removing AC

thinking about getting rid of everything AC related on my eighty five caprice...Ive had the car for 5 years and havent used it once. Takes up alot of room under the hood and iVe heard it makes your motor work harder then it needs to be. Anyone on here done this? DO they sell belts that shorten the length so u can remove the pulley for the compressor? What do u guys think about this idea?:runaround:

thinking about getting rid of everything AC related on my eighty five caprice...Ive had the car for 5 years and havent used it once. Takes up alot of room under the hood and iVe heard it makes your motor work harder then it needs to be. Anyone on here done this? DO they sell belts that shorten the length so u can remove the pulley for the compressor? What do u guys think about this idea?:runaround:

with the ac compressor removed you reduce the vehicle wieght about 20 lbs. that is what you would gain. mpg/power zero gain.

with the ac operating yes you would loose some power and MPG. since you do not use the ac just leave it in there.

nice having AC when the weather gets hot/humid. does this ac work still ? if so I would not remove it. r12 ac systems work much better that the new r134 systems. faster cooling .


put a flex fan in . I found this works to give the vehicle some power.

thanks man...ya i might try a flex fan....i did some more research looks like leaving it is the best thing to do

thanks man...ya i might try a flex fan....i did some more research looks like leaving it is the best thing to do

also use platinum spark plugs. faster starts . smoother idle. last longer than OEM . use 1 ounce of marvel mystery oil to 10 gallons of fuel. this I have found improved MPG and makes the engine run smoother.

carbs do not like that alcohol fuel . marvel helps control the down side of the alcohol issues. corrosion !

Actually, a PROPERLY working clutch fan is more efficient than even a flex fan. It will use less power in freewheel mode than a flex fan and will move massive amounts of air for cooling when necessary.

If your original fan is intact, keep it.

Actually, a PROPERLY working clutch fan is more efficient than even a flex fan. It will use less power in freewheel mode than a flex fan and will move massive amounts of air for cooling when necessary.

If your original fan is intact, keep it.

I have done this before. it does increase engine power . true the OEM set up does provide more air flow. the vehicle we did this to had the ac removed so this was not required to have the higher air flow as you mentioned.

the flex fan is very light. almost no loading on engine. we found better sudden engine acceleration over OEM fan/clutch assy.

ok so on second thought im thinking ill keep the ac in....
i went to turn it on today and it was working great...kept the car cool...

however when i went to pull out...give the car gas....there was loud squeaking sounding like a belt....

but under the hood its hard to locate the sound...its super loud but i dont know if its a belt?

ok so on second thought im thinking ill keep the ac in....
i went to turn it on today and it was working great...kept the car cool...

however when i went to pull out...give the car gas....there was loud squeaking sounding like a belt....

but under the hood its hard to locate the sound...its super loud but i dont know if its a belt?

Vee groove belts squeal more than the serp belts. the V type wear and get hard then slip and make noises. if the belt is with cracking then replace it . do not over tighten when new put on. after a day or two tighten the belt again so that you can push down between the pulleys and get about 1/4 -1/2 inch deflection.

ok so u think its probably that air conditioning belt? it doesnt look too bad but i havent changed it since ive owned the car

ok so u think its probably that air conditioning belt? it doesnt look too bad but i havent changed it since ive owned the car

first I would look for what I stated , then if it looks good adjust to tighten slightly. with the ac operating and the locking hardware loosened adjust the tension , see if you can get it out.

not too loose on the locking hardware for belt.

ok so basically the squeal could be caused by the belt being to loose becuase it doesnt look to bad...how will i adjust with the Ac running...just with engine off?

or adjust and then start motor and see if its fixed?

ok so basically the squeal could be caused by the belt being to loose becuase it doesnt look to bad...how will i adjust with the Ac running...just with engine off?

or adjust and then start motor and see if its fixed?


with the hardware loosened so that you can adjust the belt with a good amount of force you start engine and ac on then adjust the belt to the point where the squeal is gone if possible. then shut down the engine and check how tight the belt is. if you have to make the belt too tight best get new belt. you can damage things if the belt is too tight.

your ac is mounted up high correct ?

if your not comfortable with engine on adj then do it with the engine off.

the belt tension can be checked with pushing onthe belt to determine how tight it is. these V belts do wear out much quicker than the sep belts.

gonna try it in the morning...thanks buddy

tried the belt at all different tensions....loose...really loose...tight...extra tight...

squealed every time...

the belt doesnt look worn at all...

any ideas?

tried the belt at all different tensions....loose...really loose...tight...extra tight...

squealed every time...

the belt doesnt look worn at all...

any ideas?


with that replace the belt. make sure the pulleys are clean.

tomorrow im going to try putting on belt conditioner and see if it keeps squealing

my dad seems to think it might be a bearing gone bad in the a/c motor...

also wondering about using defrost if i remove the belt and dont replace it....

i know wont have a/c but i need heat and defrost for the winter...

tomorrow im going to try putting on belt conditioner and see if it keeps squealing

my dad seems to think it might be a bearing gone bad in the a/c motor...

also wondering about using defrost if i remove the belt and dont replace it....

i know wont have a/c but i need heat and defrost for the winter...

replace the belt

replaced the belt today and the noise is still there....auto shop guy thinks its the bearing?

any more ideas or tests i can run?

replaced the belt today and the noise is still there....auto shop guy thinks its the bearing?

any more ideas or tests i can run?


the bearing will always make noise ac on or off .

if the noise is only when the ac is on then you may require the clutch gap to be adjusted. you will need a special tool to do this. with the gap too wide this causes the noise.

the ac compressor bearing when it fails should cause a loss of refrigerent rapidly. so if you get good cooling I would be surprised if the compressor is bad making the noise.

check the ac pressures hi/low and also at what temp air is outside vehicle....