Clutch on Kompressor, Problems

[BigDusty]

Hi all,

The bearing in the clutch which is attached to the kompressor is now sitting on my desk in front of me and is in bits, in other words the clutch bearing is knackered.

Rang up the stealership and to no surprise they informed me that I have to replace the whole of the kompressor as they don't sell the clutch separately.

As I type I stare at this bearing and I think to myself "something not quite right here, for the sake of replacing a £20 bearing it's now going to cost £1000 for a part that I don't need. What's next, one new gearbox when that clutch wears out!!

Looking on the web I did find a company in the USA that sells a bearing with the exact description and measurements to mine, thing is, it's to replace the bearing for the clutch on an airconditioner, but will it work??

http://bearingsdirect.com/products/...110&prevaction=category&previd=56&prevstart=0

So I once more turn to my trusty companions for help and advice to see if there is a sensible way to repair or replace the clutch on my kompressor.

Regards
BigD

 

[st13phil]

At this stage I'd ask the question "what do you have to lose by trying?". It seems to me that the worst-case scenario is that you'd have to buy a new kompressor, so spending less than £20 on a repair that may or may not work is a low-risk option financially.

Rather than just taking a punt on a bearing that happens to be the right dimensions, my suggestion is to take the clutch complete with bearing to a local bearing supplier (look in the Yellow Pages) and get them to identify/supply a new bearing. That way at least you'll know that you have a bearing of the appropriate spec, thus maximising the chance of a successful repair.

 

[BigDusty]

Your right, haven't got much to lose here, so I'm going to get a replacement bearing, which has proven to be very difficult.

One bearing company said that this bearing could be a "protective part", to stop people like me from doing my own repairs.

I was going to purchase the bearing from the USA but I was a little amazed by the cost of their P+P $70 (still cheaper than £1000 though), but the main problem with buying this part from them is that I will have to wait for about 2 weeks and I need the car back on the road sooner than that.

Anyway, have found a company near me that has a bearing in stock but is only a single row bearing (I need double row) but the inner and outer diameters are spot on. The width of mine is 22mm, these are 10mm, so I'm going to put two side by side with a spacer between to take up the remaining gap.

Hope this works unless someone knows of a place in this country that supplies a Double Row Bearing measuring OD 47mm, ID 30mm and 22mm width.

Cheers
BigD

 

[Harley Man]

Have you looked for a part number on the old bearing? its really rare for companys not to use standard bearings when they make things, or take the part number off the US site and see if a UK supplier can order it by number - it looks like a standard bearing number to me, If you cant find anywhere else try BSL Ltd they have branches in most places

 

[BigDusty]

Hi Harley,

No part number on the bearing, there's not much left of the bearing anyway, just the inner and outer rings but no markings to be found.

Will try BSL Ltd,

thanks for the advice
BigD

Update,

Just realized BSL Ltd is Brammer and I had tried them first and it was they who said that this part was probably "protected" and said they could not help me and wished me luck, that was nice of them.

 

[jaymanek]

wow i wish this had come up a while ago, i ended up with a new second hand kompressor for the sake of a plastic plate.... was very annoying at the time..

 

[pluggers]

I would try another dealer.I had to have a new kompressor clutch on mine not long after buying the car.Part came to just over £200 with about 2hrs labour.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Check the US forums I've read a thread or two on replacing the bearings on C32s - $20 part plus fitting by a competent mechanic with the right equipment.

Keep us posted on how you get on.

 

[gazz]

http://bearingsdirect.com/products/...id=5110&prevaction=search&previd=&prevstart=0

I would go with this - it is perfect for the application, and the postage is still well under the price of a new kompressor. Do you know any pilots or similar who are often in the states??

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Is the bearing the same on the C32 too Gazz?

 

[Bazzle]

Try this 30BG04S13DS

Bazzle

 

[BigDusty]

I did manage to recover the number from the bearing, it was stamped on the plastic seal or whats left of it, I recovered it from my garage floor
30BG04S13DST2. The bearing on the following site is the one to use

http://bearingsdirect.com/products/...id=5110&prevaction=search&previd=&prevstart=0

The clutch did take a bit of a beating so I won't know if it's still working until I have put it back together. If it is faulty how do I go about getting a replacement clutch, obviously not through Mercedes.

