Its a 3.8L engine, and has only the single serpentine for all accesories. Guys at Autozone did not think the clutch assembly was rebuild-able, but were not certain. Sure would beat the $250-300 replacement.

 

So I just removed the enire compressor, and replaced it with one of those cheater idler pulleys. Everytihng is working great now (except no AC - which I won't be needing for about 7 months!)

Thanks for everyone's help - it was a good learning experience. Now, when I do get a new compressor, is it hard to charge it up with the refrigerant, or is this material only available to "licenced professionals"

Thanks again
js

 

You can get the refrigerant in cans at autozone or pep boys, wherever you prefer to go. Was the dummy pulley cheaper than getting a no-ac belt?

 

Thanks for the reply nofrag. The idler pulley put me back 38 bucks. The non-AC belt was about 29 bucks, but a special order at the 2 local parts stores. Guess I could have saved myself around 10 bucks if I was a little more patient!

Is recharging the AC a difficult thing to do, or does it involve special tools?

 

Did you physically remove the compressor from the vehicle?
If so the rest of the system needs to be sealed off.
Moisture will invade and ruin the receiver dryer.
What happened to the old refrigerant in the system? I hope you didn't release it to the atmosphere?
When you reinstall/replace the compressor you system needs to be evacuated and recharged by a professional.