2015 Subaru Forester XT Ep. 121: Fixing Intermittent A/C - Adjusting A/C Clutch
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- Опубліковано 21 лип 2019
- Powerbuilt A/C Clutch Tool: amzn.to/32GGcHH
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Whoever "MileHighSales" is, thank you very much for the donation. To any others, if you are happy you saved $1000 with this vid, my paypal link is in the details. I love Starbucks!
That was me! Keep adding value for the people, my man.
Went down this entire same rabbit hole. Thanks for posting your journey here. Went from 0.75 to 0.48 and the AC blows like 43 degrees F now. no more gunning it to compensate for clutch slippage! Awesome!
sick bro!
Just had to say thank you!!! I performed your fix yesterday on our 2015 Forester and now have a/c working again on a hot Chi-town day!!!
Right on Chi-town-boss!
Thanks man you rock!
I live in a country where parts are not so easy to get. Went to my mechanic today translating your video for them and we fixed it.
So far it's been great.
sick man! are you in Dubai? or Kazakstan?
Thank you very much. Your instructions fixed my 2017 WRX A/C problem. Works great.
Glad it helped
Thank you very much. Followed your method, down to the tool and magnet. It took me less than 30 mins to fix mine. Much appreciated!!👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Excellent!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I measured the gap on the clutch and it was about 0.76 mm...out of spec. Then I went to my local Autozone and they rented the AC Clutch Holder tool to me for a refundable deposit of $20. I took it apart like you showed in the video, found the shims and measured them. The middle sized one was the one that needed to be removed so I reassembled the clutch and was done. Took it on a test drive of about 30 minutes (outside temp was 90 degrees) with the AC temperature cranked down to 62 degrees and the blower on high...it never stopped cooling nor did the temperature of the cooled air decrease (according to how it felt to my hand). You saved me a bunch of time and money! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
no problem creamer dude.
mark, your videos are the best. especially with the FXT
ah they seem pretty boring to me. its just my real life.
Thank you so much for this invaluable information. I have had my Forrester in at the Subaru dealership trying to fix this. They obviously didn’t fix it, only said a re gas “should fix it”. Well thanks to you it’s now fixed, for free, and it only took me 20 minutes. So a very big thank you all the way from Australia.
cheers mate.
@KAne Arlow, I'm from Australia as well. Did you get the clutch tool? Did you get it locally? Thanks.
This video is the best of several I found about this issue. I performed this fix today on my 2015 Forester and my friend's 2014. Both of us had the same weak AC symptoms. Both our clutch plates had a gap > 0.75mm. I removed the 0.3mm shim from each compressor and bingo, no more slipping. It cost me $23 for the wrench and $7 for an extended 10mm socket. The local Subaru center wanted $1400 to replace the entire compressor assembly. And this was AFTER each of us had already paid $700 to have the coolant recharged and seals replaced. I smell a rat. Given how prevalent this problem is and how widely the fix is discussed on UA-cam and Subaru forums, I can't believe they don't know about it. I think they just try to get people to pay full price for new parts and labor.
nice one man!
Man, thank you! You saved me for a year. Clutch seems to engage but then stays engaged with turning the ac on/off. Betting on the clutch is done.
No problem pizza man.
Sir, I just want to thank you. I bought this same model in 2020 and it had the same issue. We used your video, and now three years later the AC is still going strong! Life saver!
Thanks Garret Turbos, i appreciate it
Sir you are a life saver on finding this tool. I was getting ready to go to work to build something to hold the clutch in place.
Glad I could help
I don't know if others have tried it but I used an adjustable channel wrench to hold the clutch and then turn the 10mm but. No special tools required.
Just bought 2015 FXT 47,000 miles as is. Test drive told me AC was an issue. Worked then cut out just as you described. Bought it anyway since it was super clean. Got the exact parts you mentioned to diagnose issue. Initial ac clutch gap was .75mm. First shim came off easily and measured at .3mm. Done! Buttoned it back up and took it for a test drive here in 100°F Texas and stayed cold the whole time. Thank you so much for this $38 fix!
no way, insane!
