Former VWDieselParts.com Forum

my serpentine belt broke. Turns out, the pulley on the A/C compressor seized up. I don't use the A/C as it won't turn on. Maybe low on freon, but that doesn't matter as I don't need it.

Looks like the bearing is seized. I tried to take the clutch off and broke the bolt holding it all together.

The question is, can I take off the compressor and run it without it? The power steering and water pump are on the v belt and the alternator and A/C are on the serpentine belt. Is it possible to to simply get a different serpentine belt and install it? Can I install some soft of idler pulley to replace the A/C compressor? Or, do I simply need to replace the A/C compressor as that's my only choice?

I would appreciate any comments.

I've tried looking at local wrecking yards, and no luck. I could buy something off of eBay. I don't care if it works or not. I just need it to spin.

thanks,
Roger

Without seeing it I would guess that changing the geometry on the belt might be risky and having one pop off while driving sounds like an opportunity for a bad day. Personally I would just replace the compressor. Plus I like my A/C and it helps things like defrosting the windshield and so on. Given that yours is a 96 you use 134a refrigerant which isn't super expensive. Even the ones on Ebay are likely to be good enough to give you many more miles. There are also aftermarket suppliers on line with warranties so do some shopping around before you buy.