Ok so today my car started making this horrible shreaking noise. Like screaming bloody hell murder. Turn off the ac compressor the car sounds perfectly fine. Is this a common compressor going out issue? i'd hate to be completely wrong. thnx for any help.

 

It's the bearing in the clutch. It's usually cheaper to buy a whole used unit than to buy a clutch and have the AC disassembled and have a new clutch pressed on, then completely reinstalled. Fact of the matter is that if the bearing is that badly worn, the clutch is also and it wouldn't be able to be reused. I actually have a spare AC unit from my SC4 that I keep as a backup, but I don't think I'll ever use it. Unfortunately I do not know if it would even fit the Sc3. Likely not.

 

You might what to check the crank pulley the rubber in the middle part wears out and will make that noise when the extra load of the ac. If you start your car with the ac off will it make a quick screach and then go away?

 

k lemmie give you two quick scenarios then.

1. i was flooring it down the freeway. turn the ac on and the sound comes back. still flooring it i turn the a/c off it goes away.

2. I was in the fast food drive through the a/c was off i was crankin the wheel all the way to the left to make the turn and it screeeced the same noise for a sec. which didn't make me understand.

I'm going to drive with the a/c off and see how much it happens and in what instances. this noise is completely unbearable. its soo loud in the engine bay its hard to tell exactly what its comin from.

 

Well, with the new info, just check your belts for proper tension. 1/2 inch deflection is considered perfect.

 

serpentine belt is in good shape and installed properly, i'm gonna drive around tonight with the a/c off and hopefully I don't hear it. thnx for the help O.L.T.

 

its been doing that the last coupe of days. Whatcha think? new crank pulley?

 

I am no expert at diagnosis, but I know it would not be the end of the world to check the crank pulley. Remove the serp belt and give the crank pulley a look-see to determine if it is wore out or not. It would be an easy way to either identify or eliminate a culprit.

 

well I can take the belt off easy and all that . But how do you know if its bad. would the rubber be missing chunks or something?

 

again, I am no master of diagnosis, but I would look at the condition of the crank pulley relative to the other pulleys. This would likely give a good indication of the relative wear of each.

I would expect to see ribs worn down and perhaps inconsistent wear on those ribs.

Also, you can watch the car idle and check each pulley for round (as it is easy to see when they are spinning). That would only take a second.