March 28, 2001
"Just unbolt the mount and move it to the side" everyone said, when I asked what to do with the air conditioning compressor when I took the engine out. Turns out it’s not that easy…
Here we have Michael working over one of the A/C compressor bolts with the biggest breaker bar I’ve ever seen. "I can’t get the socket all the way on the bolt head - there’s something on the bracket that’s keeping it from seating", he said…
About this time, Michael realized he was late for a booty call, and left me to my own devices.
Oh, look! Here’s why it didn’t want to turn! There’s a flat on one side of the flanged bolt head!
Whoops… here’s where it used to mate up with a projection on the bracket. Leverage is a beautiful and dangerous thing. In my defense, I had already taken the nuts off the other side, and tried to tap the bolt loose. A decade’s worth of crud, and my less-than-enthusiastic work with the ball peen hammer in close proximity to the valve covers led me to believe that the bracket was threaded, since the bolt didn’t come right out. It came loose right away after that first 1/16th of a turn, though!
Well, I only make the same mistake once (usually). I pulled the nuts off the other two bolts without any further bracket trauma, but they don’t want to come out past the clutch.
Close, but no cigar.
Thwarted in my attempt to get the A/C compressor out of the way, I attacked the harness and vacuum lines with a vengeance. Lookit all them wahrs!
Thanks to several helpful ISTA listers, I have a plan of attack for next time…
