Noisy A/C

[lowgear]

I mentioned this earlier this year re: my whiney A/C and the $1400 the dealership wanted to fix the problem.

A/C works but winter is coming. Can I short belt and skip the A/C pulley completely? Anyone done this and is there any issues in doing so?

[robaurora01]

someone has done it before but finding a belt is hard since no aurora never came without AC and also you risk the chance of seize your AC compressor but since the clutch kit is gone on it anyways theres not much risk there since it needs to be replaced anyways

[nelson480]

Noisy? Does it just sound like metal scraping when its off?

[RCA1186]

Sounds like mine when the clutch on it went out. Is it making the noise at all times or only when its on? If its only when it is on you could either pull the relay for the clutch coil or pull the plug on it and that way you could use your defrost without having to worry about it.

I was going to get a short belt to bypass it, Autozone told me that all I had to do was route some cord around the pullys the way that I wanted to do it and give them the length of the belt that I needed. That proved to be too much of a pain for me haha.

I'm almost certain that a member here has done it on the 4.0 1st gen before with success. They also make an a/c delete pulley that you can bolt in place of the compressor for the 4.6, might want to try and see if they make it for the 3.5.

[robaurora01]

they don't make it for the 3.5L however I just got to thinking did the intrigue with a 3.5L ever come without AC? if so then that might work to find the belt also

[RCA1186]

I'm trying to think of any modern car that comes without a/c

[RCA1186]

I'd say the autzone had the best idea, just run some twine or maybe the old belt (cut) around the pulleys the way you want it, mark it and measure the length and get the corresponding belt

[ntrenn]

I had this on Intrigue #2. Should be exactly the same on the Aurora 3.5.
Puller is about $20, or I'll loan you mine.
Bearing is AC Delco 15-2802. I got mine from Rockauto but found it with a cross reference. About $20.
Once you get the pulley off, you have to grind out the bearing stakes, then heat/freeze in the new one and restake it in place.
You're only out about $20 in parts, but it will take you 2-3 hours minimum.
Photo of my bearing....


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[robaurora01]

I thought the same but the AC compressor is different on the intrigue for some reason

[nelson480]

Oct 16, 2011 12:03:22 GMT -6 RCA1186 said:

I'm trying to think of any modern car that comes without a/c

Aveo

[RCA1186]

really?

[nelson480]

Yeah lol

[RCA1186]

no wonder they're so cheap

[ntrenn]

Pretty sure you'll find that the AC clutch assembly is the same as the LX5 in the Intrigue. Compressor is different probably due to port locations. Bearings in the catalogs cross reference to the same numbers.

IF you have a noisy AC, it is either because the pulley bearing is failed - relatively easy and inexpensive, OR the compressor is shot internally. The easy way to tell is to drop the belt and turn the compressor by hand by turning the clutch in the center of the pulley. If it feels like it's crunching Doritos inside when you turn the clutch, you're pretty toast. I spent $700 plus my time to replace my compressor. It was an internal failure of the drive mechanism.

If the pulley is gravelley when you turn it - it's the pulley bearing.

If your dealer is trying to roast you for $1400, it may still be just the pulley bearing and he's just trying to line his pockets.

My LX5 had a shot pulley bearing at 158,000 miles when I bought it. (to go along with shot idler pulleys)

Also, from the looks of the system, you should be able to bypass the AC compressor with about a 6" shorter belt, but if your pulley bearing is OK, just pull the AC clutch relay in the fuse center.

Some numbers for reference...
LX5 belt - 6 ribs .82 wide, 93.75 long
4.0 belt - 81.5 long
01 Bravada (4.3) - 87.0 long...hmmmm....

[nelson480]

It could be just the clutch rubbing the pulley too. Some compressors will do that even tho they are fine

[robaurora01]

I have a shot ac compressor that needs the clutch kit ( which they don't sell ) but it would be the bearing I could never find the part # so I just bought a used compressor that came with a warrenty ( came off a car with 30k on it )

[ntrenn]

I saved the clutch pieces off my 4.0 compressor in case somebody had a bearing/clutch failure. Yes - parts for the clutches tend to not be available separately. I reused the nasty clutch off the LX5 and it's fine...even with all the grooves in it.

[aurora2001tan]

I have a new bearing pressed into a FUBARED PULLY. Slight bend in it Bearing can be pressed out and used I suspect. It is new and worth 50 bucks.

I also have a good junk yard 4.0 Compressor that just needs a pully for sale.

[lowgear]

Update on the short belt...I measured with twine the difference between the existing routing (with the belt going around the alternator, idler pulley, back to the a/c) and the new routing (alternator, idler pulley, bypass a/c and to the crank pulley). Found the difference to be about 8". Bought a 84.5" belt and it fit perfectly.

But...

Just before I fired it up I noticed that the belt was sitting up against the block in the area between the idler pulley and the crank pulley. There isn't any clearance between the belt and the block in this area unfortunately. I could try and grind away the material but decided not to risk it. Shame that. Thought for sure it would work.

[buck91]

How severe is the interference with the block? Does it just rub or is it significant?

[kaytrox]

This is a definitive fix for the A/C bypass for a 3.5. I got the information from another website, and we just used this procedure to make the fix on my 2001. Forget strings and dummy pulleys, because you won't need anything else except the right belt. My Aurora is my daily driver, so I didn't have the time, nor the $27,358 to make the proper fix. Go to the parts store, and get yourself a readily-available Duralast belt: part number 695K6  The store we went to only had Gate's belts, but the cross-reference was easy. Then the belt gets configured like this. From the tensioner, down and under the crank. Up and over the water pump. Down and under the alternator, riding over the top of the guide pulley that is between the water pump and the alternator. Up and over the power steering pump, and turn the key and let it ride!  No mess, no fuss, no what ifs or maybes. 

[supersport]

I can verify that this did work, although, the belt seems to slip if the RPM's exceed 4k. This works nicely though since this is an old junker that I got for my son as his first car.