Another update, my AC stoped working the same day and I got sick of it, LOL.

Today, I took off the front bumper, the under-engine plastic and the splash guard from the driver's side wheel-hub,and was able to reach the main nut on the compressor (without taking the compressor off).

If you do that, you'll see 3 big round metals on the plate (you might want to turn your wheels to the left completely to do all this) and when you try to unscrew the nut, the whole plate turns and nothing happens. Well, just jam a big wrench between the car's body metal and one of those big metallic circles. The nut is not very tight.

Then, take the plate off (play with it a bit, mine came off manually, without tools...you'll have to play with it to make it come off, because the clearance between the axle of the compressor and the frame is really tight). It is possible though.

After taking it off, look at its condition. If it is rusty and uneven, use some 100 grit sandpaper to make it shiny (then polish with 150 grit).

Also, there's a washer on the compressor's axle. It might need to be sanded as well for better clearance. Very important part: when the plate is on its original place and the nut is tight, the distance between the plate and the pulley should be around 0.5mm (0.02inch)(I used a American Eagle tag from my new shorts to measure it, it is exactly 0.5mm). If it is more, then sand the washer to make it thinner. If it is less, then you'll have to find a thicker washer (either at Honda store or a hardware store).

When everything was clean and nice, I used some 99% alcohol to clean both surfaces and put the plate back. Look closer on the inside of the plate's center, it has metallic teeth. One of them is much thicker than others, so it has to go on the similarly thick part on the axle. Tighten it manually (with a wrench). Do not overtighten, there's no need...as long as the nut doesn't untighten itself.

Test the AC, you should hear it click loudly when it's turned on.

Put everything back together and enjoy the coolness of your car

-Alex

 

There you go. Actually there should be several thin washers on the shaft (they may be hard to find because they're pushed all the way to the back), and you can just take some of them out and leave them out instead of sanding stuff down. But basically you did what needed to be done -- close up the gap.

If the clutch is worn out, you can buy an A/C clutch set (front plate, pulley/bearing assembly, and solenoid coil) for about $100 instead of a complete compressor at $450, and replace it without removing the freon and having to put it back.