compressor seems to be howling, will I gum something up if I put a non a/c belt on and drive for a little while? or should I change comp or just clutch? 5.9 4x4

 

I can't see running a non A/C belt is going to cause any problems. Do you know what is howling? Is it inside the compressor or is it the clutch? I would just change the clutch if that is the issue. Not sure what you think would gum up.

 

What would you "gum up"?

 

If you bypass the compressor with the belt, I would also unplug the compressor clutch from the harness.

I recommend you watch the two videos by this poster on YouTube. Should help you understand the system as his failure sounds similar to yours! I like his channel and diagnostic reasoning. He's a normal guy who is down-to-Earth. He has made a good set of videos for our trucks.