If the clutch assembly moves the end of the compressor then you are one step in the proper direction....

yep

I just noticed you are from Minn. Who needs a/c in Minn this time of year?

__________________
Jim

Well I took about a 45 mn trip this morning and then it took a bit longer to get back. i turned off the heat! Hadn't done that in a LONG time....

I want to look into it before it gets hot! So my young son doesn't roast in the back seat.

Okay, back to the front.

I started the car and hot wired the compressor. IT SPUN!! That is good...

What do I need to check do next?

Leathermang, you were helping me out quite nicely before, so if you could continue that would be great. Or I will gladly accept anyone elses advice!

oK. let me review what is going on..have we asked you what tools you have ?
and what kind of instruction manuals ?
AC is really something where on the forum people are not able to put in all the proper safety warnings....

OK.. I think the pressure switch is the only one you have to jump on the Rec/Dryer..
Did you have the guages hooked up when you started the car ? What did they say ?
You have to look at the way those gauges work.... they have two closed positions each..
Did you get any squealing ... any unusual vibrations ... feel of the outside of the compressor....

I did not hook the gauges up today, but when I did last week they read 0. They were both fully open. SHould I have them hooked up while jumping the compressor?

There were no unusual noises when the compressor was spinning.

I have the factory service CDs. Just sometimes it is better to ask here, sometimes I can't find where everything and what everything is!

I'm pretty good around the car, have done all my maintainence, just never have worked on A/C before. I have a vacuum pump that runs off the air compressor and have a set of manifold gauges.

The vacuum that runs off an air compressor is not suitable for this job.

You need to check for leaks before you put refrigerant into the system.
The best way is to borrow or rent a Nitrogen bottle and get four ounces of R22...
You will need some way to detect that R22 as it leaks out..then you will need to fix those leaks...
Can you check with the PO and see if you can get more information ?
Have you checked the fuses for the fan inside the car ?
Are all your knobs turned towards COLD , Max AC, etc ?

Here is some good general information ....

http://www.epa.gov/ozone/title6/609/recharge.html

I can contact the PO but when I bought the car almost exactly a year ago he told me in the time he owned it the A/C never worked and he never looked into it. I think he owned it for 2 years which would put the A/C not working back to 2004. The R134a sticker is dated 2000 or 2001, I 'll have to recheck.

I know the compressor pump can't pull the full vacuum but I thought I read on here that it was adequate and that others had used.

I do have the knobs on air and max. Last year I had some issues with the ACC so I purchased another and it has worked well. I don't recall specifically if I tried the A/C with the ACC last year but I definitely tried it this year while it was 40-50F outside just to check it!

Fuses inside the car? Not the fuse panel? Like the strip fuse on the blower? The blower works for heat, so I would assume it works for A/C??

I'm assuming a Nitrogen bottle rental would occur at an A/C shop? or autoparts store?

You also said your system has not been used for at least 2 years and it would not be unreasonable that rubber O rings would be dried out and leaks would occur from those. This is an inexpensive fix and I would recommend replacing these BEFORE charging the system with anything. These are not expensive, but you would have to remove any hoses connected to parts of the system to get to them. They are not hard to replace, but it could be a little time consuming and the effort is well worth it. There is a very good chance that if the system has not worked for awhile, it's because it won't hold refrigerant without leaking from somewhere.

I thought perhaps he could describe the symptoms at the time it stopped working..

You should be able to rent a nitrogen bottle ... typically at a regular Welding Gas place.. I bought my bottle last year.. not too expensive ...

"I know the compressor pump can't pull the full vacuum but I thought I read on here that it was adequate and that others had used."

You might need to do more reading about the theory of the AC system... and the effects of moisture in the system... If you cut corners on the AC system you are way too likely to have to do it all over again too soon... properly done it has the possibility to last 8-10 years with only the addition of an ounce or two every couple of years to keep it going..otherwise you risk have a black death a year from now and having a much bigger problem to deal with... A great vacuum pull is essential to any possibility of a good fix...
It is your car so you can do whatever you want to.

A good vacuum pull here is a must! Do NOT skip this procedure at any costs!Moisture in the system will turn R134A corrosive and breathing this stuff will cause brain damage or even death at 4 parts per million and it has no odor at this concentration. Corrosion can eat away at the aluminum in your system, including the evaporator and this gas venting into the car would be lethal!

I'm not trying to scare you out of servicing your system here, but this is not an area where you should be taking any shortcuts. You want to really consider replacing the receiver/drier if your going to use R134A if that is what your AC compressor is designed for.

The rule is always that if the system is opened up the Rec/Dryer must be replaced..
once moisture gets caught in there it can not be gotten out by later vacuuming...