Cheap AC Bypass **PICTURE**

[deliciousdaly]

What events led up to it breaking? My ac has been having some problems

 

[Akedos]

My AC just seized up on me, when that happened it caused my water pump pulley to seize up and snap off. The event leading up to it was a horrible noise. The event following it was an immediate loss of coolant, lol.

 

[mikeandamy]

this worked for me. my ac pulley seized up. made a terrible noise for 2 days then broke the serp belt. pulled the ac pulley off (which was a major pain in the a$$) but the routing worked great with the 82.5" belt.thanks for all the info guys, everyone was a real help. love all the info and pictures.

 

[rider75]

Dude, thanks for the pic. My local parts guys (primarily ag and industrial store) gave a blank look when I asked if there was a shorter belt to do just that. I ended up buying a used compressor and robbing the clutch off it to make our vacation last year. Now I'm fixing up our 2003 Liberty's issues so I can sell or trade her for a pickup and as I was pulling off the ramps from installing a new muffler, the used A./C clutch smoked. I need it running this weekend so I can hook onto the trailer to haul some new blocking for our mobile home in town and your shorter belt pic saved the day. Jeepsters are the nicest folks!
Brent aka rider75 in northern Alberta where four wheel drive is a way of life, not a button on the dash!

 

[cwebbyrun]

Looks like you did this:

You must be registered for see images

Which I got from this thread:

AC Compressor Bypass?


I saw that and thought it could work too, and easier as you say! But there was no mention of a belt size. Given what I went through with the belts, I could have just gone to the store and tried belts until I got it right anyways!

Edit to add, do you know how long that belt is?

I just did this repair to my 2006 Jeep Liberty 3.7. The belt that worked for me was a DAYCO 6 ply 5060710. Worked perfect so far!!!!

 

[Akedos]

I used an 82.5 inch belt when I did mine according to my old posts. That should be semi helpful in the future.

 

[Daves TJ]

eace:

Recently my AC clutch seized up on me and I figured out a new route for the serpentine belt.
If your freezes up and you can't afford to get it fixed...use these instructions on this link to get your pulley and clutch off. I didn't have the pulley puller so i used a pry bar, hammer, a bit leverage, and lots of redbull.

Sparky's Answers: 2002 Jeep Liberty Intermitent A/C Cooling

The belt you will need is a 6-rib 82.5 inch length. $28ish=D>

The attached picture shows the new route. I checked, and everything turns the right direction and I even did a 35 mile round trip right afterwards with no problems. You could probably use up to an 83.5 inch length because my tensioner pulley is at about 75% capacity....it should stretch out a little bit though. =D>

 

[Daves TJ]

82.5 inch belt works perfectly, lots of room for tension-er to do its thing. I would say about 15 to 20%, instead of your 75%.
Thank you very much, at least I bought myself some time before Hot Texas days.

 

[Austerity]

A/C was made for Georgia summers. Reminds me I need a recharge. Its not as cold as I think it ought to be.

Ry just doesnt get to use his enough up in British Columbia.

I'll jump off topic for a second being going on topic. To the person that said a man doesn't need ac, I challenge you to get into my jeep in 120 degree Georgia weather with 100% humidity when it has been sitting for a few hours and simply roll the windows down and ride without the ac..


On topic: This thread is great info for a problem I eventually will run into, maybe I can get mine back on the road faster because I doubt I will have money for a compressor laying around.

 

[501]

I'll jump off topic for a second being going on topic. To the person that said a man doesn't need ac, I challenge you to get into my jeep in 120 degree Georgia weather with 100% humidity when it has been sitting for a few hours and simply roll the windows down and ride without the ac..

I lived in Atlanta, GA., ***** Gorda, Fl., Huntsville, Al., and Topeka, Ks and never used AC matter of fact most of my cars never had AC until recently.

 

[Shima]

I found this post very helpful recently. The pictures and advice worked great. I did end up pulling the compressor completely as it's toast, luckily I caught it before it ceased up. I have an 03 Libby and used the 82.5 in belt. I had to cross match it for the non AC wrangler 02-07 I believe, since the guy at Autozone couldn't look up belts by size and the part numbers I found were wrong. In any event I am driving again.