I read this on another forum;

"Why replace the clutch as waste of money, just upgrade the super charger pulley for more power".

I'm not interested in more power but is there an alternative clutch or pulley available?

My head is spinning on this one!!

 

[st13phil]

I have an enquiry out with a large bearing factor that we use to try to identify a UK source. If I get any info, I'll post back in this thread.

 

[BigDusty]

Well, the car is back on the road :bannana: and so far is working fine, quite a bit of work was involved with some inventive ingenuity, but for the cost of £30 instead of the ridiculous price of replacing the compressor for a whopping £1000 it was worth it.

So, the problem was that the clutch bearing had literally disintegrated and had to be replaced. First hurdle was getting a replacement double row bearing and the only one I could find was in the USA which would have been fine but I couldn’t afford the time it would have taken to arrive by post.

I found a company that sold a single row bearing

http://www.kellysearch.co.uk/gb-company-80012295.html

Same inner and outer dimensions as the original but was only 9mm wide. I purchased two of these, but I had to make a 4mm spacer to go in-between them. For this I used the outer shell of the original bearing and managed to slice off 4mm using a lathe.

I assembled both bearings with spacer into the clutch pulley and then refitted the circlip that held them all in place and it fitted perfectly, so far so good.

Now it was time to put the pulley back onto the compressor, this is where the main problem for me started, it wasn’t just the bearing that had worn badly but the shaft that these bearings slid onto, at this point I almost gave up as this shaft is part of the clutch, I was so frustrated, all I need is a new damn clutch and my problems would be solved, but I was determined not to be beat.

The next thing I did was make a shim about half mm thick (I made this by slicing off a piece from the inner part of the original bearing) which sat neatly under the circlip that held the clutch pulley in place on the compressor.

The biggest problem was to find away to build up the shaft which the inner part of the bearings slid onto. The only thing I could do (and I read this idea on another website forum) was to use a liquid metal (similar to Araldite) and to my surprise it worked. I reassembled the car and touch wood all seems fine.

N/B this is only a temporary measure allowing me more time to do research for a better option, how long it will last I’m unsure of, it may last a very long time but I don’t want to take the risk. I have found a second-hand compressor complete with clutch for about £200 (haven’t got it yet) and I will recondition it myself by replacing the bearing with the proper one from the USA. I am hoping there will be a supplier for this bearing from this country.

Cheers
BigD

 

[fredfloggle]

Well, the car is back on the road :bannana: and so far is working fine, quite a bit of work was involved with some inventive ingenuity, but for the cost of £30 instead of the ridiculous price of replacing the compressor for a whopping £1000 it was worth it.

So, the problem was that the clutch bearing had literally disintegrated and had to be replaced. First hurdle was getting a replacement double row bearing and the only one I could find was in the USA which would have been fine but I couldn’t afford the time it would have taken to arrive by post.

I found a company that sold a single row bearing

http://www.kellysearch.co.uk/gb-company-80012295.html

Same inner and outer dimensions as the original but was only 9mm wide. I purchased two of these, but I had to make a 4mm spacer to go in-between them. For this I used the outer shell of the original bearing and managed to slice off 4mm using a lathe.

I assembled both bearings with spacer into the clutch pulley and then refitted the circlip that held them all in place and it fitted perfectly, so far so good.

Now it was time to put the pulley back onto the compressor, this is where the main problem for me started, it wasn’t just the bearing that had worn badly but the shaft that these bearings slid onto, at this point I almost gave up as this shaft is part of the clutch, I was so frustrated, all I need is a new damn clutch and my problems would be solved, but I was determined not to be beat.

The next thing I did was make a shim about half mm thick (I made this by slicing off a piece from the inner part of the original bearing) which sat neatly under the circlip that held the clutch pulley in place on the compressor.

The biggest problem was to find away to build up the shaft which the inner part of the bearings slid onto. The only thing I could do (and I read this idea on another website forum) was to use a liquid metal (similar to Araldite) and to my surprise it worked. I reassembled the car and touch wood all seems fine.

