Pump / Compressor - grinding sound / smoke?

[Bee-Rad '92]

So after the torrential rain the last couple of weeks, there's been a kind of grinding sound under the hood, like bad bearings. It's gotten worse over time, and sometimes it gets extremely loud, others almost quiet.

So the last couple of days it's started to smoke, and I still haven't noticed a difference in how the car runs. The power steering is a little finicky now especially when cold, but I think that's a coincidence as I think the pump is higher.

I have no idea what the thing is, so I've included a picture. I think it's related to the AC because it seems that the hose for it comes out of it. Can anyone identify it? It's the one way on the bottom (picture is from under the car on the passenger side.)

What is it, and what'll happen if I keep running it like that?

[01blackG]

Thats the AC pump. If you say it is smoking it sounds like the bearings or something might have gone bad in it. If thats the case you need to replace it or find a smaller belt so you can skip using it all together.

[DTP]

That's your compressor... It's not vital to your car, but if it locks up you'll have to replace a bunch (condensor, etc). Might be the clutch.

Get it checked out.

[mko]

shit i thought my car was leaking oil. You got quite a few oil leaks there, you should get them fixed too

It sounds like the AC compressor bearings are shot and they may seize up eventually. The smoke could be from the actual bearing or the belt spinning inside the pulley. You can see a fluid leaking out of it which im not sure exactly what it is.

Do you see how the AC pulley is rusted - thats from overheating and then being exposed to air, a typical heat damage on steel parts.

Get the AC compressor replaced or get a shorter belt as mentioned above.

[Bee-Rad '92]

Well on Friday the car stopped while I was driving, and wouldn't restart. I needed a jump to restart it and when it did, a horrible screeching sound came and more white smoke. Then it stopped and I realized the belt snapped because the compressor seized. My power steering was gone so I had a shorter belt put in and bypassed the AC (which didn't work anyway i believe.)

Thanks for your help though :) I thought the oil leaks were just buildup from all the years and miles on the car, but I'll try getting them checked out.

[TownCarTechi]

Using the search function and pulling up this old thread, my daughter's 99 Galant ES has this same issue. Does anyone know the correct belt length or ID to bypass the AC unit? I verified today by loosening the standard belt and rotating the AC compressor pulley by hand that it is the source of the noise.

[oakrdrs187]

Best bet is to get a piece of string and go around the pump, crank and tensioner with half the tension so you have leeway. Take you measurement down to your local auto part store and request a belt of that approximate length.

[TownCarTechi]

Thanks, oakrdrs187. I was able to bunch together the standard length belt outside the ac pulley and determined that the smaller belt needed to be around 10" shorter. However, at O'Reillys, they pulled up the belt for the car w/o AC and it fit just fine. I do have a question about the ac pulley, can it be removed from the compressor while on the car? I counted at least six bolts holding the pulley frame to the compressor. I also elected to pull apart the ac electrical connection since the pulley is now unpowered. Unfortunately, I can't post a pic at the moment.

[oakrdrs187]

Removing the bolts will remove the entire clutch. Freon will escape. There is an o-ring on the clutch that will most likely never seal properly again.

What I would do is:

Have the system evacuated by a shop.

Remove the compressor from the car. Be sure to cover the lines with bag or towel to avoid contamination.

Go to a pick and pull and get a compresser from an Eclipse or Galant. Since 99 galant compressors are tougher to find I would look for a newer one. Remember newer compressors will work off the 2000 to 2003 4 cylinder galants and eclipses you just need to get the mounting bracket from the donor car.
Avoid the core charge by having your old part handy.

Install your new compressor and have the shop refill your system.