Hi
A friend of mine has a 91 Taurus she can't drive because the idler bearing on the A/C compresor is shot, and wobbles so bad it destroys the sirpentine belt, So you can't just unplug it or take the belt off, So can anyone give me a clue as to what to expect if I try to change it in place, without removing the compresor, Is that bearing a weak spot in this car, I have never seen this happen like this before, Does it require a special puller on the pulley, does anyone know approx. how much the bearing will cost if I just replace the bearing and is that feaseable or do you need to replace the whole pulley, I want to try to help her but am kinda limited on what I can do anymore due to my age (70) but I have been knucklebusting all my life and am curious about the problem, Did any of you tackle this before ?, any info greatly appreciated.
Rick

advance autoparts sells an ac bypass pulley. the bearing is 80 bucks. dont seem to bad to remove i have to do it to mine

Unfortunately your knuckles will be a bit bloody by the time you remove the four long bolts that hold the compressor.

Don't spend 80 dollars on a pulley. You can get a used compressor at the boneyard for 20 to 50 bucks. I make sure my unit is full of green Ford oil (saves a few bucks). And if it don't work bring it back and swap it for another.
You get 30 days usually.

If you are on a budget (and it sure sounds like you are) you can just attach a vacuum hose to a port on the intake, and idle the car for 15 to 30 minutes to evacuate the system.

I have had cold air in my face again for as little as 40 dollars, 20 for comp and 20 for freon.

Otherwise she is looking at over a thousand for a pro to do the deed.

Wow, the manifold vacuum is better than nothing. According to best theory you cannot boil out the water unless the vacuum is 99.5 % or better.
Sometimes clobberjobs will last long enough to get you by till the last death throng of acid rots the core of the evap and condensor coils. The acid comes from the incomplete removal of water vapor due to the shortcut.
I could say a 2nd change of refrig could help job quality alot.

my compresser went out so i bought a belt for a taurus without air and put it on. it worked just fine. the belt length for my 92 was 65 and a half in.
the belt for one with air is 72 in. the belt just barley touches the ac comp pulley but it does not effect it. ive had mine routed bypassing the comp for 1000 miles with no probs