Automotive Air Conditioning Information Forum

How much torque needed to turn a typical good compressor? On a truck board/site someone reported their compressor required 250 inch-lbs (which is like 16 ft-lbs) to turn, and an off-the-vehicle compressor only required under 20 inch-pounds.

I had my 2004 Frontier with 90K and great AC (R134a) handy, so I measured it and also found it required also under 20 inch-pounds to turn it. So do any of you experts have a feel for what would be too tight/too much torque to turn a reasonably modern compressor?

Thanks, don't think I've seen this addressed before, but 16 ft-lbs seems to me way too much force, something bad inside that compressor.

I have seen a fresh "rebuild" from 4-squeezin's that needed 35 ft/lbs to break free...

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bohica2xo wrote:I have seen a fresh "rebuild" from 4-squeezin's that needed 35 ft/lbs to break free....

We don't use rebuilts from "that brand" here !

Each compressor has its own resistance. An A6 will take a lot more torque to turn compared to a Scroll compressor. Most compressors can be turned by hard with reasonable resistance.