A/C compressor: Bad clutch/bearing

[zachkelly]

The clutch on mine has gone/going bad but it still works, however it makes a terrible grinding noise when its in operation, and it as just begun to squeak.
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I am deciding between purchasing a remanufactured/new compressor or should i just get a used one?
used are a hell of a lot cheaper, i just want to know if it will be worth it in the long run to get a new rather than replace the current with a used one and have it go out on me in a year or whatever...
thanks!

 

[RonJ]

FYI: It is also possible (though a bit tricky) to replace just the clutch and bearing without removing the compressor.

 

[immajackuup]

does it squeak while the a/c on or off? or squeak all the time?

 

[zachkelly]

thanks for the diagrams RonJ, that looks really complicated, however do you know if removing and replacing the unit is more or less difficult? I thought it would be something easy.. maybe not?

But it only squeaks initially when i first turn on the a/c. After about 10 seconds or so of it being really loud, it stops squeaking. The loud clutch/grinding noise is always present while the a/c is on, however not when I dont have it on.

 

[jdm jim]

sounds like the actual compressers bad

 

[RonJ]

The advantage of replacing the rotor pulley (where bearing is located) with the compressor still installed is that you won't have to have the refrigerant recovered prior to removing the compressor, the system evacuated and recharged, or the receiver/dryer replaced. All you really need to do the job the way I suggested is a gear puller and some time and patience. In the end, the job will also be much less expensive.