I just bought a 2015 Forester that also had an iffy in and out AC on test drive. Worked great during an idle inspection after getting back to dealership. No AC on the way home. Going to try this out though, hope it works. Oklahoma summers require AC to work :/
I am very happy to have found this video. I have a 2014 Forester with about 120K miles and my AC has just started exhibiting the Intermittent compressor problem. When it’s on, it still blows quite cold, and so I’m hopeful that this procedure is the fix I need. Because it’s like 100° every day right now in Houston. Cheers and thank you!
Sup Wease-man. very cool, i bet it works. ever since this video a LONG time ago... we still have that Forester.. and the A/C is mint..
it worked! First hot day after the fix the a/c did not cycle off. Thanks
Great to hear!
Bought a used 2015 Forester XT a year ago - was doing this exact thing even the day we drove it off the lot. Lived with it for a year (Colorado), but ran across this video, got the tools, measured that it was at about .8 mm, removed one of the two shims that were in there, now it's at .35 mm and it's running much colder and better than it ever has. 20 minutes of work and probably saved $1000. Anyone can do this fix - I "rented" the tool from AutoZone and was super easy to pop off and put back on. Thank you so much for posting.
Yopu are welcome Wolfman Jack
My ‘15 Forester is doing the same thing. Thanks for posting this.
god speed my friend
Thank you so much for making this video. I came across it at the dealer right before they told me it would be $1400 to replace the compressor. I just completed removing a shim today. The true test will be this summer, but for now the A/C works great.
Glad I could help
update?
@@christianerance my wife said it cut out once on her on probably the hottest day this summer. It started working again after an engine restart. I'd still call this a solid fix to extend the life of your compressor.
Worked exactly like you said! Great video!! An even cheaper method...I used two of those big Irwin C-clamps to hold the clutch while I took off the clutch nut. Had to pry it off gently, but everything else was the same. Knock on wood.......it's working and hitting over 30 deg C today.
bro that is sick!
Ordering the parts from Amazon now. Hoping this is the fix for my 2015 Forester Touring. Thank you for posting this great information.
i bet it will work.
LastHumansGarage I finally had time to do the repair and dropped the gap from .82 to .40. Ice cold air all day long. Again, thanks for the video help.
Thank you very much - this really helped and saved a pile of money and more importantly time.
np
Thanks to this video I was able to fix my 2014 forester ac 😀
cool
I will be monitoring the gap. Thanks for the tip!
cool
HA! Earlier this week I spent $180 for diagnosis and repair of my 2015 Forester AC. Didn't help at all. So I found this video that described the exact same issues as I was having. I tested it by observing the clutch quit spinning when the cooling stopped, then I measured the distance between clutch plates. Initially the gap appeared to be within specs, so I rotated the center plate by hand and could see that the gap varied a little with each turn. So I stopped in the position where the gap was greatest, and it was almost .8 mm. I removed the mid-size shim to bring the gap within spec. When measuring the gap after reassembly, it was just barely within the minimum spec (0.3mm) when the gap was smallest, and about 0.45mm at its greatest. Finally, a 20 minute driving test on a 90 degree day was the best the AC has worked in 2 years. Thanks for the video!
You are welcome Mr. Loubert.
I did this to my 2014 Forester 2 weeks ago. Had a 0.70 gap. Only had 2 washers so removed .3mm one. Didn't make much difference for me. Always blew at 40 degrees. Compressor clutch did not cycle on and off near as much but it did help. Unfortunately my compressor is making a lot of noise when first engaged, so I know it's at the end of its life cycle. Cooling down here in Oklahoma, 80's, so will wait until spring to replace and recharge it. Great information in this video though. Now I know what to look at when I do go to replace the compressor.
nice one
used a small set of needle nose pliers to hold the clutch by two holes to unscrew 10mm bolt. Took out one shim, so far so good.
