Perfect, much appreciated..

Keep us posted on what you find.

This is a golden thread

I ordered the service kit yesterday from Mitsu and it should be in tomorrow. You'll have a Yea or Nay tomorrow afternoon.

Sounds good, keep us posted..
How much was the service kit?

Just curious if some of you with this problem could post your mileage and perhaps how frequently you have used the AC.

Well I have to apologize to you guys cuz I can't update 100%. The service kit is only $27 from mitsu and I'm sure it will work cuz my clutch kept jumping. The issue is I pried on the clutch to take it out and warped it. If anyone is going to try the same just remove the cooler next to the compressor for more space and remove the 14mm nut then rock the clutch side to side because it's splined. WD40 might be needed.

Just tried this method on my 03 Evo 8 with 130k and it spun right up See video below!
But when I turn off the car or the a/c, it doesn't spin back up unless I tap it again. Going to try to just lube the clutch with some wd and go from there. Almost like it's getting stuck.
Also, notice the slight hissing noise right after I tap it and it starts to go. Any thoughts on this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akAwPaRGf1k

WARNING: Do not remove any snap rings with fully charged system!!!!!

no luck on the brake cleaner then pb blaster.. still wont spin up on it's own.
tried charging the system again (accidentally over charged first and the clutch spun quite slowly) and then let out enough to be charged and the clutch wouldn't engage without a tap.. i gotta think its a seizing/stuck issue, any ideas? self-locking nut removal is next on the list to see if anything is back there.

Went to autozone as I don't have calipers to measure if the air gap of the clutch is within the standard value. Looks like my gap is at 0.038" which is definitely outside of the 0.012 − 0.020" range.
Going to pull off the self-locking nut (14mm) and see if there is a shim in there that I can take out to bring the gap down to the 0.012 − 0.020" range.

On my car I have 53k miles... I rarely use the AC...
this probably shouldn't be so common, IMO its obviously a parts/design issue with the clutch.

^^ You might be correct. I was trying to find a TSB or a recall but no dice.

Sorry for the late reply. working on my other car (hybrid 72z) ac

My 04 evo has 81k miles on it, I run the AC all the time; living on the Gulf Coast, and now moved to TX.

I checked my airgap, and it is on the tight side after removing the shim. I have ordered the shim kit, and will be fixing it asap. The AC is still running, but it is slightly out of spec on the tight side.

You can remove the clutch without having to move the pulley. Just be carefull and patient. Mine took a little persuation, but it came out and went in easily.

Mine is acting up again, where it spins when I tap it, and sometimes comes on, but then it will just disengage, and stay that way. I will have to measure the air gap, and see where it is from there.

As for the removal of it, you can leave the pulley on, and just pull the clutch out from inside? If so, that is great. Do you need a special tool to hold it while you remove the 14mm?

Once the 14mm is off, what is the best technique for pulling it off.

Thanks guys!

-Mark