My wifes A/C stopped working so took to the local guy in village who is VAG trained and trust worthy. He checked the gas etc and said it must be a fault with the compressor itself. I did some googling and found quite a few similar postings on various sites.  So It seems the front anti seize clutch fails prematurely do to a couple of faults and not the intended one of shearing in the case of the compressor seizing up. I took the compressor part number and found a company that make a upgraded clutch assembly for £29 posted. So it was ordered and turned up promptly. I jacked car up, removed the wing liner and saw the broken clutch, but not the same as I had ordered !! It was a different design. So I took pics and put the car back together. I contacted the supplier and explained the difference and it appears the clutch types differ depending on suppliers to Skoda and availability, so the part number on compressor is irrelevant.  So then I found that the type of clutch fitted to my wifes Yeti is not available on its own and a new compressor is the only option !! Wrong. I looked for another company for the clutch and found one in Germany that does the clutch and pulley together for £70. So I ordered it and it took 2 weeks to arrive for some reason beyond me. I was unable to find the time to do the job myself so the VAG man, Steve did it for me. He has a 2 poster ramp so easier for him to do. 2 hours later job done. He had to take washer bottle out and fiddle about with a puller but he done it. Saved over £1200 on a Skoda supplied compressor and main dealer costs. In all cost just over £170 including parts. Some pics attached to show the different parts. So if Skoda tell you you need a new compressor because of clutch failure take your car to someone trustworthy.

£1200? How much is the new compressor?

New compressor from Skoda £1200 plus fitting and gas etc. Pulley assembly £70. if the clutch fails on this unit, new clutch £29.

 

On 13/07/2019 at 09:05, vagrantno2 said:

found one in Germany that does the clutch and pulley together for £70. So I ordered it and it took 2 weeks to arrive for some reason beyond me

Well, I think you've already stated the reason.

its not a CLUTCH..it is mechanical fuse...his yob is to BROKE conection compresor shaft/puley..compresor failing because lack of oil in system..all Aluminium particle flow thru system..and slowly contaminate all parts of AC...

seems to me that youre local trusty and vag trained guy dont have a clue WTF he do to youre pocket..but you will see quickly...trust me on season 2019 I changed at least 40 AC similar compresors

 

its not compresor 1200 BP..or somebody robing you..original compresor is made by DENSO and I pay about 250e for them..BUT if you like job to be made corectly,you need also dryer 20 e and condenser 120 e to exchange..dryer because you eopen system and you must replace it..condenser because all crap from failing compresor is colected there..so you put new compresor and it will fail in next 10-50 working hour..same system on pasat 3C golf 5,6,7,..so I realy know what I write...here this is yob about 560e..all included...

so PLEASE dont just change that metal fuse plate..you will contaminate whole system..on few car I replace all pipes condenser,evaporator core(in cabin)..whole system..that was 1200 e..

and ask youre AC guy can he clean system(flushing is proceudre)  BEFORE put new condenser and dryer and compresor..flush neede for pipes and for evaporator...IF you want learn more search on net for definition of compresor black death..stuff like that..on old car with clutch that fault was realy rare..but on moder compresor they work all the time as engine start runing..you can press AC off but modern compresor is still engaged pistons work...sure at only 10% but they rotate..

On 19/07/2019 at 23:55, Stjepan said:

its not a CLUTCH..it is mechanical fuse...his yob is to BROKE conection compresor shaft/puley..compresor failing because lack of oil in system..all Aluminium particle flow thru system..and slowly contaminate all parts of AC...

seems to me that youre local trusty and vag trained guy dont have a clue WTF he do to youre pocket..but you will see quickly...trust me on season 2019 I changed at least 40 AC similar compresors

 

its not compresor 1200 BP..or somebody robing you..original compresor is made by DENSO and I pay about 250e for them..BUT if you like job to be made corectly,you need also dryer 20 e and condenser 120 e to exchange..dryer because you eopen system and you must replace it..condenser because all crap from failing compresor is colected there..so you put new compresor and it will fail in next 10-50 working hour..same system on pasat 3C golf 5,6,7,..so I realy know what I write...here this is yob about 560e..all included...