Wow! Thank you! Will give this a shot ✊🏻
it'll work like it did for almost everyone in this video who tried it
Very cool idea. I'm going to try this!
Go for it!
I was also having the intermittent cold issue, and it worked for shorter and shorter times the hotter it got outside. I had basically the same oversized gap as you measured in the original stock setup. Removed the middle shim, like you did, and brought it down to about 0.55mm gap. Just did a 40 minute test drive and it blasted cold the whole time, which is the longest its ever ran continuously as far as I remember.
FYI, I made my own clutch wrench using a couple of #10 machine screws and a piece of aluminum bar. Engaging two of the clutch plate holes was more than enough, since the bolt isn't torqued very tight. Just make sure you put the screws near the edge of the bar so that you have enough clearance in the middle for the socket.
Easiest thorny AC problem fix one could ever hope for.
sweet
I'm having the same issue, Grady. My compressor seems to be engaged even when it is warm. Was that the same with you?
thank you for this, it helped a lot!! One constructive criticism though, this video was unnecessarily long. To me personally, the autozone comments, or geese comments, is not necessary.
BUT, then again, I shouldn't complain, you made this helpful video for everybody's pocket. You have the right to do whatever you want lol. But seriously, thank you this helped a lot! :)
i have had a channel for for 13 years, there is a lot of history on my channel, and i do like to ramble..
Fixed my 2015 Subaru wrx, ac clutch hub holder I borrowed from autozone didn’t fit properly but I made it work!
Only two washers in mine, removed the small one that I eyeballed with the feeler gauge around .3mm
Nice work!
Thank you! My 15 WRX recently started doing this with 43k. I just measured my gap and it fits .66mm, the max of my feeler gauge.
hell ya, sounds like you might be just out of spec. might even get a larger gauge to see if you are as high as .70 - .75..
@@LastHumansGarage Most def, there looks like even more room to spare.
@@rockinawayawd7915 did u get it back to spec, and did that solve the issue? Hope u remember after 2yrs lol
@@troyb9142 Yep! Althought I forgot if I took 1 or 2 washer shims off. AC has been running string every since!
@@rockinawayawd7915 I imagine you've long since fixed this while I'm about to give it a try. Saw on his video that the shims vary in size. Tried to find a service manual for mine for the 2012 Forester which has a Valeo DKV-10r but no luck. Did see on that company's site a service manual for another model and it has 4 shims, (.1mm, .3mm, .5mm and .8mm) which gives some good options for removal to get back in the .3 to .6mm range. Mine is at .7mm so clearly out of spec and not grabbing anymore with AC turned on.
My 2015 WRX (manual transmission) had these symptoms. On hot days (>90 ish) it would stop blowing cool air. This generally happened the most when I was cruising on flat roads at a constant speed. If I sped up and then let off the throttle, it would reengage and I'd get cold air for a while. I found the TSB for the compressor and had it replaced at about $900 at just under 100k miles.
Two years later and my 2018 WRX with MT and 45k miles has the exact same thing on hot days. I was dreading having the compressor replaced, and was looking into DIY clutch replacements instead. But now I see this video and if this is the problem I have a $15 and 60 minute problem instead of a $1K problem and at least a day in the shop (compressor replacement) or more tools for a clutch replacement. I'm off to buy feeler gauges and will see if I can get a tool like this locally so I can work on this over the weekend.
make sure you do have a good tool. dont wanna strip anything out.
Thank you very much, you save me a lot of money!!!
Glad I could help!
