What are consequences to Compressor pulley bearing failure?
 

Quick question - and yes, I did some searching first :-)

My car has a sometimes squealing, always noisy A/C pulley. I just replaced the alternator (had to bring it to the mechanic due to a compressor bolt that would not budge) and he brought it up again.

What are the consequences if I ignore it? Of course it will be noisy, but what happens when the bearing seizes? Is it just a matter of snapping your belt / being stranded, or is there risk of worse damage?

I am debating if I should bypass the compressor, but really don't want to lose my A/C unnecessarily, and given the miles on the car and that it resides in Boston don't think spending the $500+ on a compressor changeout is worth it.

If the consequences / failure mode is not a big deal I will probably just buy the 'bypass belt' from Napa, keep it in the trunk, and keep driving.

Thanks for the help

why would the compressor change out be 500+. I got a refurbished one for a heck of alot cheaper ( about 125-150) and installed it myself and then got the system recharged.

There is no problem if u bypass the compressor. jus wont have AC

I have hrd of ppl popping serpentine belts. THere is no issue if it pops. car jus wont run until u replace. It doesnt have anythin to do with the timing of the engine. U jus would prolly be runnin off the battery instead of alternator.

Hmm, cheapest I saw was about $250 shipped from Rock Auto. I read that you need to get a new drier as well, and while I can install it fine (now that all the bolts are recently cracked from replacing the alternator) I have never played around with refrigeration systems. Do I need to buy a drier as well? I am picturing the charge / refrigeration fill to cost me at least $100.

gotta drain refrigerant and thats supposed to be done by a professional. SOmething about not releasin refrigerant to the atmosphere being bad bs :yeahright

If you ignore the problem, the bearings would eventually seize which in turn will burst your belt but will also damage the pistons inside the compressor itself. With that in mind, it would force you to get a remanufactured one or follow the simple directions in the Stickies and replace the bearing yourself which is cheap. The only difficult part is removing the A/C Compressor clutch plate. If you have no splash shield and a lot of water has been getting to it, chances are that it is seized up and when you try to remove it, your clutch would be warped. Once it is warped, you cannot straighten it out and it is not sold separately.
Hope this makes you make the best decision. :D

My bearings seized and I was stuck in a parking lot, fortunately. I currently am bypassing the A/C using a smaller belt as I am waiting for a paycheck to put in a new clutch assembly.

It was 93 here in VA today and it was a miserable commute.

Man, you was roasting?? Its going to be 85 here in NYC tomorrow and my low compressor line broke off at the compressor and the stealership wants $108 for that piece ending at the refill part where it attaches.

check out this thread...
 

http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generation-maxima-1995-1999/379856-who-has-experience-ac-compressor-clutch.html

I drove over a flooded road and about a day or two after, I heard the squealing. I found the thread above and am in the middle of doing the job. The reason for my squealing was that water got into the A/C clutch assembly and into the bearing. This caused rust and then the bearing went and the result is/was the squealing. This issue is extensively described in the thread. I highly suggest you read the tread listed above, but pay close attention to their description of the symptoms. If you feel that their symptoms match yours, I can assure that you will no longer be looking for an answer to your problem because it will be the A/C compressor bearing.

I took their advice and got a belt that bypassed the A/C compressor (this was in late winter). Since it has been quite hot and humid, I decided to begin the project tonight. I was able to take the clutch assembly off and then I was able to pull the pulley/bearing off using a two prong puller. The clutch assemble was a pain, but I used info from another thread to do that. I took one of the bolts from the idler pulley assembly and placed it in one of the holes on the clutch wheel. I then positioned a long screw driver in between the body of the car and the screw. This allowed me to to stop the motion of the clutch wheel and loosen the center, 10mm bolt. I then used a flat head screw driver to carefully pry around the clutch wheel and it eventually came off. At this point, I could see the bearing (the culprit). The problem was there was a retaining pin holding the bearing around the center spindle. Since I didn't have a retaining clip tool, I used an awl and pryed one of the sides of the clip until it hung over the edge of the bearing. I was lucky and was able to flip it around the edge of the bearing without damaging it. I read another thread about someone who damaged this retaining ring and I can see why. I then removed the plastic fender cover (should have done this earlier) and turned the front wheels all the way to the right. This exposed the compressor pulley/bearing assembly. I hooked the prongs of a two-prong puller around the outer rim of the pulley wheel, attached a socket to the center nut and pulled the pulley wheel/bearing assembly of the center hub. The brainchild behind the thread listed above (skyjumper) mentioned that he was able to pry the pulley/bearing assembly off with his hands...I don't know how that happened! It would have been impossible to get off without the two-prong pulley.

