AC clutch rubber part separated… can I re-attach?

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Jan 7, 2009
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Rochester, MI, US, World
On my 2008 Sedona, during my drive today my AC stopped working. All original at 196k miles, not surprising. So I check a couple things. Fuse is okay, relay checks out. Clutch engages and disengages… then I realize, the rubber portion of the clutch has separated from the outer “friction” ring that gets pulled into the pulley. So the end result is that the compressor spins super slowly, like hardly at all, or not at all, since the clutch is basically rotating around it. I’m guessing originally this rubber was vulcanized to the metal clutch. Can I re-attach it with some super adhesive? Loc-Tite and others make some insane construction adhesive that binds anything together. I’d just buy a new clutch but, of course, you can’t just buy the clutch for this vehicle. You have to buy the whole compressor. I could just buy a used unit and transfer the clutch I suppose. By the way, the rest of the compressor is good, spins freely and smoothly if I throw a wrench on the clutch bolt.

See the picture for what I’m referring to; picture is of the OEM compressor for my vehicle. The rubber portion is the “ring” between the center cup and the outer metal portion. They’re all the same color so it’s hard to tell. Basically the bond has been broken between the rubber and the center cup, where the bolt passes through.
 

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There is no adhesive that matches the bond of vulcanizing. There used to be a BF-Goodrich product for repairing De-Ice boots used on aircraft and it's properties came about as close as humanly possible. It has been pulled from the market. It was tough enough to replace a missing knobby tire tread, or to fix a cut rubber tire sidewall (not the reinforcing fabric) The product was called E.C.135 if I remember correctly.
 
That rubber is like the rubber damper on a harmonic balancer and once it's deteriorated it can't be repaired. Your simplest choice is to buy a new compressor or you can call/write some companies that specialize in automotive air conditioning systems and see if they have a clutch.

I personally buy most of my A/C parts from PolarbearInc dot com out of Florida. Maybe write to them or give them a call and see if they can help you out. You can do a search for HS-20 compressor clutch and see if you get any hits. Here is a drawing of the compressor from the manufacturer but I can't find a listing for the individual part numbers for the pieces that you need.

kia ac.JPG
 
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It has been decades since I changed an AC clutch. What special tools are needed?
 
Somehow, I found the actual part number for this: 976444D900FFF. Oddly, Kia/Hyundai call this a hub and disc set, which of course if you search for that you only come up with brake parts. I found numerous online stores that sell the part for around $5 plus shipping. I ordered one for a little over $14 out the door.

Of course, I checked with my local Kia dealer before I started checking online, and they do not sell this part. Only the full compressor assembly.
 
Somehow, I found the actual part number for this: 976444D900FFF. Oddly, Kia/Hyundai call this a hub and disc set, which of course if you search for that you only come up with brake parts. I found numerous online stores that sell the part for around $5 plus shipping. I ordered one for a little over $14 out the door.

Of course, I checked with my local Kia dealer before I started checking online, and they do not sell this part. Only the full compressor assembly.
I thought the part that you needed was the clutch pulley which has the rubber dampening layer? The part you ordered was the center spring hub which is all metal. Did you really need this part?

Kia A/C Clutch Pulley
 
There is no adhesive that matches the bond of vulcanizing. There used to be a BF-Goodrich product for repairing De-Ice boots used on aircraft and it's properties came about as close as humanly possible. It has been pulled from the market. It was tough enough to replace a missing knobby tire tread, or to fix a cut rubber tire sidewall (not the reinforcing fabric) The product was called E.C.135 if I remember correctly.
3M EC-1357?

It's been a while since I've done a de-icer that wasn't a FASTboot.
 
I thought the part that you needed was the clutch pulley which has the rubber dampening layer? The part you ordered was the center spring hub which is all metal. Did you really need this part?

Kia A/C Clutch Pulley

Nope, I ordered the right one (after much checking, no less). I did order the clutch plate with the dampening layer. It looks like it’s all metal but there is a rubber piece in between the inner cup and outer ring (friction area) of steel. The pulley on this compressor is just a regular pulley with a machined face. The machined face is what the clutch disc/hub mates to when the coil activates. Hard to explain but I’m sure I got the right part.
 
How did this work out? I'm looking at maybe just replacing the drive hub with the rubber on an '02 CTD. The drive hub is available for $45 while an entire new clutch is $140 or entire compressors are under $200
20230831_083509.jpg
 
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