a/c pump

hey not sure where to post this *** so in the last month of jp there was an artical, endless air. in this artical it is said to disassemble the compressor to clean and lube the bearings. there is also a warning piston must line up with thrash plate.????? as far as i can tell i have done this and both times have managed to bend the pistons on re assembly. what is the secret to getting this thing back together??????? can you back off the plug in the bottom of the body???? if so, how do you know or where can you find the specs on what the torque is so as to not bend stuff then???????? i am at a loss. no one i have talk to has taken the thing apart. they for go that and pump it full of grease or do an inline oiler and a seperator. i was going in the greased direction as in the artical. some help please.  

Here is a response from the guy who wrote it...not me. Who knows why he did not just post it himself:

Sorry to hear he’s having problems. Here’s what I did: once all of the little pistons are seated in their holes, make sure the connecting rods are vertically aligned with their respective piston and not cocked or angled to one side or the other. Install the front housing of the compressor and start all of the bolts. As you gradually snug the bolts up (use kind of a star pattern), rotate the center portion of the compressor clutch to actuate the internals as the bolts tighten up. If all of a sudden you can’t rotate the compressor by hand, STOP! Back off the bolts and start over. I’m not an expert, but I think rotating the compressor as the front housing bolts are tightened helps keep the thrash plate properly centered.

Hope that helps!

The other thing to consider is that if he pumps it full of grease without cleaning out the compressor oil, there’s no way the grease will get everywhere it’s supposed to, and it’s my understanding that the PAG or ester oil is not compatible with grease…whether it breaks down grease or simply repels it, I dunno. I’m not a chemist. But they don’t play well together, and taking it apart to clean everything out helps ensure there’s plenty of grease where there’s supposed to be, plus you get a pretty good idea what kind of shape the compressor is in.  
P.s. I am not Dr. Vern (but I am happy to take credit for his writing!)

rodger that! i knew that it should be done with a star pattern. i did turn it a couple times as i was tighting and all seemd well. i also was on track with the pistons being ahhh yes in line strait up n down. i dont know, maybe i should slow down abit???? gonna give it a go again in a day or two. i do already have the plumbing routed front to back, and the manifold built and pressure tested. i used air brake tube and ran it thru the inside of the jeep inside of the lower door plastics. its real clean, a bit o.c.d. it.i agree beakin it down to clean and grease the bearings,that and inspecting the parts aswell. so im not sure how those folks are gettin around cleanin it but what about plugging the oil passage? dose that not realy have to be done?? i reckon i will be (at some point) the s.m.e. for some of the folks around here. i didnt think it was possible to mess it up twice. third time a charm????  

slow down was the key. i reckon. went to the bone yard today. got some spare parts n other junk and another a/c pump. got home n got a beer, went into the garage. i now have 2 pumps cleand up, greased, ready to go. they are even painted with some high heat flat black. on to the wirein.