So I'm driving along today and the hood starts smoking, get out of the truck and go see that the tension belt had completely broken off the tension pulley. Get it towed to the mechanic and they said that the AC compressor had siezed, causing some problem with the belt.

Now I'm looking at around $800 for the total because I need a new AC compressor and tension belt anyways the guy said that he's not sure what's in the unit other than refrigerant and if there's sealer in there it could mess up his machine so he's gonna manually evac and recharge. He siad that there's no guarantee that I'll have AC tho wtf? Seems to me if I had AC before and they're replacing hte compressor and recharging it, it should work right???

Thoughts would be GREATLY appreciated. I know you're not looking at the vehicle so it's hard to make concrete judgements but insight would be great cuz I don't know a lot about automobiles.

 

Have him flush the system and replace the drier along with the compressor. If he knows what he is doing, he should have never said that there is no guarantee that the A/C system will work. If it worked before, there is no reason that it should not work again. Make sure he replaces the drier!!

 

+1 if it doesnt work when you get it back make him fix it, if it worked before it WILL WORK AFTER. PERIOD!!!!!!

 

I corrected my dong to doing...LOL

 

Pete, we REALLY don't want to be discussing your dong. Thanks for changing it. LOL

IndyD

 

lol @ the dong talk

anyways, thanks for posting I figured I'd just update with what happened.... the AC compressor siezed up in turn causing a problem wit hteh tension pulley and the timing belt... the timing belt burned/melted off and caused all the smoking under the hood which in turn caused me to pull over with smoke pouring into the car and through the hood.

With all said and done they did get everything working properly (which I woulda been pretty bullsh** if they didn't) the AC is working, compressor, pulley, and timing belt all replaced for a grand bend over total of $800. After I swiped my card I started thinking about how I should've went to a trade school lol

 

Just for future reference, the timing belt that you talked about is called a serpentine belt. You have a timing chain in your vehicle unless it is a 4 cylinder.

 

What is the drier that people are referring to? The AC was working for about a week and now it's blowing room temp air again. It had been working properly prior to getting the AC compressor replaced and I'm going to take it back to them and see wtf is going on. Not too happy that I spent hundreds of dollars and the AC isn't working again.

 

The drier is a round cylinder shaped object that is on your A/C Lines. It helps in removing moisture from your A/C System. It can become clogged with debris coming from your A/C compressor before it finally seized. The Drier should always be replaced when replacing the compressor because of this. Any A/C Technician knows this and that is where the difference lie between a Mechanic and a person who knows A/C work. It is just normal protocol and most Auto Parts places will not warranty a compressor they sell unless you also buy the drier with it.