Well, the same for my 2015 forester premium, 52'000 miles. I'm in shock at how common this problem is... Did not want to wait for that tool delivery and managed to do it with 2 pin spanner key.
ahh good on you, but be careful. dont want to strip it out
Thanks for this video. I saw two others on the same adjustment but they used makeshift parts (3-bolts you tighten each a bit to get the clutch off.) I liked seeing your scientific mode of measuring the current gap (not just that it was too wide but how far off.) And then your measurement of the shims to know what kind of reduction in gap you'd have after removing one or more of those 3 varied thickness shims. Mine is a 2012 so perhaps a bit different for me. I did see mention on another video of finding the two green plugs (under the dash on the glove box side) that when joined, do testing including when key is engaged and AC turned on should engage then disengage the magnet in the compressor pulling the clutch in. Mine cycled but no movement in and, the clutch isn't engaging at all. You'd think that Subaru could come up with a better system for adjusting this, something more user friendly or inexpensive if a dealer did the work. Saw that the clutch part for mine runs $322 and the AC compressor about $700. UPDATE: Was able to adjust my clutch to within the .3 to .6 tolerance and it still wasn't engaging. (The specialized tool for holding the clutch didn't work for me and wide-opening channel locks did the job holding that triangle part.) Recalled that someone mentioned tapping on the AC relay in the fuse box near the battery. Thumped on mine with the handle end of my socket wrench and it finally engaged and the AC ran fine. If I'd turn off AC then on again it wasn't engaging the clutch until I thumped on that AC relay again. Ran to the auto parts store and replaced it for about $25. Then it was working anytime I turned on the AC But....found that it was cycling engaged/disengaged/engaged again. Further searches suggest this would likely be to low refrigerant so I'm getting that looked at in a few weeks. Thanks again for your video and others out there all sharing to help each other out.
nice!
Thank you!!!
np Snowman!!
Nice job!....the best fixes are the ones where you avoid a $1000 bill!
hope it works
Probably going to tackle this adjustment this weekend. My 2015 XT has 54,000 miles and the compressor only runs for 3-5 seconds at a time before cycling. Not sure if that would be related to needing to pop out some shims or not, but I'll give it a go.
worth a shot!
LastHumansGarage
sounds like it is cycling on the low pressure switch.most likely low on refrigerant.
Great video. Had seen tutorials on how to do this with the older Subaru’s but nothing for recent models. My 2015 WRX ac is also acting up with only 38,000 miles. There is a TSB for the compressor but I’m out of warranty.
worth a try, aint it.. i didnt harm anything during my job. but make sure you have the right tools so you don't strip anything out.
My wife’s Crosstrek just started having this issue I’ll try pulling a shim tomorrow
good luck Boston Crab
i may have similar issue on a wrx. i still look back on your video time to time, sucks that you sold it lol
a new wrx might come in 1-2 years.. we'll see how i feel then
This is a super helpful video! I just bought the feeler gauge and sure enough, the gap is too large. I'm going to work on it once I get the A/C clutch tool. Can you let me know what you mean by "check the torque" once you're putting the compressor bolt back in? I'm sort of new to doing repairs like this myself. Thanks!
dunno, did i mention a torque? I prob meant dont overtighten it and snap off the bolt. its pretty small
@@LastHumansGarage Thanks for the response, man! That's helpful.
2:04 Start filling your freezer. I love Canadian Geese!
Hello, what was your gap?
I asked a local Subie shop to check their manual, and they confirmed the ac clutch gap specification given in the video: Between 0.3mm (0.0118") and 0.6mm (0.0236").
sweet, so i was right!
I can assume that you can take out both skinny ones and leave 1mm shim if the gap is about 0.75mm
Yes you’re right I already did that .
hahah cool
Great job on that repair, hope it blows ice cold. Yup those geese are a royal pain up here in Canada, all they do is eat grass, block traffic and poop 24/7. No bueno.
thanks, time will tell i suppose. but worth a try for sure to save that much money
Hey so I have a 2015 forester that started having this same issue and wanted to know if you had to do any other repairs on the A/C or if this fix has held up since this video was made?
no other work.