Also, does anyone know if a knocking/ticking sound that seems to be coming from the front passenger side of the engine is something to be concerned about? I have 161,000 miles and it's gradually become a bit louder. It burns about a qt of oil per 3000 mile change. From what I've read online there isn't one main cause (pretty much with most engines), but some mentioned values or maybe lifters. Maybe it will go another 50,000 like this, but who knows. Finally, would it be worth rebuilding and what good shops or companies are out there for this type of work? I hate to see the paid off Libby go, and it's a blast to drive and has been mechanically sound since I bought it with 81,000 on it.

Thanks!!

 

[jkrueger]

For what it's worth for anyone else looking into doing this...

My wife drives a 2003 Liberty 3.4L. The A/C bearing failed providing us with an AWFUL smell. I pulled the clutch and the pulley -- the bearing was clearly destroyed. Trying to remove the bearing myself, I destroyed it further and now the outer race is totally stuck in the pulley. I brought the pulley to three shops in town and nobody would press the outer race, one shop even said it looked like it fused right to the pulley. I bit the bullet and bought a new clutch/pulley(w/pressed bearing)/coil assembly from Amazon for about $120 shipped. (In case you are able to press out your bearing, Autozone via eBay has the right one in stock and I was able to pick up in store -- but I had to end up returning it anyway due to the seized outer race)

It's going to take 7-10 days to get here and I can't leave the Jeep where it is (moving in the next week) so I also have to buy a belt to bypass the A/C clutch so that I can move the car around and bring a few boxes out to storage...

I want to report that for this model, the 82.5" belt is definitely TOO SHORT. I maxed out the tensioner and couldn't get this thing on. I'm going back to Advance Auto to swap out the 825k6 (82.5", 6 rib) for the 835k6 which, incidentally, is $5 cheaper anyway.

 

[Bosco]

I have been meaning to register on here for ages and this thread finally made me pull the trigger. My A/C comp is on the way out and I just wanted to thank you for posting this as a alternative. I will at least be able to drive with no issues until I get a replacement! Thanks again

 

[jkrueger]

Update

So the 83.5" belt magically became $2 MORE expensive by the time I got to Advance Auto Parts, but whatever - I got it home and it fit no problem. I can now use the Liberty until the new clutch arrives! Exactly what I need.

Of course, because it has no A/C, the wife's Liberty now becomes *my* car and she gets my 4Runner (with A/C) until I'm done with the fix... :shrug::whip:

 

[JeepMama]

thanks for this post!

My old man drives an 08 Jeep Liberty and the ac clutch is shot. I bought an 83" belt and it fit PERFECTLY. I just followed your rerouting photo, and rented a tension bar thingamajig. Can't thank you enough, saved me $450 at the shop.
Thank you thank you thank you

 

[Jham80]

gijoe, I know this is now a super old thread but thank you so much for sharing your fix. I just did exactly this to my 2006 because my AC pulley was starting to sound like a train rolling down the rails. Aside from being no longer worried if I'll make it to work every day, it's far less embarrassing at stop lights. Thank you.

 

[question]

Thanks Jham80, I'll be doing this to my '06 soon. Did you also use a 82.5 belt?

 

[4x4LYFE]

Just signed up to update this post it was very helpful to me! I have a 2008 (KK) and couldn't find specific threads for the KK so anyone reading this I can confirm this works on the second gen also. My symptoms were intermittent A/C, squealing from A/C pulley, and later pulley wobbling and a bad burnt smell. I pulled the whole compressor as it had failed internally so had to be replaced anyways. 3 bolts and it came out super easy with a small pry bar. Plugged up the hard lines with some rubber A/C stoppers and wrapped them up away from the belt. Can drive the Liberty now while waiting for a compressor.

I used Duralast 827K6 from AutoZone $27.99

Tensioner slack bolt was 15mm
(3x) Compressor mount bolts were (2x) 15mm and (1x) 13mm
A/C Hard Line bolts were 13mm


Pics of my bypass job and the routing from OP I used

 

[Blazerking04]

If you have a 2010 or newer jeep liberty you will need a 835k6 belt and you must remove the a/c compressor or just the clutch for the belt to fit and not rub. The picture will show you the new rooting path for the belt

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[Cringer69]

GIJoe,

I see that this post is a year old, but the AC Comp just seized up on my '02 Liberty 2WD Sport. I just want to be sure on the belt size... it sounds like 82.5" worked for you, but was your Liberty an '02?

Thanks,

David

I used a 83.5 and it worked just fine