On my way home Friday, I had the A/C on and all of a sudden smoke started coming through the vents and smelled like burned plastic. I pulled into a parking lot and smoke was coming from under the hood. When I checked, the a/c pump (where the belt is) looked fried. I started it back up and the belt spins with some noise and it got me home. Can I run the car like this??

What should I do now? I just put a bunch of money into fixing other parts of this car so my car fund is VERY VERY low. Any sugguestions? Thanks

 

It sounds like your clutch bearings are going(at the very least).You can replace the clutch assembly itself or just the bearings & seals.I take it you ran the rest of the way home without A/C.If your clutch is making noise I would remove the A/C belt until you can repair it(unless your'e running a serpentine setup).I ran into a similar problem a couple days ago but mine is a little more complicated.The clutch is fine but my compressor is locked up.I disconnected the clutch lead so it doesn't come on when I turn the vent on.

 

It's a serp setup. It seems to spin fine but makes some noise. Is it safe to drive? It looks like the front of it (clutch?) is fried up. If I don't turn on the a/c would it be ok to drive?

 

Yup, had the same problem. No smoke but loud squealing noise. I shut off the A/C and the noise went away. I removed the belt and ran a jumper wire to the A/C clutch to energize it and it would only turn 1/4 of a turn. I bought a rebuilt comp. with clutch and converted to R134. I kept the old comp. and cut it open and it was perfect inside but out of oil. If I would of known I would of added some oil and saved it. Bummer!

Auggie