Pulley Replacement 2012 Ram 1500 - Can't find any reasonable $$ parts

[kscott29]

Hey guys,

New member here. Came across the forum in my search to find some parts for a ram 1500 (without much success). Was curious if anyone might have some insight into replacing the pulley on a 2012 ram 1500 5.7l. The pulley on mine is making a wobble noise when engaged and when I pulled the serpentine belt off, the pulley itself has a 1-2mm slack/play. I guess I have two questions:

1. It would seem like an easy find, the pulley/bearing. But apart from a $200+ pulley directly from Mopar (mopar PN: 68050637AB), there's literally nothing out there that I can find. Not sure why they don't sell them separately. I replaced the clutch assembly and pulley on a 2005 Ram 1500 for $50 bucks and it was pretty straight forward so I figured it'd be similar. Anyone know if there's an aftermarket part that's not $200? I searched all the places I'd normally go.. oreilly, auto zone, rockauto, amazon, napa, ebay, etc.

2. Is the pulley on this particular compressor abnormally difficult to replace without special tools? Didn't find much on replacing it probably because the parts are so tough to find.

Thanks in advance.

[Tim]

Most aftermarket vendors can supply a complete compressor for what a clutch assembly costs.

https://ackits.net/product/14-0450new/

[kscott29]

Hey Tim,

That’s my issue exactly! I don’t need to replace the compressor, don’t have the proper tools to and don’t want to be in this for $700+ bucks when only the pulley bearing is starting to go. Ac blows cold and the compressor itself is fine.

I think what I might do if I can’t find the part is buy a used compressor with low miles on it and swap the pulley on it. Found one for 80$ with 20k miles on it from eBay.

Blows my mind that that’s the only option for under $100 bucks though!

[Cusser]

I was able to pull off the AC clutch off my Sanden compressor (1988 Mazda truck) without disconnecting/removing the compressor itself. Even practicing on a used compressor and borrowing AC puller tools from Autozone, I had to "engineer" some of my own pullers.

Apparently I cannot attach a PDF file here. Message me with your E-mail address if you want to see what I did on that, will then send a PDF file.