# tiny metal chips flying from ac compressor! Help!



## Suave-GTI (Sep 26, 2008)

Ok, after a valve cover and cct gasket job on both sides, I start the car up again and hear a metal scraping! Turns out the ac pulley does turn, nothing is seized. I took off the belt and turned it and the clutch by and with no problems or noises! But w/the belt on and only & or around idle does it make the noise and with a flashlight I can see metal shavings coming out. If the compressor is junk, fine. Maybe it can be rebuilt? But I do not have the $ right now, so my though was to get a shorter serpentine belt and delete the ac for now. SO, does any body know if there is a belt for the 30v V6 without ac?? Or am I going to have to go to the auto parts store and check each of their belts on by one?!? 
Also the check engine light came on and I took it to Advance auto, the diagnostic tool says the MAF sensor and purge valve canister are faulty!?! I hosed down the engine with a degreaser once everything was back in place after the valve cover gasket job to clean it up a bit from all the oil that was leaking. Could the degreaser have caused all this? The good news is the engine does run great, but that ac noise sounds horrible and I don't want to drive it around like that cause I dont want the compressor to get worse/cause more damage. 
Well, any tips/help will be greatly appreciated, and Happy New Year Everybody!!!











_Modified by Suave-GTI at 10:33 AM 1-9-2010_


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## MEDEL514 (Jan 12, 2002)

*Re: tiny metal chips flying from ac compressor! Help! (Suave-GTI)*

How did you change the CCT gaskets? Did you remove the Cams completely? If so, the black metal belt/dust guard behind the cam gear may have been installed incorrectly. That black metal belt/dust guard has to fit in a certain way, otherwise it wil chaff against a pulley or the belt itself. 
Thoroughly check all of the pulleys to see where it chaffing. If its throwing metal shavings then there will be wear marks on something.


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## Suave-GTI (Sep 26, 2008)

*Re: tiny metal chips flying from ac compressor! Help! (MEDEL514)*

Well Medel514, you were right!!! 
I did have to remove the intake cam on both sides. On the left side(drivers side) in order to remove the cct, the timing belt cover (plastic) had to be removed and the metal cover behind the cam sprocket needed to be loosend (and replacing the cover was a PAIN!! In fact, the whole job was!!!







) Tip: remove the power steering pulley to get a better visual for removal and reinstallation of cover. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif 
Like a dummy, I did not replace 2(of the 5 bolts/nuts) that hold the metal cover in place behind the drivers side sprocket. I had to crank the engine just a few degrees to get the sprocket to move enough to get to each bolt. The didn't seem to do much, at the time, but it turned out the cover was rubbing on the sprocket and throwing tiny metal chips onto areas around and onto the a/c compressor, throwing me off completely!! Praise God it was just a simple fix!!! So, a big thanks to you for the tip! http://****************.com/smile/emgift.gif 
From now on I'm going to start taking pix whenever I do work on my cars so I can better illustrate things like this or just for referrence or whatever. I had to fabricate a tool to compress the cct according to my haynes manual, and had to improve on it a few times which was very time consuming. Maybe I'll post a pic later. Looks crappy, worked pretty good though.
Dont really want to post this because Im sure it's common sense to most everyone else, but make sure to check your torque wrench is tightened to the right setting before tightening your valve cover, or anything for that matter. Mine was loose and ended up almost to 20ft/lbs!! Im not exactly sure how many nuts I torqued before I realized it, but one did make a POP







Nothing seems broken, but I will be monitoring that valve cover closely. Live and learn


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## MEDEL514 (Jan 12, 2002)

*Re: tiny metal chips flying from ac compressor! Help! (Suave-GTI)*

glad to hear it was a simple fix! I installed the same cover wrong, but I caught it right after I installed the cams, so I was able to correct it right away. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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