so PLEASE dont just change that metal fuse plate..you will contaminate whole system..on few car I replace all pipes condenser,evaporator core(in cabin)..whole system..that was 1200 e..

and ask youre AC guy can he clean system(flushing is proceudre)  BEFORE put new condenser and dryer and compresor..flush neede for pipes and for evaporator...IF you want learn more search on net for definition of compresor black death..stuff like that..on old car with clutch that fault was realy rare..but on moder compresor they work all the time as engine start runing..you can press AC off but modern compresor is still engaged pistons work...sure at only 10% but they rotate..

 

I see your point, had the same thing happen to me on the Fabia (failed fans, compressor worked overtime until locked up, shards in the system, everything new, 700 EUR fix).

 

But if it's a known fault (dunno about Yeti's) with the clutches ("fuse" as you call it, you're correct) why not go through the trouble to change it. Would be interesting if the OP gave feedback how the AC behaved ever since?

IF fuse is broken for me this is sign of failing compresor.lots of burned oil and "sludge" is in compressor..so IF you are lucky you can change compressoe only..BUT trust me it will be cheaper to do it right..remove compressor from car remove oil cap spill out some oil from it..is it dark gray ?..first stage..is it black ?...grey oil means aluminium particles disolved in oil..clean wash" FLUSHING PROCEDURE" for all parts on car..black oil means remove all pipes flush them ..until there is no trace of black ..CHANGE condeser (front AC cooler radiator) CHANGE dryer...remove expansion block from evaporator..flush evaporator..flush or exchange expansion valve (its cheap)...IF you car have evaporator that you can pull them out (japanase) then remove it clean it outside..but only few eu cars can remove evaporator core without dismantling whole dash..

Of course there will be few car where only changing mehanica fuse will help but at lease before remove compresor drain all oil out and put new oil..IF you have luck will help some time..but I never do that..my moto is do it right first time..

 

failing blower is alone story..most people dont know about it and they are not avare that car is in trouble..IF on blower fail first speed youre AC will work on cca 18-20 bar..IF blower is fine then AC work with 8-10 bar..so almost 2 times higher presure...you can easy check this ..start AC and front blower must work in some lower speed...IF youre blower work in ON/OFF mode then it time to investigate..sometime is simple as reistor on radiator housing..sometime blower (our yetis)...

 

wow its so nice to think about AC ..after whole day work with snowblower outside..cant wait some suny days and that ****y corona past...

 

guys change cabin filters on our cars...buy one with top price...with carbon and **** like that..maybe can help with covid..

 

stay well !

Haha Stjepane I see you also can't cope with being at home too much. I just returned from fixing the rear power windows on my Octy.

 

Everything you said is firmly on the ground, I also just changed the fans on my Octy, the low speeds failed, the AC works, but who knows when they failed and how much the compressor has worked at twice the pressure (I just bought the car two months ago).

 

How do I change the AC oil, does the system need to be emptied of freon to do it? What I'm trying to avoid with the octy for now is the full system rebuild, so the fans would have to be changed anyway, but the clutch bearing also failed as it makes a lot of noise, I'll risk changing just the complete clutch and see how long everything will last. Honestly, if the AC lives through this summer it paid off.

 

I remember when on my Fabia everything failed, I turned the old compressor upside down and gray soot with metal shards started pouring out of it. All because of the damned cheap fans failing and I didn't notice...

 

Pozdrav

 

look this scenario is not something new..we look at it from 2006 in so many cars..result always the same..for change oil in compresor of course you need to evacuate r134..remove compresor..clean it repair it do what you want...CHANGE dyer before filling new 134..dryer sometimes serve as filter too..on Octavia is bolted on Condeser left on car..condenser is first radiator what you see from grill