Air conditioning And Serpentine Belt

[SnoDawg]

Hi,

I just bought My 93 from a friend from work. I have never owned a Diesel anything so I will have some more questions in the future. My problem is The air conditioning compressor pulley does not line up with the serpentine belt. It appears that it is about 1/8" forward. Which is a bit hard on the aft edge of the belt. I can not see any adjustment in the bracket nor the compressor itself. Is there any way it can be adjusted back inline? I also notice that the belt installation pattern placard on the hood shows a installation diagram without A/C. Can I just install a shorter belt and bypass the A/C? Here in my part of the world I can survive with out A/C.

Thanks

 

[Paychk]

Welcome to the forum, you'll love that truck!



The most common problem with the serpentine belt is the idler wheel gets worn and doesn't track right. The test for this is to loosen the belt, grab the wheel and check for any slop in the wheel itself. The next most likely cause is the tensioner arm is worn and has slack in it or the mounting bolt is loose, causing slop in the arm. Next check the mounting bolts for the A/C compressor, make sure all four bolts are tight, if any are loose, then loosen all 4 bolts, hold up the back of the compressor, then tighten it. The last thing to check, cause it isn't seen much, is the idler wheel itself is worn flat or concave. It should be be convex or shaped like a keg of beer, this puts more tension to the center of the belt and not the edges.



Not sure about putting a small belt on and by-passing the A/C, maybe someone else has done it? I would hesitate because most owners manuals recommend cycling the A/C once a month, even in the winter, this keeps the oil in the refrigerant circulated through the system. That helps keep the system in good shape for when you need it.



Good luck!

 

[BCaldwell]

welcome to th group. If you are not going to need the ac in the future I can't see a problem with going to the shorter belt. bill

 

[Philip]

You don't have to worry about turning on the AC to cycle it in the winter. If you turn on the windshield defroster it turns on the AC compressor by default.



The big 3 mfg's have been doing this for quite a few years now. That is why the chevy r4 radial compressor got such a bad name when it first came out. A lot of people turned on the defrosters in the fall and left them on all winter. About half way threw the next summer it would lockup from over work.

 

[Stranger]

Without A/C

When my A/C compressor clutch blew (95 degrees in Barstow, CA. ), I put on a small belt, (got it at the local NAPA) ran the truck until July before I could get the new compressor.



Everything else worked just both before and after. If you don't need the A/C, although it helps the defroster and really helps during a cold rain, I'd say bypass it. JMO.

 

[BushWakr - RIP]

I don't have any hard evidence for this and it is only my opinion but... . I would not bypass the AC. Also if the tensioner, or any other pulley component is not within spec then run the risk of progressive damage to other components if you bypass the AC and do not deal with the cause instead of bypassing the symptom.

This may seem like circular logic but I think it's worth considering.

Also since the AC is activated when you turn on the heater functions, it may result in some sort of fault code or other error message in the PCM/ECM,,, again I don't have personal proof of this but it's still a concern.

Check this out thoroughly and fix it right is the best policy. .



JMO,,



Bob.

 

[SnoDawg]

Thanks I will take a look tomorrow And you are right I do love this truck. There are a few plans for bomb-ing her in the future. I guess once a gearhead always a gearhead.

 

[Paychk]

BTW SnoDawg



You got snow on the ground at Anchorage?



Spent 7 years there 91-98



Paychk

 

[Midnite]

No snow in Anchorage yet. And I've only had frost on my windshield in the morning once this week!



Mike

 

[SnoDawg]

Nothing substantial yet. Got a skiff Monday but it melted off in a few hours. The weather has been really weird this fall, temps been in the 40s and raining if it gets cold enough for snow we will get bunches.