> I think the clutch to my compressor has gone south. Here are the symptoms:
> The AC was cooling, then suddenly quit as if I turned it off. After I got
> off the highway, I opened the windows and I could smell fumes like a
> dragging brake. There was no squealing of a loose belt. After I parked the
> car I looked at the area around the compressor and saw a line of tar-like
> goo in plane with the rotation or the pulley. The belt was taut. To me
> that adds up to a blown pulley/compressor clutch. Am I right? Is there
> something else I should check or consider?
Start the engine, engage the A/C, and look at the compressor to see if the
center section of the pulley (the clutch) is turning. The "line of tar-like
goo" implies to me that the compressor has seized instead of the clutch failing.
On most cars (don't know about a 97 Breeze specifically), you can turn the
compressor over by hand with the engine not running, by turning the clutch (but
not the pulley).
But, even replacing a clutch generally requires special tools, and hence the
attention of a specialist. And it's actually against federal law to try to
replace a compressor without the proper refrigerant recovery machine.
Randall
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