A/C burning up serp belt

[Tonglebeak]

Well, my AC finally kicked the can. After 4 years of being noisy, it's now bad. When the AC is engaged, it makes a really bad clicking sound, brings the car to near-stall, and after popping the hood, I was greeted with smoke coming from the pulley.

So, it's either a bad pulley (which I can't imagine it being since it spins fine with the AC off), the clutch (but it does properly disengage when the AC is switched off), or the compressor (I guess this makes the most sense). Is it safe to assume the compressor itself is the culprit?

Note that I did not turn the AC back on to verify the pulley wasn't spinning: I'm not in the mood to have a belt snap in my face.

[Prospeeder]

Hmm So no noise or issue when the a/c is off, but noise and slipping belt when a/c on? Turn the engine off, and try to turn the "middle" of the compressor that will actually turn the internals, good ones spin with ease.

[Tonglebeak]

YOu mean turn the pulley? If not, then I don't understand.

[86euro]

Try to spin the center of the pulley. The part that looks like a triangle shaped plate with 3 little arms on it (usually). You probably won't be able to turn it because the compressor is locked up, but normally it would turn with a small amount of resistance.

[deathamatend]

How old is sepentine belt? Is tensioner arm and pulley nice and tight? No other serpentine belt components (power steering, water pump, altenator) are dragging? Are all the serpentine pulleys clean? no rubber or other debris in grooves? Is A/C output cold? Can you turn the center Hub by hand? (thing that turns with pulley when A/C is ON? The A/C pulley bearing can go quite a ways unless car is driven through water or a flood. One thing people don't realize is the oil in an A/C system needs to be replenished from time to time-especially if it leaks freon. That's where the greasy dirt accumilates. When Ihear a noisy commpressor it is almost always due to a lack of oil. Just think when you hear a noisy engine and it's low on oil.

[turbokinetic]

YOu mean turn the pulley? If not, then I don't understand.

Here is a clutch explanation, that may help!

http://68.209.87.173/Temp/Clutch.jpg

David

[TonyBuick]

becareful with that compressor. replace it asap. My compressor locked up and f*d up my harmonic balancer rubber. I didnt notice that until 2 weeks later when it started flopping around. Sounded like my car was gonna blow up
.

[Tonglebeak]

I've never recharged the system since I was always worrid about freezing my fingers off, but it blew cold. And it blows again. Letting it sit for a night, and it unseized and started to work again.

[Century7667]

I'm with Tony Buick on this one. Don't take a chance on a troublesome compressor. If they fail in a catastrophic way they can contaminate the rest of the system, making repair costs more costly because the system will have to be flushed free of metallic particles. Even then you'll never be sure they got it right, and if some contaminants remain, they will shorten the lifespan of the replacement compressor.

This is exactly what happened on my '84 Skyhawk. I the compressor had been replaced shortly before I bought it, but becuase I ignored the warning signs (or rather, I didn't know better), it seized. I got smart with the '96 Century, it start leaking when it was 12 years old, so I preemptively replaced the thing.

I hate it that they make it so hard to do your own A/C work. I'm movin' to Alabama!!

Ken T.

[Evenrude]

I don't mean to hijack this thread but I have a similer problem.
I only turned on my AC once just to see if it worked and it felt as if I turned on a jake brake. The AC blew cold but I could feel the car slow way down and after a few miles I could hear the belt start to slip, I turned it off.
I don't need my AC where I am at so it is no big deal but doesnt the compresser turn on when you use the defroster? That part seems to work fine.