1998 honda accord coupe 3.0 v6. When I start the car it makes a bad grinding noise coming from the ac compressor. I looked a lil closer and it looks like the outside of the pulley on the ac motor broke free from the inside of itself. So I was driving it the other day and it started smoking bad. I popped the hood and looked immediately and the pulley was glowing red and smoking. so im sure I need a new ac motor and would like to know how hard that is going to be for me to change myself and if anyone knows where I can get one without spending $300+. Further than that is there any way I can just pull it out and not use ac? Is there a non-ac belt I can get? Anything helps! Thanks in advance!

 

well i don't know how the '98 v6 engine is set up with the pulleys and all, but in my '97 lx the ac compressor had the same problem. one day it started smoking bad and when i popped the hood the pulley was falling off. the compressor was no good and it was blowing hot air. if i wanted to do it myself i would've had to buy a new compressor (expensive), freon (spelling?), pulley, and belt. with my problem i needed to replace one of the radiator fans too. plus to do it myself i would've had to pull out the power steering pump, resevoirs, and the alternator. it would've been a huge job

i just preferred to get it done by a mechanic

my point is though, i don't think you're gonna be able to do it for less the $300 in a reasonable amount of time

just in case though...

http://www.discountacparts.com/addto...t~60-00815.asp

that was a lot of typing that i doubt had much useful in it til the end, lol

 

Something to keep in mind is that when a compressor dies violently and seizes up it sends debris in the whole system. We've seen several that have burned up replacement compressors shortly after installation due to contamination.

 

So my best bet would be to just pull the entire ac system out and find a belt to just run from the crank pulley and the alternator?

 

No, that depends how bad you want your AC fixed. We're just saying based on your description it won't be a cheap fix. Blows compressor can send debris through the system so you might need more than just a compressor. Are you looking for detailed advice about doing the repair yourself?

On a 4-cyl engine, you could get the belt from an Accord DX (which doesn't have AC). But I don't think they offered a V-6 without AC, so you'll have to figure out how to pick out a belt that will fit.

 

Yes I am definitly looking for advice of how to cheaply and effectively fix it myself. The ac isnt a big thing for me but I do plan on selling this car in the near future. so advice on how to fix it and opinions on what to do is what I am looking for. Thanks!

 

I'm gonna move this to General Tech, since there's a couple guys over there who are pretty experienced with AC repair. Hopefully someone will chime in. I'm not gonna pretend to be an AC guru.

 

Thanks, and yes hopefully someone will put in some good advice on this.

 

If the compressor has siezed, you are indeed looking at major repair; replace compressor, reciever/drier, flush condensor, remove evaporator, replace expansion valve, flush evaporator, reassemble. At shop rates probably > $1K.

However, there is a possibility only the clutch bearing has siezed. In this case your compressor is OK, and you simply need a new clutch assy. Depending on location of compressor, you may be able to replace clutch w/o recovering ac charge. I'm not familiar w/ 1998 V6 setup. Good chance this is the situation.

To check you will need to rotate the compressor (cold) by hand and feel whether compressor is binding or clutch bearing is binding. A bad bearing will have a gritty feedback, while a siezed compressor will simply be very stiff and difficult to turn.

good luck