A/c Squeals!

My 89 Blazer's a/c is now squealing whenever I turn it on. It started yesterday when i was taking my sister to work. I was nearly at the destination when I hear a big squealing coming from the car. :uhoh: I turn off the a/c and it stopped. I pulled into a parking lot, turned the a/c back on for a brief moment, and my car stalled. I turned it off again, with the a/c off an then turned it on. I then noticed that smoke was coming from the compressor area, not the compressor. :eek: I turned it off and drove home normally without the a/c and didn't encounter any problems.

I don't know if it's the clutch that's gone out, or if it's the compressor, but i'm really worried that something will need to be replaced. I hope I don't have to replace the compressor and clutch, since it's a bitch to afford.

Please help me.

are you absolutely sure its not you alternator going out?

Sounds like the compressor locked up internally. The smoke you saw was probably the belt burning on the pulley while the compressor was engaged.

I have a trip to orlando in four days, will my belt work fine with the a/c turned off, or will it cause more problems?

You may want to unplug the compressor because it will want to turn on in the defrost mode. I would check the belt to see how burned up it got before your trip.

well first off i would pop the hood and have a friend start it and turn the a/c on while you carefully look around under the hood to see whats going on