N/B this is only a temporary measure allowing me more time to do research for a better option, how long it will last I’m unsure of, it may last a very long time but I don’t want to take the risk. I have found a second-hand compressor complete with clutch for about £200 (haven’t got it yet) and I will recondition it myself by replacing the bearing with the proper one from the USA. I am hoping there will be a supplier for this bearing from this country.

Cheers
BigD

If you get a while you may consider stripping it down and metal spraying it to bring it back - the other possibility is cleaning it up , sleeving it and then changing the bearing to a stock one , making the OD of the sleeve to a standard bearing size - good to see that the "throw it in the bin" spirit that infuses life has been banished in this post.

 

[BigDusty]

Hi Fred,

Totally agree with you, sadly we live in a throw away world but to have the satisfaction to dismantle and repair rather than replace definitely has it's rewards, and in this case it was designed to be fully dismantled and that is a good enough reason for me to repair it.

What did make things awkward is that the shaft was not very well exposed as it's sunk and surrounded by a wall magnets leaving a gap of about 2cm all-round between them. Was considering metal spray but first I have not had any experience with it and I assume, once you have built up the surface, you cut it back to original size. You could get a lathe bit in there but it would be very tight.

If and when I get this secondhand Compressor I'm going to look into it with more detail and try and improve on reconditioning it with better techniques if possible.

Cheers
BigD

 

[BigDusty]

I had three quotes for a used compressor and clutch, the cheapest being £217. I rang them this morning and they said that they had made a mistake and quoted me for the clutch only, now they want £450 for both compressor and clutch making their quote the dearest, what a crock of crap!!

When I sent out the request for this part my description was "Kompressor/supercharger with electromagnetic clutch" yeah, sure, easy mistake to make.

The next quote is for £317 (hopefully for the complete unit) but I did find this site (in the USA as usual) which recons compressors but comes with optional clutch selling for $502 (£243) + P+P. I'm wondering if they will sell the clutch alone?? They don't seem to have an email address which is a shame.

http://www.psesuperchargers.com/

Anyone had any experience with this company?

 

[jaymanek]

it wasn’t just the bearing that had worn badly but the shaft that these bearings slid onto, at this point I almost gave up as this shaft is part of the clutch, I

This is why we had to fork out for a new Kompressor...

 

[fredfloggle]

Hi Fred,

Totally agree with you, sadly we live in a throw away world but to have the satisfaction to dismantle and repair rather than replace definitely has it's rewards, and in this case it was designed to be fully dismantled and that is a good enough reason for me to repair it.

What did make things awkward is that the shaft was not very well exposed as it's sunk and surrounded by a wall magnets leaving a gap of about 2cm all-round between them. Was considering metal spray but first I have not had any experience with it and I assume, once you have built up the surface, you cut it back to original size. You could get a lathe bit in there but it would be very tight.

If and when I get this secondhand Compressor I'm going to look into it with more detail and try and improve on reconditioning it with better techniques if possible.

Cheers
BigD

Yes , if you spray it you need to bring it back to dimensions and you also need some space to get the nozzle in to spray it -

Right bugger it - tap 3 sewing needles into the clearance and run the TIG around it.

 

[BigDusty]

I rang this company in the USA

http://www.psesuperchargers.com

and they can supply just the clutch and they will ship to the UK. They have two makes of clutches available one for $502 and the other for $400.

So for the record, if any ones magnetic clutch fails to work (engage etc) then this option is the best I could find.

If the bearing has wear in it you could replace just that, using this company,

http://bearingsdirect.com/products/...id=5110&prevaction=search&previd=&prevstart=0

However, after further discussions with the PSE company I discovered that if the shaft to which the clutch pulley is attached to has worn then unfortunately the compressor will have to be renewed also. The shaft is not part of the clutch like I first thought, it's part of the compressor housing.

Saying that, going back to what fredfloggle said and now that I have realized that the shaft can be more exposed, it is possible to have the shaft repaired by this spray metal technique and then machined back to original size.

I know this may sound like a lot of work but I and for people like me who are prepared to do the work it can be very cost affective and rewarding.

I hope this information will help others.

Cheers
BigD