A/C compressor bearing noise

It appears that the bearing in the A/C compressor is going south on my 2000 Venture. It's making a terrible noise on start up, but after a minute is gets nice and quiet. Is there a way to remove and rebuild these compressors without having to recoving the refrigerant?

No, other than venting the freon.....

If it is just the pulley bearing, yes, you can replace it without recovering the refrigerant. The clutch plate itself has a tendency to go out of adjustment and make a scraping noise unless the clutch is engaged. Where exactly is the problem? The clutch mis-adjusted, the actual compressor itself or the hub bearing?

I checked the air gap, and it's at .30 It's making a loud grinding noise at start up that goes away after about 1 to 2 minutes of idle. The a/c is cold most of the time, but on a long ride it does go warm for a few minutes then back to cold.

Is the compressor clutch engaged the whole time it is grinding?

It makes this noise whether the the compressor clutch is engaged or not.

Have you removed the serpentine belt to see if you can feel the bearing? The bearing is replaceable by itself and you are supposed to be able to do it in the van, I've never done it myself in the van, but I've read the threads on it. The bearing is about $30 and the tools are available to rent for free from Autozone.