@Ian I sometimes ask my wife if the noise I can hear is actually real or just my tinnitus

Its been suggested (pub discussion) that turning the AC on alters the tension in the Aux belt and maybe alters the loading on the Alternator pulley.

On balance I'll start by changing the alternator pulley.

Can it be done with the alternator in situ ? Jules

But the Aux belt is NOT flapping or bouncing which is the usual sign of a failing Alternator pulley.



What do people think ? Jules

jules wrote:

@Ian I sometimes ask my wife if the noise I can hear is actually real or just my tinnitus

Its been suggested (pub discussion) that turning the AC on alters the tension in the Aux belt and maybe alters the loading on the Alternator pulley.

On balance I'll start by changing the alternator pulley.

Can it be done with the alternator in situ ?

Mine has the same noise, been diagnosed as a bearing in the A/C unit which cannot be replaced (not available I believe). The whole unit will need to be changed. Although the noise is irritating i'll wait until it is unbearable.

Thanks
The it seems that its most likely to be the compressor itself.

A replacement compressor clutch isnt a huge amount cheaper than a new compressor with clutch so Im thinking of changing the lot. Jules

Could it be valve failure in the A/C compressor it's self,
Mine was making strange noises about 3 years back and my
A/C man replaced it, said he's had only 2 go like this. DAVE.

IanMetro wrote:

The clip of you revving the engine sounds like Alternator Belt being stressed on the overrun, although I would also expect it to be there with AC off.
Is the noise in proportion to the pressure inside the AC unit perhaps?

Im awaiting tomorrow's visit from the AC man.

I thought I'd help by improving access to the condenser etc.
Access to the drier plug is blocked by the radiator/condenser/intercooler support bracket.

Click image to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

New AC compressor installed, flushed and regassed + lube. All lovely and quiet now.

The noise was definitely from the compressor bearings.

The chaps from CoolCarAirCon were very good. Knocked £150 off the bill for the prep work I had done. Which was nice.

So new AC compressor, aux (FEAD) belt pulleys, fitting and de-gassing & re-gassing = £440 Jules

Glad you got it solved.

Also another successful outcome for the Forums Search function to find when we need it. FL2 XS SD4 Auto 2010 2012-2017 (21k - 91k miles) (MY2011)
FL2 Metropolis SD4 Auto 2014 2017- (16k - 77k+ miles) (MY2015)
Metro in its 11th Year of (Extended) LR Warranty / Full LR Service History
(Expensive, but Trouble/Worry free - hopefully?)

Yes, we cable tied the radiator etc assembly to the slam panel and removed the 6 bolts holding the support bracket to gain access to the drier plug. Which was a barsteward to remove- needing a T60 IIRC Jules

Congratulations on the fix, must be so nice having cold air and that annoying sound not being there.


Haven't had a chance to approach our garage to see if they could do a recharge with oil just in case that fixed it as some family stuff came up but now that it looks like this is a definite cure I will have to start to look at what it's going to take to get the compressor replaced round here. Might have to wait until next year though.

I obtained the AC compressor from Autoairconparts; based in Brum.

Very speedy service.

https://www.autoairconparts.co.uk/compress...0232p.html


The mobile aircon service is a sister company AFAIK.
https://www.coolcaraircon.co.uk/ Jules