91 Protege noise when AC is on

[ufatbasted]

in my 4 cyl I hearing a squeaking/rattle noise when I have my AC on, It coming from the
area of the fan belt but is not the belt.

Could it be early signs of water pump failure?

Any ideas are appreciated

[stamar]

um

Its a belt.

[ufatbasted]

Originally Posted by stamar

um

Its a belt.

I'll check again, I did with a stethascope and the sound did not appear to be the belt. It only is heard when the car idles with the AC on

[Flash75]

Check the adjustment and condition the AC belt. It's probably hard top get to. If the noise is only present when the AC is on it shouldn't be the water pump.

Clifton

[stamar]

my protege is new to me. However I have some squeal of a belt when battery is low and ac is just turned on. This is actually the alternator belt. I BELIEVE the alternator is on a different belt than the AC.

In this particular case, even though it is the ac causing it, its the alternator belt squealing from electrical load.

If the squeal is mostly at start up and goes away Im 95% certain its a belt.

[ufatbasted]

Originally Posted by stamar

my protege is new to me. However I have some squeal of a belt when battery is low and ac is just turned on. This is actually the alternator belt. I BELIEVE the alternator is on a different belt than the AC.

In this particular case, even though it is the ac causing it, its the alternator belt squealing from electrical load.

If the squeal is mostly at start up and goes away Im 95% certain its a belt.

Had it checked by my mechanic and the belt was fine, he thinks the noise may be the AC clutch. We will wait and see what happens

[ufatbasted]

Originally Posted by ufatbasted

Had it checked by my mechanic and the belt was fine, he thinks the noise may be the AC clutch. We will wait and see what happens

Just an update it was the AC clutch. No more AC for now

[Doug Tatham]

I had the same problem with mine, but I figured it was the compressor so I bought a new one (actually remanufactured) on ebay for $50. After removing the belts I figured out it was only the clutch, but went ahead and replaced the whole compressor since I had one anyway. Changing the clutch only is a much easier job. You may find a compressor and clutch on ebay cheaper than you can get a clutch alone at an auto parts store.

[mazdalvr]

if you use your AC regularly (and it works obviously) I wouldn't change the whole compressor because yours is functioning fine in general. See if you can replace the clutch.

[Doug Tatham]

Just to be clear, I wasn't recommending changing the compressor. I did on mine because the compressor had 215K miles on it and I live in Florida. It's a major headache to get a dryer for a 99 Protege and it also costs a bit to have the freon removed. It's just much easier to find a used compressor with clutch than to find the clutch by itself. The only problem I have with only replacing the clutch is that if the compressor is bad, it often trashes the clutch. You could end up replacing the clutch, then have the new one go out because of the bad compressor. Make sure you can rotate the compressor by hand before you install the clutch.

[ufatbasted]

Thanks to all for the input.

So besides the AC clutch fan being shot, now the clutch is slipping so I'm selling her.

Just bought a used civic.


Anyone want a 91 protege 104,000 ,miles No AC and needs a clutch?

[Doug Tatham]

How much and where are you?