I'm a newbie with an A/C question. After hearing my a/c compressor make all sorts of horrible grinding noises, it stop working before I had a chance to fix it. Basically when I tried to start the car it wouldn't turn over - the serpentine belt didn't move.
I remove the belt and all the pulley's turned except the a/c compressor. The front portion (clutch??) turned, but not the main pulley. I did notice some smoke coming from the compressor prior to it seizing up.
My question is has anyone ever tried to bypass the compressor with a shorter length serpentine belt? Does it still maintain enough contact with the water pump pulley to operate it correctly? It looks like it would be close.
I've heard of bypass compressor pulleys, but I don't know if they make one for my 96 3.1 GP?? Plus I wonder if it's worth putting one of those on, or just buy a remanufactured compressor from AutoZone for $245.00. My only problem is I've never replaced a compressor before. Plus I've heard you have to replace the "dryer - accumilator", which I'm sure cost a few bucks?
Can anyone help me find a step-by-step way of replacing the compressor? Do I need any special tools? What happens to the refridgerant when I disconnect the lines? Is that expensive to replace?
Thanks for any help anyone can give me!!!!!
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