I have a 1990 Plymouth Sundance, bought it new, have had it for 16 years, it's getting a little long in the tooth but I've kept it up mechanically and it's a good "running around town" car.
A couple of weeks ago, the air conditioning cut out. I took it to my mechanic and learned that what had happened ... since he found this part laying on the engine where it had come off ... was the plate that's the front part of the clutch assembly (you have this plate, then the clutch, then the coil, if that gives folks a better idea of what I'm talking about) had broken.
Of course you can't buy just that plate. You have to buy the entire clutch assembly. I tried the recyclers and they wouldn't sell the clutch assembly separate from the compressor, which is understandable.
However, I found a clutch and compressor assembly from a recycler, with a one-year guarantee, for a very good price and ordered it. I figured "what the heck," my mechanic could take that plate off to replace my broken one and if the rest of the clutch and compressor go out ... and they're all in good working order, FYI ... I'll already have the parts in hand.
The clutch and compressor arrived today ... and it's not going to work, at least from the standpoint of being able to take the clutch plate off and replace my broken one, because they're two different plates, even the shaft that goes through from the A/C to the clutch is different. On mine, there's a nut that holds the plate onto the shaft, along with one other part that I'm going to discuss later. On this one, there's an actual bolt that connects into the shaft, looks like it literally screws in. I imagine what the deal is, this compressor/clutch is not out of a 1990 Plymouth Sundance but will work on one if you replace the whole unit.
I'm sure the next question is "why not replace the whole unit?" My mechanic, who I trust completely from him working on my cars for years, says he would prefer not to do that except as an absolute last resort, because of the trouble in doing it, the fact that I'd have to recharge the unit after just recharging the Freon in my current unit, and because in his judgment it could touch off other problems elsewhere in my A/C system.
So, I sat that aside and went to the local parts store and purchased a new clutch assembly ... cost significantly more than the clutch/compressor I got from the recycler, but I'm trusting my mechanic's judgment on whether to change the whole thing or not ... took it to my mechanic and he said it will work fine, but there's one problem.
I mentioned that there's a nut that holds this plate onto the shaft coming out of the A/C in my car. There was one other thing, a little rectangular looking black metal pin, almost like a key pin or something. You can see the notch for this pin on the clutch plate. My mechanic says it fits onto the shaft to keep the plate steady. He says if you don't have this, all the parts will wobble, etc., and the end result will likely be tearing everything up.
The problem is, this little pin broke when the plate broke off on my car. And there was not a new one included with the clutch assembly.
I'm sorry to be going so long in getting to the point on this ... basically, can anyone tell me what this pin is called and how I might go about getting another one, or if it's not possible to get another one what might work as an acceptable substitute?
Because as I said, I'm trusting my mechanic's judgment in his opinion that the best course of action here is just fixing the plate instead of changing out the entire clutch and compressor. But if I can't find a replacement for this little pin, I may have to change out the whole thing and just keep my fingers and toes crossed and say a prayer.
Thanks in advance for any help.