air compressor squeaking

[bigsheldy]

There's a squeaking sound coming from my air compressor whenever the engine is on. If I turn the a/c on it blows cold and works fine, but when I accelerate it pulls on the car (I thought it was tire roll at first). It looks like the pulley is going to freeze. Is there any way to replace just the pulley, or do I have to replace the entire compressor?

 

[BobHyatt]

If you can find an A/C clutch, you can replace just that. Expect to pay about 100 bucks. A new compressor at advanced for a 2000 was just 166, which is a better deal if you can evacuate and recharge yourself... The clutch is not hard to put on, but it takes a little time and shimming the air gap has to be done right.

 

[fudleyd]

The AC clutch went out on my car about 5yrs ago and it would cause the car to "buck" when I accelerated and was especially noticeable on the highway at speed. The air blew cold and it squeeked just like yours. I lucked out though as it happened 2 weeks (!) before my warranty expired. If I remember correctly the invoice was around $400-450.

 

[bigsheldy]

If you can find an A/C clutch, you can replace just that. Expect to pay about 100 bucks. A new compressor at advanced for a 2000 was just 166, which is a better deal if you can evacuate and recharge yourself... The clutch is not hard to put on, but it takes a little time and shimming the air gap has to be done right.

Do you have a link to a how to for the clutch? The ol' Haynes manual conviniently says take it to a shop. Also, is there anywhere online that sells this kind of thing? My local Autozone doesn't have it in stock and they said it was like $135 even if they ordered it. It seems like an a/c clutch would be cheaper.