Ok, I've read the stickies, I've done the searches and this is what I'm finding. The common A/C Pulley Bearing happens when the air is NOT on then goes away when the Air is turned on. I'm having the opposite problem. With the air off, no noise. Or if the air is in "econo" mode (because the clutch disengages). But with the Air on, I'm getting a horrible noise from the compressor area. Seems obvious it's the A/C Clutch.

These clutches are not listed anywhere, except from nissan for just a $100 under the price of a new compressor. Anyone have any ideas on this?

 

i had mine go bad.. had to make a trip the junk yard and get the whole thing.. its the bearing that fails and starts making noise...so you need the pulley and the clutch too

 

So the pulley bearing does make a noise when the A/C is on?

 

you will need to replace the clutch and compressor at once. My A/C does not work right now due a bad A/C clutch. autozone wants $250 for it all.

 

Clint,

Why the whole compressor?

 

When the cluth is engaged (on), the bearing inner and outer race are turning the same speed and will NOT make noise, however the cluth may be slipping and making noise itself. More likely the pump is toast and makes noise as soon as you turn the AC on.

 

Ugh...ok. I just replaced the low pressure hose and r/d. AC was running so good for about 2 months, now this. I'll have to do a flush after I remove the compressor then go at it again.

Anyway to test the clutch to see if that is the problem. Sure is a lot cheaper then replacing the compressor.

 

A real close visual inspection for boken pieces, junk caught in the clutch. google an image and compare. Clutches for the most part look the same. Broken pieces should be fairly obvious. Look for scraps of accessory belt in the clutch, althoug that would generally cause the pump to run all the time.
Y ou may be ablr to google some test procedures, although Im not entirely sure how to test for a bad clutch. Itd be hard to recreate the forces created when running the system.

 

Thanks for the follow up guys.
I'm going to measure the clutch plate gap and see what else may be noticeable. The car still blows cold, just that noise, which Clint said would probably just call for a whole replacement. I'm starting to think the same. Possibly, maybe I put too much oil when I recharged the system. Ugh...

 

Anyone aware of a way to verify the amount of oil in the A/C system? or should I just try vacuuming the whole system and recharging it and see if it makes a difference?

 

i got my a/c compressor at the junk yard for i think 30 bucks