Air Conditioner Pulley Burning Up the Serpentine

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My son sent me a video of his serpentine belt smoking on the AC pulley.

He had been running the defroster, which was probably engaging the AC pulley clutch.

I will see the vehicle tonight; maybe I can pull the electrical connector and the pulley will idle OK. Any thoughts?

 

[ltd02]

My son sent me a video of his serpentine belt smoking on the AC pulley.

He had been running the defroster, which was probably engaging the AC pulley clutch.

I will see the vehicle tonight; maybe I can pull the electrical connector and the pulley will idle OK. Any thoughts?

Could be a stuck compressor but I'd check the bearing in the pulley first. Have to remove the clutch from the front to see it. With the belt off spin the pulley and listen for noises and feel for bearing play. If the bearing failed it might cause the pulley to freeze and the belt to heat up too. Mine failed recently and the heat from the pulley melted the resin in the magnet. I just pressed in a new bearing. The old bearing was completely dry but didn't look bad from the front. You could hear and feel that the bearing was shot.

 

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The bearing seized up hard and it appears that the pulley is cocked at an angle, about to completely derail the serpentine belt. It seems to have caused the alternator to stop charging. The belt is smoking and smelling of hot rubber.

Will replacing the bearing fix this issue? How do you remove the bearing?

 

[ltd02]

Looks like the bearing was a bit worse than mine. Probably won't be able to tell until you remove the old one. You MAY be able to just press out the old bearing and press in a new one. I have a press in the garage. Just google AC bearing replacement and there are all sorts of different attempts. I used this one: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0049PI5W2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

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The double row bearing came out in pieces, the outer race still in the pulley. The electromagnet part of the clutch is definitely burnt. The part the is still attached to the compressor comes with a clutch kit. How to remove it? Do you think the compressor survived this heat event?

While in there, we are replacing the water pump. How to retain the pulley on the pump while breaking loose the nut that holds the mechanical fan clutch/fan? This Liberty has both an electric fan and a clutched mechanical fan.

 

[uss2defiant]

The double row bearing came out in pieces, the outer race still in the pulley. The electromagnet part of the clutch is definitely burnt. The part the is still attached to the compressor comes with a clutch kit. How to remove it? Do you think the compressor survived this heat event?

While in there, we are replacing the water pump. How to retain the pulley on the pump while breaking loose the nut that holds the mechanical fan clutch/fan? This Liberty has both an electric fan and a clutched mechanical fan.

Can't comment on the AC clutch since I haven't done that before.
I'm sure you can find a youtube video for that.

You'll need a clutch fan holding tool. I think autozone's new line of loaner tool may have one that works.
I jerry-rig with a coat hanger to immobilize the clutch fan.

While you're doing that, you might as well cut a notch at the bottom of the fan shroud so you can remove it in the future without needing to remove the clutch fan. Hopefully this is the same on the KK as this is what we do on the KJ.

 

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I did think about Autozone and called them earlier this morning. They have two loaners available; $20 refundable deposit.

On the KK, the fan shroud (with electric fan attached) can be lifted straight up between the radiator and the fan clutch.

I doubt the compressor seals survived the heat of this bearing seizing, with resulting belt friction. I think a new AC compressor is in order. I see several eBay sellers have them for $80-$90 (remanufactured).

 

[ltd02]

I doubt the compressor seals survived the heat of this bearing seizing, with resulting belt friction. I think a new AC compressor is in order. I see several eBay sellers have them for $80-$90 (remanufactured).

I'd try just replacing the clutch first. Like I said before, when my AC pulley bearing failed, I cooked my magnet to the point that the resin melted and was slung all over the area. I just put a new bearing in and all is fine with the compressor. You can get a kit with the pulley, clutch and magnet for a decent price and not have to mess with the freon fun of changing the compressor.

 

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We purchased a remanufactured pump on eBay; $80 with free shipping and no sales tax. Now, we need to borrow the vacuum pump from Autozone to evacuate the cooling system.