So, I am now going to try to find a replacement bearing. I will check partsamerica.com and some other places. Once I buy the replacement, I will find a shop to extract the old one and press in the new one. I will go out on a limb and say the reassembly should be quite easy and then I won’t be sweating in this August type weather we are experiencing.

I have pictures of some of the techniques that I used, but I do not know how to post pics here and am not going to spend the time to find out, unless someone tells me how. If you provide me with an email address, I can send them to you.

-Chris

http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...g-failure.html I'll replace it for you but I'm in NJ, where you at?

i just replaced the compressor, drier and expansion valve, all for under 500 w/pag 46 oil and extra r134a

it can be done w/ patience and a set of gauges and info from the fsm

the compressor i got from advance auto had mounting bolts that were too short, and did not have studs, as is found on oem calsonic replacements. I got longer bolts and it worked out. the drier is buried, and the mounting flange rusted, but used zip ties to keep in place (i have a 99)

the expansion valve is buried behind the glove box, and there is a bracket that gets in the way. the good news is that its ok to ruin the plastic template and just secure the glove box in w/ what's left from the mounting frame (from experience)

all in all, there's enough support here on the .org if you search. compressors usually ship w/ oil already in, and use pag46 oil if you need to add for the drier. I got r134a /pag46 in a can from advance, w/the 2 oz I needed to add for the new drier.

after I finished, I got ~52 degrees at the vent at fan setting 4, and I'm a hack mechanic. spent 500 on a job that most places would have charged about 1300 plus.

I neeed to get my compressor replaced. like bad. It is getting real hot and it was 95 the other day and man. I don't even wanna go to the beach sometimes just for the traffic alone to Hampton is legit an hour long and sometimes your going 5-10mph. lol

Dryers are super cheep. Don't kno why ppl make a big deal of them. They are $14 on Rockauto and $50 at nissan if you want OEM. Most Decharges with a Charge can run in the $140s at most places like valvoline. Nissan does it for a raping $190.

when mine seized up it just snapped my belt and after a few mins. of driving the car died on me in the road. I had no idea what happend at the time but it started back up and I stuck a old belt on it to get it back home. Had to put a reman on but it's not cooling as good as it used to :(

So I have a question...

I too am one of the thousands that has a squeaky compressor bearing. However, because I live in Arizona, I have my AC on about 3/4ths of the year. When the A/C is on, the bearing is not being used correct? It's only when the A/C is off that you should hear the squeaking?

Anyways, I ask this because I've had it like this for over a year, and I'm trying to figure out if I can make it til the winter to change it out. A/C isn't exactly a want during the summer, it's a NEED :redbounce . So since I have the A/C on constantly, is it possible that the bearing will last longer than in most cases?

Same here. I live in North FL. usally between 80-90 everyday. Ive recently had the problem with the pulley. mine sounds more like loose marbles and it actually sounds better with the A/C running. I despite the heat I prefer not to use it and retain all my engines power.lol. If it werent for my wife I'd prop never turn it on but she whines. Anyway I would like to find a write up on how to swap the compressor. Im pretty confident that I could find one at the junkyard for a decent price and take my chances. I think they may go for under $100. Id like to swap it before it seizes. Is it not possible just to swap one in without scewing around with the drier and all that other stuff? other than the noise, my A/c works just fine so I dont see why Id have to replace anything else but the compressor or the pulley bearing?

Or is there a way to just swap the entire pulley assembly from another A/c? just thinking since I know the extent of my mechanical skills are good but Id rather take the easier route than screw it up.

It's just the pulley bearing that needs to be replaced. Pull the clutch, pull the bearing, replace and reassemble. You can do it while it's on the car and you do not have to discharge the system to replace the bearing.