Subaru AC Not Working (Easy Fix)

Its sad to think about how many customers got sold new a/c compressors because of lazy mechanics.

Thank you so much, I've never had an easier problem to solve. It's such a simple process.

Thank you bro, Christian Bros quoted me $3400 to replace the damn thing, this worked, mine was making a terrible sound like you describe, after doing this and putting some coolant in I heard the noise vanish before me, it was a beautiful moment. God bless

The clutch on my 2004 Subaru Forester wouldn't come off. The center bolt was easy enough to take off. But the clutch was royally stuck. Putting 3 screws couldn't push out. You used 2 holes out of 3 to hold the clutch. (I used visegrip to hold the clutch.) Those 3 holes used to have screw threads in older Subaru AC clutches. You could put in 3 bolts to push the clutch out. Since I couldn't take the clutch off, I just put pieces of cardboard under rubber grommets to reduce the gap. On your clutch, there are 3 stubby arms with holes that used to hold grommets. But I see that there are no grommets on yours. It's been a year since that impromptu-fix, it works fine. Except for one time, it wouldn't disengage. But it's been working fine again.

I am having this chemical smell from my 2017 forester. AC is cold though and verified refrigerant charge is full.

I thought the heater core could be leaking coolant and have that bypassed. The smell seems lesser but it’s still there. Any idea?

Thank you for saving me hundreds. I did it today. It took about 20 mins and now the car’s ac is running perfect.

Do you have a torque spec for that center bolt? I can't find it anywhere, even on ProDemand

Howdy. I have the same exact problem as you described. Air works then stops working, turn off for 5 min, turn back on and works. Gap is .7, took out small washer but now gap too thin. Advice? Pressure great.

thank you!!! I did this 3 weeks ago and it works great. ICE COLD.

To address your question regarding a comparison to the reliability of the AC system on older Hondas to that of contemporary Subarus, my experience owning and maintaining my 1981 Honda Accord LX (run to 250,000 miles) and 1988 Honda Accord LX (run to over 350,000 miles), I never touched anything associated with those two vehicles. In my opinion, it is just the "reduction engineering" being done to most mechanical systems (and not just that of automobiles) today which results in a higher failure rate.

An informative video of removing and returning the clutch to the AC compressor at the very least. Good job and thank you.

thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2014 impreza wagon same exact issue

I just started having these issues on a 2014 Forester with right at 70k miles. Intermittent cold air, wet hot air, noisy ac clutch engagement, additional strain on the engine. Checked the relay and it was functional. The ac clutch was out of tolerance similar to the one in your video. Removing the thin spacer brought it back into spec. I was able to use the wrench for my angle grinder to hold the clutch in place. I also cleaned both surfaces before reassembly. It would appear that Subaru intentionally designed the ability to make this repair. AWESOME VIDEO! Saved me a ton of money!!!

Hello, please explain, it turns out you changed the washer gasket to a thicker one, I don’t understand English well.

im going to give this a try I'm hoping this is the problem since my pressures are good

2016 Subaru Crosstrek, AC had the same noise and took power away, just as yours did for the last 2 or 3 years. Now the AC compressor doesn't even engage, although the light's on. Hopefully this is the issue and I can remedy it. Might be a combo of this and in need of a recharge

I am having the exact same issues as of recently with my Forester and I have read so many different things regarding what my problem could be and this must be it. I have searched for leaks and nothing. When I’m driving and it’s gets hot out, 80-90’ or so, I notice my A/C cut out and it spits in warm humid air that feels so gross… then I’ll accelerate and it begins to kick back on. I have a feeling that the clutch isn’t engaging properly and this might just be my one way tix to fixing an otherwise very pricey problem! Fingers crossed! Thanks for the video 🤙

Nice video! So I have a question! So on my 2014 Subaru forester clutch doesn’t go on when I put the ac on but I notice that doesn’t have any gas that could be a reason for the compressor not working?

what in the world is a "shim"?? is it the same as a washer? spacer? is it made out of a special metal?