164 Aircon Questions

["John Wiltshire" <John.Wiltshire@domain.elided>]

Summer's here, and my Aircon has died.  Here is a raft of questions as I
think that I'm just about to embark on another Alfa voyage of discovery!

Firstly, as background, the A/C has been struggling for the past couple of
weeks.  I was hoping that this was more due to a loose drive belt to the
compressor, but an inspection yesterday showed that although the belt could
do with replacement, it is still working.

I'm not sure if the gas has leaked out - there is still a little cool air
coming in, but this is so slight that it's only effective at night.  There
is some hissing noise going on around the A/C evaporator in front of the
driver's windscreen.

When I checked yesterday, I don't have the idler/tensioner on the belt.
The belt just runs between the crank pulley, the water pump and the A/C
compressor.  Advice on the 164 page is that a Dayco belt is better than the
Alfa one as it is difficult to get tension.

I also have a bit of noise in the A/C clutch.  Is this fixable without
getting a whole new compressor (I'm hoping that the compressor itself is
still OK).  Can it be fixed without removing the compressor?

Presumably the system has just dumped its gas, and detecting the leak and a
re-gas will get everything fixed, but I would be happy to hear of anybody
else's experiences.

Can anybody recommend a good A/C specialist in Sydney that isn't spooked by
a 164?  - preferably close to North Ryde (work) or Five Dock (home).

Thanks Alfisti!

Regards,
John Wiltshire
Sydney Australia




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