A/C Compressor=toast
 

I have a 94 jimmy 4.3 l. Just today while driving I noticed this screechy metallic noise coming from under the hood. I went to investigate and found that the pulley on the end of the a/c compressor is what it making the noise, and also that there are small shards of metal behind the triangular plate on the front of the pulley. What in the hell happened? What do I need to replace? The entire compressor? I drove it home and don't plan on taking it out again until I figure this out. I'd rather not have the belt snap off while I'm driving. Any help is very much appreciated.

I read around the other posts and from what I understand I'll need a new compressor and there is no way to just change out the pulley. Is this correct? More than anything I was hoping you guys could tell me what happened to it and why there are little shards of metal anywhere.

I'm pretty sure you can buy a belt from auto zone / advance auto that actually bypasses the compressor, since its getting winter time you won't be needing the a/c for a while so this could buy you some time to pay the big buck for the new compressor. thats what I would do. would probably give you a little more power also.

I went and got an A/C bypass pulley, but now I'm even more confused. I looked at the diagram under the hood, and the belt goes one way for no a/c and another way for with a/c. But it appears that there is a pulley there either way. With this bypass pulley should I keep everything routed the same way with the same belt even thought now there is technically no a/c? I'm scratching my head.

I'm not familiar with your diagram, but you should be able to just go out and buy a shorter belt and route the new shorter belt accorning to the diagram, just with out putting the new shorter belt on the ac pully. Thats the way mine is.

When you install the a/c bypass pulley just route the belt as if you had the a/c compressor there. There is no need to buy a shorter belt

Thanks! Will do.

This is easier said than done I suppose. Tried to unbolt the compressor and one of the bolts has a part broken off of it, and the other one is so long that I can't remove it because it hits the a/c clutch on its way out. I know for sure that the bearing in the clutch is what is bad and not the one inside the compressor. I know I already asked but is there any way to just replace this part? If so, what tools will I need. It looks very confusing to remove. Sorry for being a noob.

You can replace the bearing separately without discharging the system, but it can be a challenge. It does require a small puller to get the bearing pulled off the snout on the end of the compressor. And a press helps get the old bearing removed if you don't just buy a new clutch (which I would recommend).

I'm sorry I misspoke. I meant can I replace just the clutch and not the whole compressor? But in answering the bearing question you also answered the clutch question. Thanks Kyle! If I replace the clutch will it discharge the system? I'm not too worried about that being a factor as there is no freon in the system right now anyway but I am curious.