It worked! I can't believe it. It's been two weeks since I removed a shim to narrow the game to about .42 mm. Sure enough, nothing but cold air. Crazy how easy it was. Spent about $28 on the tools. Do we know if there are any negative longterm effects to this method? Can it cause other problems?
no problems. its supposed to be the smaller gap..
@@LastHumansGarage thanks again for all of your help!
which one did you remove and how much gap did you have?
Update on drive #1. She says it seems way colder than it used to be. Seems unlikely, unless... the clutch has also been slipping because of the gap...
Hum good to know, i have just the same issue i'll try tomorrow morning! Thanks a lot
@@Mr_PrEz first thing is you gotta measure that gap. you need a feeler gauge. if you can fit anything larger than .60 mm in the gap, its out of spec.
@@LastHumansGarage Perfect definitely am gonna measure the gap is being hot in Mass so i need that ac running! Thanks a lot!
finally today we have thunder and rain, and its a "cool" 79F at 6am...
Did it few days ago is being working nice so far! Nice job Marc!
2015 Forester. this issue started last year for me. I will give it a shot. What is the torque on the 10mm bolt
finger torque.
I would love to know if that fixed the issue... my Forester is doing the same.
it completely fixed the issue.
Hi I am in Arizona and I'm having the same issue with my 2015 XT Forester, did removing the shim washer work?
for me it did
Hi there, I just watched your video from Ireland - can't believe your granny had a pool (I am originally from Ireland but now live in San Francisco) I did this fix my a/c by taking out the thickest shim/washer. However, it worked for six months. Would you recommend taking out a baby shim or both of them?
depends how many miles and how worn it is.. if you think its slipping again you have to remove 1 more washer. or replace the whole unit if its past it mate..
Could have probably made a tool pretty easy by welding some bolts that fit in them holes onto a plate in that configuration and weld a nut on the other side of the plate to hold it with a wrench
15 FXT with 105k miles.
I literally just finished this job with no success. I only had two washers inside, a smaller and a thicker and no I didn't drop a washer nor was there one stuck inside. Before I started this job, the gap was 78mm. After trying each washers individually, the gap fitment were too tight for both.. I ended up where I started with all the same washers reinstalled, and tighten the 10mm screw a little more. This made my gap to 35mm but my AC still isn't working.. Any ideas please advise. Thanks.
sorry to hear that
Thanks for the video, any issues with your ac recently or nah?
nah, 2 yrs later wife still says it works well. its been 95F here.
Was it not blowing cold at highway speeds? Mine blows cold going slow but hot at highway speeds.
ours was random
Many thanks for sharing the tool - ran into this after watching an older video that used bolts to remove the clutch. No longer relevant on a 15 Impreza.
What did you torque it to?
dont think i torqued it at all.
@@LastHumansGarage You didn't use a torque wrench on the 10 mm pulley bolt...just guessed? Not complaining, this is an awesome video!
@@jisink dont remember. but its fragile. dont snap it off.
@@LastHumansGarage I pulled up the FSM and the compressor's magnet clutch is not considered serviceable, so no torque is given. I dug around and found this universal clutch service guide (www.cpsproducts.com/wp-content/uploads/CTK1300A_manual.pdf), and it says for Subaru torque to 25-30 ft-lbs.
dood. good luck torquing that tiny 10mm bolt to 30 ft lbs. it will snap long before that. (if it was 10mm, i cant remember)
Any chance this could happen on a new compressor?? I've been having this exact issue, just replaced the compressor yesterday and it's already doing it again. Soooooo frustrating.
possibly, if it was not shimmed correctly. you have to measure the gap with clutch disengaged.
@@LastHumansGarage just ordered the tools from amazon... I'll work on it Friday and see, fingers crossed.
Would this work on a 2014 Forester?
probably
Nice job! I am going to do this bc I'm having the same issue. How is this fix holding up after 1 year?
its good
@@LastHumansGarage thanks for getting back to me. I will be embarking on this today on a Crosstrek. Hopefully with no hurdles.
