AC Compressor Clutch nightmare
 

hey all, well basically all of a sudden I heard a horrible grinding sound/smell of burning coming from in and around the belt/pulley area. At first I thought it was the alternator, replaced it, no dice, the noise was still there. I then jacked the car up and upon further inspection noticed that what maybe the AC clutch had slipped out of place it was not flush against the pulley it was about .5 inches off center, and instead of spinning along with the pulley its was stuck. So therefore the pulley is spinning the clutch isnt and is just grinding against the pulley of the AC compressor. I would rather not use and AC delete system but however change the Clutch, the compressor was working perfect until this occurred. Any reason why it happened? What can I do? Has anyone ever changed their AC clutch if so where can I get the parts. Thanks so much!!!

Aweful rattle AC compressor clutch?
 

Having a knarly rattle. Sounds like AC compressor clutch maybe? Anybody have an experience with this or similar? 1996 V6 3.8L

mine's rattling
 

My AC clutch sounds like its rattling. Not sure what to do with it or if clutch replace is easy. I did see an "ac delete pulley" on summit racing website, if you're going that way. I need to get my rattle fixed before it turns into blown compressor (hard to face triple digit Texas summer w/o ac!).

The compressor clutch requres a bunch of special tools to remove and install. The best bet is to let an AC shop handle the job, or take the whole assembly to a rebuild shop.

thanks.

Unless you know the compressor was new or near new then you're prolly better off just getting a new one. Ya they are pricey but it will save you the trouble of having to deal with it down the road. Just a thought.

same thing just happend to me and my 95z28 the comp was still under warrenty but under the old owners name thrust me i tried takin the clutch off and hell to the no. i ended up headin to autozone and getn a comp for 185 with a 3 year warrenty. just cuz my gf dont like the east texas heat. i roll 2 at 55 and it suits me just fine. but orileys might have a comp cheaper. or try a u pull it the go for around 50 to 75 but it aint worth it. it might work but probably wont.

Thanks
 

Thanks y'all. !85 isn't toooooo bad. I'll have to get help with the refrigerant, I guess. Any suggestions? I've heard changing the dryer is a good idea when breaking open the refrig system.

Even more important than changing the drier is to evacuate the system with a high vacuum pump and get all moisture out of the system. Moisture in the system can turn into ice and clog up passages.