Rep Power: 0

Hello. New member here. I have a 2002 Civic EX, 2 door with only 80k miles. The body has seen better days and it was recently in an small accident but it was still running okay for my purposes.

For the last 3 years I have had an intermittent AC compressor clutch noice which got worse recently. Last week the belt on the AC and Alternator broke while I was driving. I got the car to my mechanic and he says the clutch/bearing is bad and the fix will require a new compressor. Estimate cost of $1k for a car that might not be worth that much. The AC was still working within the last month even though it was making noise.

Is there any way to get the belt fixed on the car without spending a fortune on a new AC system? I really can’t afford this fix and also need new tires for the car. I wouldn’t care if the AC was bypassed for the time being since it’s winter but the mechanic says it can’t be done. I just can’t believe that the AC could disable the car even if I don’t want to use it. I am tempted to just ask the mechanic to put a new belt on the car to see what happens. Thanks for your help.

 
Rep Power: 224

You could do it much cheaper yourself if you were up for the task.

You can get a belt that will bypass the A/C compressor and only run the alternator. Any parts store will have it, just say your car is a Civic DX without A/C.

 
Rep Power: 231

The clutch kit is available. No need to replace the compressor if it is working as you said. Change your mechanic.

 
Rep Power: 0

Thanks. I found that info and asked the mechanic to do that to get the car on the road. Don’t need AC until next year.

 
Rep Power: 0

The mechanic is quoting me $850 and $1,000 to either replace the clutch mechanism or the whole compressor. He is telling me the system has to be evacuated and the compressor removed in order to do the work, hence high cost and lack of savings to do the clutch. Also, I’m not sure if it’s the clutch or the bearing. Would that make a difference in how the work is done? Also could the clutch be replaced without removing the compressor and evacuating the system?

 
Rep Power: 224

You can replace the compressor clutch without removing the compressor or evacuating the refrigerant but I'm not sure about the pulley bearing. It would be difficult to get to with the compressor in the car, plus I have no idea where you can get a replacement bearing.

 
Rep Power: 133

I'd get a second opinion on this repair.
Ideally, replacing the A/C clutch pulley and the belt might be your only issue. I have the fortune of a good A/C repair shop that I take my repairs of this nature to. I find the dealer just would swap major parts without breaking down the components that could be replaced separately.