AC pulley grinding

[xex]

This is in an 02 v6 cougar. I have searched a lot, but cant find an exact answer to my question.

Heard a strange noise form the engine bay today that sounded like it was coming from one of the serpentine belt pulleys. I took the belt off and the AC pulley makes a bad metal on metal grinding noise when spun by hand, it also sometimes binds up slightly.

If my AC pulley is sounding/feeling like it is, does that mean that it is just the pulley that needs replacing and not the compressor or anything else? If I can get the pulley off it as is, how can I tell if the compressor is dead or if its just the pulleys bearing? Anyone had any luck with *only* replacing the bearing?

Also the power steering pulley has a little in and out play. It is not like where a wheel bearing allows you to rock the wheel side to side, it is more like it pulls out and pushes in evenly on the top and bottom. I am just wondering what is too much play?

[skater]

AC clutch probably. That can usually be replaced without replacing the entire compressor, I think.

[PzKpfw_III]

AC clutch probably. That can usually be replaced without replacing the entire compressor, I think.

It can. My clutch had that problem so it would make a metal grinding/rattling sound. Eventually the material wore away and it doesn't make the sound anymore. Replacing it isn't the same as just replacing one of the other pulleys though. It requires a couple specialty tools to remove certain pieces and has to be assembled in a rather specific manner with very specific distances between parts.

[xex]

Well I am thinking of just getting a whole used compressor somewhere which should include all of that. Either that or one new for ~$200. I just need to figure out how to get rid of the r134a in there right now since driving it is not an option.

Any idea if the compressors and all from a 99/00 will fit on a 01/02?

I spent all night searching other sites as well, there is just not a ton of info out there other than "don't do it yourself" but its just to damn expensive at a shop. This car is falling apart I just need to fix this and then get rid of it.

[PzKpfw_III]

Well the reason is because it's a federal offense to work on an MVAC system without being certified and you can be fined over 20k and do some jail time. The only way to evac the system is with a vacuum pump into a certified storage container. Having a shop do that is a lot cheaper than buying one. If the a/c system works apart from the clutch/pulley then just replace those, but opening the system is a lot of trouble. Even if you ignore the proper procedure and just vent the refrigerant you still need to have a shop evac the reassembled system to remove air and moisture before new refrigerant and oil is added. If money is an issue the simplest thing is to buy a belt that doesn't go on the compressor.

Working on MVAC systems and doing a quality job is akin in difficulty to timing work.

[xex]

For individuals to work on their own car, it is not an offense. Now if I were working at a shop or even at home and charging people money to work on their systems yes that would be illegal without being certified. I have no plans on refilling the system myself, that I will take the car to a shop for. You can vacuum the system with a compressor and a tool that costs $15 though so its not that expensive. I just know that filling it is harder to get right without the proper tools and is best left to people with those tools.

Using a bypass pulley is not really an option out here in the desert. If I tried to sell a car without AC people would laugh at me and move on to the next car. Now I went to autozones site and it shows the same compressors for both an 02 and a 99 cougar, so I am going to assume they are interchangeable. Hopefully they are.

[PzKpfw_III]

For individuals to work on their own car, it is not an offense. Now if I were working at a shop or even at home and charging people money to work on their systems yes that would be illegal without being certified.

Okay, I am certified and I can tell you that's completely false. There might be some grey area where you can get away with recharging the system with r-134a, but if you do anything that opens the system you absolutely 100% need to be Section 609 certified. The government has no sympathy for a DIYer and the whole point of needing certification is to prevent DIYers from doing this.

[xex]

Open book test for epa 609 and it is only $20. No offense but open book tests for any certification means it's just about worthless. Even worse you can get certified online and just google every single answer. How that stops a person from doing a DIY I have no idea, being that its beyond cheap and basically means nothing.

I am going to junkyard later to remove an AC compressor from a car, they didn't have a problem with me doing that. If it were illegal you would think they would remove those type of things themselves.

[PzKpfw_III]

The point of the certification isn't to teach you some great skills since there's nothing like experience to learn. The point of it is to just to help you realize how much of a problem refrigerants are when vented into the atmosphere.

Any good yard drains all fluids and evacs the a/c system or just flat our removes the compressor.

[xex]

I understand the point of it, but it just seems stupid to me that they allow open book for it. Nobody learns from an open book test. I also know it ddoesnt teach you the skills to work on the system or even with a refrigerant really.

I agree a good yard SHOULD pull the compressor for you but this one wont. They couldn't even tell me if the system would still be charged or not.