I have a '97 Pathy, and the bearing on the pulley in front of the compressor is making a constant grinding noise, whether the clutch on the compressor is engaged or not.

I was under the impression that the pulley could be pulled off and replaced, but a local mechanic, who I don't trust, is telling me that it needs a whole new compressor. I know that's not the case, so I won't be going back to him. The compressor was replaced by Nissan under warranty at about 100k miles, about 55K miles ago, and works fine, A/C blows real cold, clutch engages and disengages no problem.

I was just wondering if it is actually possible to replace just the pulley on the compressor, without having to empty the A/C system, pull the compressor off, and then re-charge the system?

Thanks.