Toyota Repair: Camry A/C, magnetic clutch, bearing plate

Question
My '94 4-cyl wagon's A/C switch light flashes shortly after turning on. This problem started last year and would only occur infrequently, now it only works infrequently and only shortly. When I can get the compressor to engage, the clutch pulley is cocked-eyed. It also has excessive play when stopped. The sight glass is OK, bubbles at first then clear and clear after compressor is off. I could not tell which probes on the square connector to apply power to in order to test either the magnetic clutch sensor or the pressure sensor! My mechanic wants to install an entire new compressor with clutch, since the labor to repair only the clutch approaches the cost of a rebuilt compressor!

Answer
In this case I woul agree with the mechanic you are dealing with, in most cases it's not the clutch that has failed it's the bearing in the clutch that causes the front bearing plate of the compressor to be damaged, my advice is to have the compressor/clutch replaced and the receiver drier as well, it's the a/c systems filter and is a good idea to replace it whenever a compressor is replaced.