W210 Aircon compressor pulley lubrication?

[brandwooddixon]

Unusually for me I actually disabled my aircon the other night using the EC button.

With the windows down I noticed that there was a whirring noise from the engine bay. This vanished when I turned the aircon back on.

I assume that this noise is because the compressor pulley is freewheeling and is in need of some lubrication.

Is this likely and if so how should I go about lubricating it?

 

[Myros]

Not officially sanctioned

but i'd try and squirt a bit of teflon grease down with the straw attachment from a spray can, being careful not to get it over your fan belt, and see if that helps.
I've done this periodically with all kinds of cars as the pulleys do sit in the muck-stream and can get dry and dusty and complain a bit.

http://www.detali.ru/cat/oem_mb2.as...GA=722.626&CT=F&cat=65S&SID=83&SGR=190&SGN=06

 

[Dosco]

but i'd try and squirt a bit of teflon grease down with the straw attachment from a spray can,

Isn't there a clutch in the pulley? so if you lubricate it are you not in danger of causing slippage under load??

Is the belt tension device okay, they can cause spurious noises.

 

[Myros]

hence the not officially sanctioned header

It's very tricky to get it just onto the shaft and not all over the shop. I'm glad someone else thinks it should be approached with care.
It works fine on all the other pulleys I have tried, but as you say, they don't have a clutch on them, and you can generally get at the shaft well enough.
Presumably the clutch sits on the shaft/compressor somehow, and the diagram looks as though the clutch is the thing with wires.
Perhaps not squirting anything at all down there is just as good an idea.

 

[Number_Cruncher]

As the problem only happens with the aircon off, it is nothing to do with the belt or pulley, it's the clutch which isn't fully clearing.

If the noise continues for more than a day or two, it might be worth checking the clearance between the clutch plates. Some compressors could have their clutches shimmed to achieve the correct clearance, I'm not sure about these though.

Not something to get overly worried about IMO.

 

[brandwooddixon]

Okay, so the general consensus is to leave it well alone.

It doesn't bother me really, as I usually have the aircon on all the time. I was just wondering whether it was possible.

Thanks for your input guys.