Doug D !! He’s exploring some sort of quirks and features on some shit 📦🤷🏼♂️
who is that?
ohhh the accidental clip i posted!! think that was the Plymouth Prowler review..
LastHumansGarage Yeah I’m trying to get him to do my buddies Mitsubishi Stairon!
don't you have to take out both 0.28 and 0.13mm if you wanna reduce 0.4mm gap? that makes perfect gap of 0.34
Whats the torque settings on the bolts?
oh man... its feel really, but im sure there is a real torque somewhere
What is the torque spec for the bolt?
dont think i torqued it if i didnt say it in the video
Hey Mark, Does this occur in the '17s as well? or is this '14-'16?
any one which has over 36k miles and its A/C randomly stops.
@@LastHumansGarage Thank you sir. I'll have to check, the next time the A/C is turned on.
I have a 2015 Forester with this same issues, I checked the gap it’s about .8. Sh when I tookit apart I only had 2 shims, a fat one and a paper thin shim. I took out the fat one and I had no gap. Tried just the thin one and the gap is still .7mm. I want to buy some assorted shims so I can try to get the gap in range of 0.4mm to 0.6mm. Can anyone tell me how to order them? I can’t find them in Subaru parts online.
something like this.. but i DON'T know if M3 is the right hole size.. amzn.to/41S1ob2
maybe i can measure the hole in the one shim i took out, i think i have it in storage
Having the same issue did u figure it out or where to buy
@@GeneralPublicNPC It wasn’t the clutch. I took it to an independent mechanic and found out the reason it worked intermittently was because the on off switch was failing, I just needed to replace the switch.
Hi. Did you buy the magnet from Amazon too?
no, i had that magnet for long time.
Use any magnet such as a kitchen magnet, then touch it to a small nail or bolt (that then transfers the magnetism), so you can reach in to retrieve the shims.
what did you torque that center bolt to?
that wasnt in the video? must not have torqued it.
don't torque it bro. when i took out the bolt, it wasn't torqued.
Did it work ???
of course... sh....
With this issue does the clutch stop spinning and then the hot air starts blowing?
yes. if the clutch stops spinning, the A/C is not on. so it will send hot air. just like a car, the clutch has to be locked in to spin the A/c compressor. If the clutch plates are too worn, then can be too thin for the magnets to lock it in. That's why you remove one washer to narrow that gap a little.
@@LastHumansGarage gotcha thanks, is there anything you have to do before attempting this repair? Or just have the car off obviously 🙄
It worked for me!!! I have the 15 XT just like in the video and removed the middle sized washer (silver colored). Holding up so far 👍
@@SoylentGreenEatIt sidk soylent boi!
@@LastHumansGarage great video, saved my ass $1400. Honestly can’t believe it worked. Super simple fix, you da man!
what is the torque you did?
everyone asks that, im not sure. did i torque it? might have been 187 nM which is like 13 ft lb, but not sure if that would be too much.
@@LastHumansGarage ok thanks. did the a/c improve?
What did you torque the 10mm to?
"goodntite" but not overtight
@@LastHumansGarage thanks! Sorry I read the comments after I posted this lol. It’s cause you mention torqueing it but then it cuts in the video. I found the tool at autozone and I did the repair to my forester and it looks like it is working so far 👍🏼👍🏼
@@LastHumansGarage thanks for the video!
What do you torque it to?
didnt torque it. just a gentle hand tightening
@@LastHumansGarage thank you. I'm trying this tomorrow.
@@theryanmark now i dont mean finger tight.. just real gentle with a 1/4" rachet or something
@@LastHumansGarage understood. Thanks again.
We don't care for the geese either 😎
ah excellent, eh?
Need snap ring pliers
true
What was the torque spec on the ac bolt?
firmly snug inch. lb.