hey guys. for the past week or so, ive noticed the compressor on my car making a colossal amount of noise. i actually had a compressor on hold till i got paid today. last night though, i looked at the forum. lo-and-behold, i found Dan'* post on how to adjust the clutch plate

armed with that information, i went to work and got the loan a tool. here is how i fixed it.


first i pulled the car into the storage unit formerly known as my grandmothers garage as its currently -2*F outside, and jacked it up and pulled the wheel/ splash guard.



got a real close up look at the damage... not good!



going to remove the 13mm nut, i had some issues with it being rusted on. i couldn't get a good enough grip on the clutch to remove the nut. so some pb blaster, and a wire brush later, i finally decided to use a long screwdriver to brace the clutch. whenever the nut would bind, i would run it all the way back down and clean the threads and start over. this worked pretty well actually, and the threads look like new now.



thats about all the pics ive got, so here is the video to better explain everything. the car is completely quiet now! (apart from the 16 year old power steering pump groaning in the extreme cold)

thanks for looking guys!

Thanks for posting the AC Clutch adjustment info/video Jason!
This will be handy for many when the gap is too tight.
I may have to adjust mine in the future as well.
You sure had a lot of rust on the main threads! Glad you took your time and all is well again!

Great thread and video! I've posted previously about the same grinding noise on my '00 LeSabre, exactly the same as what you described. I tried this procedure, and even had the clutch tool that is SUPPOSED to hold the clutch plate in place while the center nut is loosened/removed. That tool didn't grab on very well and was constantly slipping, and the center nut only came out about halfway and then was all bound up on rusty threads, also as you described. I was never able to work it loose, and was afraid I'd strip or bust the threads beyond repair. I eventually put it all back together and maybe will try again in the Spring.