looking for advice

[Neptune]

Hi all. I've been a long time lurker and decided to join.
My problem is with my 1996 Grand Am GT. It is making a squeal and light grinding sound from the pulley on the a.c. compressor. I was told it's the compressor clutch. It is powered by the serpentine belt. I just put a lot of money into the car and don't want another expensive repair bill. I think I'm going to simply have the compressor removed if that's even possible since the serpentine belt routes on it's pulley ( I think ). As a quick and simple solution, can you recommend any kind of lubricant that could penetrate and loosen whatever is grinding and squealing without damaging the nearby belts.

Thanks in advance.

p.s. car has the 3.1 v6 engine

 

[mechanicx]

Maybe your compressor clutch gap is off. There should be a slight gap or it can grind. You will need a clutch puller tool for a V5 compressor to pull the clutch outward some though. Sometimes you can do it without taking the compressor off the car.

 

[Cup of Joe]

You can try fluid film for a lubricant since it shows minimal natural rubber swelling. If you decided to remove the compressor you may be able to run a longer or shorter belt and bypass that pulley. A delete pulley if its available for a Grand Am is another option. Delete pulleys are bolt in pulleys that replace the component being deleted. I deleted the smog pump and AC compressor on a camaro. Both of those options are pretty standard for Camaros and Firebirds.

FYI the compressor clutch is $50 at http://www.gmpartsdirect.com/

 

[mechtech2]

A clutch spring may have puked. There may be rust or debris on the clutch faces. It's bearing may be faulty.

See if cycling it on/off a bunch of times helps. You can shoot WD40 in there also as a test or fixer. Keep any sauce off of the belt.

 

[Chris142]

If it's a bad clutch bearing you can replace or have a shop just replace the bearing pretty cheaply. But if you let it go too long and it ruins the nose of the compressor then you will need to replace the whole compressor.

 

[Neptune]

Thanks everyone for the good suggestions. Today I tried spraying some CRC Heavy Duty Silicone Multi-use Lubricant into the clutch bearing, but I can only get to it from above. There's not enough room to shoot directly into the bearing. I haven't tried from under as there is too much snow and I'm a wimp when it comes to being out in the cold.

Thanks again!

 

[mechtech2]

You are kidding yourself - you can't spray lube the bearing. What you want to do it spray the clutch faced surfaces to see if that is the problem.

 

[Neptune]

mechtech2,
Thanks. Whatever I was able to spray the other day must have seeped into an opening or something because the noise was noticeably quieter this evening. I'm definitely going to try to get underneath the car to get a better angle and spray some more of the same lubricant. Just got about another 4-6" of snow. That's on top of the 26" or so we already have.

 

[mechtech2]

OK.
Sounds like the clutch faces were abrading against each other.
Now you are zeroing in!

 

[artificialist]

Some companies make a pulley that fills the space of the AC compressor. This means that you can use the same size belt, and if the vehicle was never built without AC, this could be a lifesaver.