Recently I noticed that my AC compressor is cycling on about every 30 seconds or so. You can hear the "squeek" when the compressor comes on and physically feel the drag on the truck at highway speed.

Any ideas what would cause the compressor to cycle that fast? Its become a pain to drive and feel the truck jerk every 30secs or so.

Thanks in advance.

 

Sounds normal to me.

You got a 4 banger?


If your really concerned you can get a gauge to stick on the low side. When the ac is running it will show the current system pressure. This is the only method of checking its level of freon. Dont just blindly stuff a can in.

 

No, its a 6 (3.0) and it wasn't this bad before. Now when the compressor kicks in, you feel the whole truck move, like slow down, for a second, then catch back up. It literally makes that "squeek" associated with it coming on nearly every 15-30 seconds.

Is that really normal? I'll try the gauge on the low side and see what I get.

Thanks for the tip.

 

That squeak may be the compressor clutch.

You can probably eliminate the squeak by cleaning the compressor clutch with some brake cleaner. The compressor shaft seal is the most common leak point. When the refrigerant leaks out there, it brings oil with it. That oil gets flung onto the clutch plates, affecting its grab ability.

If you are going to service it yourself, shoot me a PM with your e-mail address. I'll send you a procedure for AC servicing, using a thermometer in the outlet duct vent.

If the drag you feel is excessive, your compressor may be on its last legs. If it has been serviced in the past, it may just need oil added with the refrigerant this time.

It could also be as simple as a stretched serpentine belt or a weak tensioner (and you are hearing the belt squeal when the clutch engages).

 

Now there is a thought. The serpentine belt does need to be replaced. I drove 200+ miles today, and it did the kick on squeek every 16 seconds on average.

Arrgh.

I'll start with the belt and tensioner and go from there. It squeeks every morning anyway.

Thanks!