The bearing in my AC compressor died on me while plowing today. Can I install a non-AC serpentine belt on my 00' 3/4 ton to bypass the AC compressor temporarily?

Thanks,
Greg

 

You should be able to. What you can do is take a string, preferably one with no elasticity, and follow the route the belt will take w/out the ac. Tie it off then go to the parts store and have them measure it. I have found that you normally need one just a tad longer than the string to fit properly.

 

The non-AC belt seems to be a couple inches too big. Is there anyway to get the tensioner to pick up the extra travel?

According to this it should work:

 

Link don't work, but if you did the string test as suggested beforeinstead of buying the non AC belt, i think you would be just about set.

 

Here is the link: http://www.dsmloggers.com/greg/belt.JPG

I was told by the dealer it would work so I took their word for it, excellent.

 

I went through this on my 99. I think I still have the napa belt in the shed that doesnt go around the ac. The one for the truck with no ac will be too big. I will go look in a little bit and see if it's still there and get you the part #

 

PM indy ram man if he doesn't reply to this thread by the time you read this. I'm pretty sure he got a belt that bi passes his a/c because he wanted to cut it out for his track time.

 

I ran my truck like that for two years without any problems. It did take a while to find a suitable belt. I went a little narrower (5 cog instead of6)to get the best fit.

 

Thanks guys, I PM'd indyramman but if anyone happens to have a P/N please let me know.

 

I bypassed the AC and PS at the same time. If you want to bypass just the AC, I believe you have to remove the compressor. If anyone has done this and wants to chime in and correct me if Im wrong, go for it.