Ever since last fall, my air conditioner has been extremely noisy in a really grating way. It didn't bother me over the winter because I didn't use it much, but now it's getting hot again.

The noise wouldn't bother me so much, except that it also slows the engine down a ton. When the A/C turns on, the engine suddenly loses almost all its power, and takes a ton of extra gas to accel.

Question - Does this sound like a problem with the A/C compressor clutch? If I don't have to replace the whole compressor, is it possible to replace just the clutch while the compressor is still in the vehicle (without having to evacuate the system of freon)?

 

A clutch can slip but it cant make it draw more power. Sounds like your compressore is failing. Since the compressor is coming a part your going to need to flush out the high side, replace the dryer and orifice tube