I've got a squealing/screeching noise that only happens when the AC is turned on. As soon as I turn if off the noise goes away. With the ac on the noise does change with changes in rpm.

I'm wondering if it could be the clutch bearing which I can get on ebay. I'm strapped for cash right now and don't want to buy the whole clutch if I can avoid it. Is it the bearing that goes out or is it the whole clutch?

Thanks

 

What is the condition of your belts ? check those too.

 

From what I can see the belt looks ok. I plan on seeing how the tension is tonight. Although the car is 9yrs old it only has 51k on it and it has had a UDP for over 45K.

 

should be just the bearing

I have the same problem, but it's not too bad yet.

 

It wasn't the bearing. But I'm only out the cost of the bearing and new belts, I figured while I was down there I'd replace them.

I'll post the fix so it will hopefully help someone else.

After getting the belts off I found that the bearing was still good. (Confirmed it when I pulled the pulley.) So I decided to take it apart anyway to see if I could find the problem. I found a thread in the 4th gen forum here that had some good pointers. .
There is a single bolt that holds the clutch on the pulley. To remove it I used a long flat head screw driver to hold the clutch in place while I loosened the bolt. Once it's out I simply pulled the clutch off by hand. It came off pretty easily. If it doesn't want to move you will need a special puller. It's referenced in the post I linked above.
Upon removal I could see the source of the noise.There was a good bit of material transfer from the clutch to the pulley plate & vise versa. Looking at the clutch plate I could see there was plenty of life left to it so I pulled the pulley and brought them both inside. Using coarse emery paper I smoothed out both of the facing surfaces being careful not to over do it. I just wanted to clean them up but try to keep them as flat as possible. You don't want to make low spots and affect the contact area. Once I felt they were as good as they were going to get I went over them with 320 grit wet dry sand paper. Then I cleaned them in the sink to remove any residue and dried them and gave them a shot of brake cleaner.

Before reassembly I took a clean shop rag and wiped down the field coil, there was a good bit of dirt on it, I also made sure the inside surface of the pulley was clean as well. I used a small piece of 2x4 and a hammer to tap the pulley back on then put everything back together. Then I started up the car and turned on the ac. What do you know, it was nice and quiet with cold air coming out very quickly. I turned it on and off several times and everything was normal. I don't know how long this will last but at least it's saving me some money now. If the noise comes back I will just order a new clutch. I also have the new bearing in case it goes bad (Ebay $22 delivered)

I would imagine this would be a common occurrence given the age of the car. I've seen were many people have been replacing components, either the pulley/clutch assembly or a whole new unit, with out looking into it further. I hope by posting this people will look at the clutch plate for transfer build up before dropping several hundred dollars into repairs,

 

I've recently began using the AC again on my 02 6 speed and am starting to get this high pitched squealing.

MaximaMan77, could you perhaps tell me if these symptoms are the same as what you had?

It only happens when I start from a stop but does not happen every time I start from a stop.
The squealing is extremely loud (as i you could probably hear it down the block).
As soon as it happens, I turn off the AC and the noise persists for maybe a second and then stops.
If i turn it on again while I'm already rolling, its fine.

It looks like if I've had the AC on for a while then it doesn't happen in stop and go at least from my 4 hours of driving stuck in traffic yesterday. The 3 or 4 times it has happened, (started a few days ago) it was usually after I've had the AC on for less than 5 minutes.

 

I am having the same issues as described above by Onoishnoodlez. I only hear the screaching sound when i start from a stop, but it has to be from several hours. Once my car has been running for a bit I have no issues. The sound only occurs when I turn the A/C on. Please someone with any advise help us. I have an '00 Nissan Maxima GLE.

 

hopefully maximaman lets us know if the symptoms are what he had. If not, maybe a new thread would be more appropriate

 

so update my A/c has quit working entirely now. blowing hot air.

 

The noise I was hearing was the worst at idle. It made no difference whether the AC was turned on at a high rpm or not. I do have a UDP so that may have made a difference in the pitch but it did it every time it was turned on, even if it was running for a half hour or more.

As far as hearing it down the street. Mine was loud but not that loud. Based on the appearance of the clutch it looked like there was quite a bit of slipping going on.

SubliminalSam, when you turn the AC on do you hear the clutch trying to engage?

The best I can offer you guys is to pull off the belt and spin the pulley. If it continues to spin and is nice and smooth with no gritty feeling to it when you turn it back and forth then the bearing is good. Now pull the pulley and look at the clutch surfaces. If there are streak marks with a good bit of pitting then it's been slipping. If you've got a relatively smooth surface with little to no pitting then its most likely the compressor.

 

Im having the same issue guys...any more info or fix ideas?