Just what is involved with replacing the AC Compressor on a 94Z? I ran mine recently and it appears locked up. I turned the defog on and smoke started coming out of the compressor clutch and as far as I could see, the compressor shaft was not turning. Luckily I turned it off before the belt threw.

I know about vacuuming the system, I've repaired old R12 systems before and have a vacuum pump although I'll need new fittings for the 134a system.

Yeah, I know I should just get a repair manual but that would be too easy.

 

evac the system, remove the belt, remove the tensioner, now, there is a bolt holding the lines to the back of the compressor, and there is a bracket back there, you might need to pull the bolt holding the bracket to the block, then, 2 bolts at the front of the compressor, then wiggle it out

oh, all of this is from the bottom

 

Don't forget to disconnect the electrical connector.

 

Just did it on mine, no biggie. W/ my automatic it has a tranny cooler which the lines run just in front of the A/C Compressor, so it made it a little trickier to actually drop the compressor out of the car once loose. I removed the passenger side radiator fan and that gave me enough room to pull the a/c compressor forward and turn it sideways and get it out the bottom. New one went in pretty easily.

One larger bolt holds the two lines on on the back of the compressor, and there are a couple little bolts on the back that secure the compressor to it's bracket. Then there are the 3 main bolts on the front of the compressor for it's mount.

Pretty straight forward, no real hassles. Little tricky getting the lines mounted up right on the back of the compressor when putting the new one in, since they don't move much and there is not much room to get your hands up in there, but I did it without too much trouble.