Nissan or Mazda or ???

Hmm.  Good point, worth checking.