Heard some noise coming from under the hood, while the car was idling. Opened the hood and recorded this video.


What would I need to do to remedy this situation?

 

One of the two compressors I had to change over the years did this. It's the bearing inside the compressor itself and basically, get a new one.

If it's still working its a miracle in your case, unless 98's got better versions of the AC comp. in mine the second I heard any funny noise there was an immediate AC failure. Twice. First time it was an OE ACDelco which was 1yr out of warranty, which was a **** off since I expected Japan-made parts to last more than one year!

The first time the bearing actually seized and started to burn my belt up!

 

Thank you for sharing your experience. I have been hearing a similar noise since I got the car, so I was hoping go quiet it down a little. Is there any chance in repairing the bearing with a table vise or is there a compressor replacement the only solution?

Maybe I'll go for the compressor, this way I can get the system recharged and tested at the same time. It doesn't get very cold during the hottest summer days, so I was suspecting a fault of some sort.

 

^ There used to be rebuild kits out there, however you have to ask yourself time vs. benefit...

Rebuild kits [once sourced] were in the 90$ +S&H range and new rebuild compressors were ~200$ shipped, or ~260$ for an ACDelco from Rockauto *for my 01, the 98 doesn't list as one avail.

Also, the thing with rebuilds many people forget is lack of warranty, there is no guarantee that what you replace will last!

Furthermore, I found a clutch assy which you can replace on your OE one, however at ~150$ is it worth the labor, instead of simply swapping to a new one? When I was looking at options everything ended up pointing to getting a new compressor. Either way you have to pay to re-fill it, so there is no savings or recuperating anything.

GL! *and share your experience.