AC compressor broke clutch bolt trying to turn it

My AC clutch melted down, stunk and stopped working. It smelled like burning rubber according to my daughter. So my AC no longer works.

To try to diagnose it, I removed the belt and tried to turn it clockwise with the bolt. The compressor turned but not easily. After a couple of turns with my ratchet the clutch bolt snapped.

Question: Should the AC compressor have turned easier than that and that both not have snapped?

So now I have a great running Jeep with no AC.

Next Question: For those of you who have bypassed your compressor does your defrost still work OK in the winter?

I will probably replace everything eventually. But would like to take my time.

The defrost will still work but demisting will be much slower without the drying effect of the ac.
I'd guess that the compressor has failed.

It does sound like the AC may have failed internally … if so it will have sent metal particles down the line and you will need to clean and flush the entire system, including the condensor, and also replace parts like the orfice line and the dryer/accumulator amd, of course, the compressor.

So it looks like I got 7 years from the last AC kit I installed. From the factory AC lasted 10-11. Time to do it again.

The kit was installed by me, so I could be part the blame for it lasting 7 years.