Ac compressor stuck when engaged

I just I purchased a 2002 Ford Taurus with dohc 3.0 L. AC was not working, try to charge the system and immediately things started to work as they should. Then I noticed that the pulley on the compressor is intermittently getting stuck and the belt is burning as it goes around it. I cannot afford to have the AC compressor replaced. I was thinking of doing it myself but it seems like a real pain in the ass to get it out of the car.

is there any way to attempt to clean or adjust the clutch or whatever may be wrong? Local garage said that he would bet that if I turn the Triangular part that’s on the outside of the pulley that it would be stuck or hard to turn but it is not stuck and turns it very easily.

If anyone has any advice please let me know thank you

For now I’d say remove the belt, if the compressor is the only component that needs to be driven by it.

It sounds like the compressor is going thru black death.

You can’t just remove the compressor belt. Because Ford didn’t sell a Taurus with out AC. There is no belt listed that can be installed.

So if you remove the compressor, it has to be replaced with a by-pass pulley in order to install a serpentine belt.

Tester

5 Likes

The compressor is lunched. It’s 18 years old and odds are leaks over the years have taken most of the refrigerant oil out along with the refrigerant.

2 Likes

You replace the ac compressor

or you stop driving the car

There are no other options

On this particular model, you WILL lose the belt when the ac compressor fails catastrophically, which means you’ve also lost power steering, the alternator and the water pump . . . and that last one could result in engine damage

If you replace the compressor, you also flush the hoses/evaporator and replace these components.

Because, not doing so destroys the new compressor.

Tester

3 Likes

You need a new A/C compressor… There are no other alternatives besides a used one…and that is not a good idea at all to be honest.

Compressors dont cost that much for your vehicle via the internet. Then you would need to install it…and THEN…the system needs to be purged and charged…and a new dryer installed.

In fact you need to have the system looked at by a pro because installing a new compressor onto a contaminated “system” will destroy the compressor…and or the A/C will not function for various other reasons like a clogged orifice tube etc…

You have a somewhat expensive problem on your hands if you want to resolve it in any manner that will make A/C reliably for years after the repair. If you do it yourself, cut corners etc…it can cause the early failure of the new compressor and I am not just “saying that” to bum you out.