2000 SE: AC Compressor/blower motor/speakers

[LeoP]

Hi folks. My name is not Leo.

My wife was in a hurry to get an economical used vehicle and we wound up with a 2000 Sunfire SE, 2.2 liter.

We are at a point where we have figured out what all is wrong with it, have perused the archives to see that we are not alone with our specific problems, and have decided to try to make the most out of what is as close to nothing as we have ever owned.

I'll explain the problems and would like comments on the complexity of each repair if we do them ourselves and whether we are taking the right course.


1. Screeching AC compressor. It only screeches when the compressor is disengaged. The dealer says the comp has to be replaced--$800. The archives says others have come to that same conclusion. We plan to get the shorter belt and run it without AC, to avoid getting stranded when the bearing goes out, until we can replaced the compressor.

I've found reman compressors on ebay for $119. What all's involved in replacing it ourselves?
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2. The blower motor only runs on the top two speeds. We will purchase a resistor "board" and replace the "burnt" one per instructions found in the archives.
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3. Rear speakers don't work. We swore they did. The dealers says they are inoperable, that there is power to them, but the speakers are blown. $100 through the dealer. I found several of these in the archives and the problems seem to be around what speakers to replace them with and how to physically get it done--probelms removing the rear deck carpet, speaker tabs and so forth. We have the Monsoon radio and will do whatever sounds best and/or easiest or nothing at all.

Why do these speakers blow?
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4. Clunk in the rear suspension when turning or on bumpy surface. Frankly, with the $1000 estimate the dealer quoted us on the other three items, when he talked about this all I heard was cash register sounds, so we're altogether clueless on this.
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There you have it. I'll wait right here, and thanks!

[LeoP]

Following up on the compressor problem, there is no belt diagram in the engine compartment.

It seems logical that the shorter belt would be routed the same as the present one, without the loop from the alternator down to the AC compressor.

Does that sound right? And does anyone know where I could view the belt diagram online?

TIA

[LeoP]

I guess I will continue talking to myself until someone else shows up.

I have found belt diagrams, from Gates, for with and without an AC compressor. It is as I suspected that you skip the loop down to the AC compressor between the alternator and the idler pulley.

However, the pulleys do not appear to be laid out the same (without AC the upper pulley on the left appears to be much further left). If that is actually true, the belt for that system would be too long to use with an engine with, but leaving out, the AC compressor.

It also appears in the diagram that the two idler pulleys on either sides of the alternator appear to be much larger in the system without a compressor.

It also appears that in the system with an AC compressor, the idler pulley between the crankshaft and the compressor is higher and further to the left than without a compressor. Without a compressor the belt appears to go from the crankshaft to the alternator more directly, but still around the larger idler pulley.

However, when I check for parts it only shows one idler pulley and belt drive tensioner assembly available, not separate for with and without AC. In the diagram there are three idler/tensioner pulleys, but in the parts list it shows only one (as if all three are the same parts).

SO, I don't know if the differences are really true or if the drawings just aren't accurate to real life.

Has anyone actually done this, just left out the AC compressor, and what belt did you use?

Edit: I have now gone to the Gates site and they are listing two pulleys, an idler and a tensioner, so there may two different sizes. The diagrams I have been talking about are Gates'.

TIA again.

[LeoP]

I will continue my babbling.

I measured to see how much extra the loop down to the compressor is and it is approximately 25 inches.

I emailed Gates and they said the belt with AC is 89.25 inches and one without AC is 63.625 inches.

Hey, that's 25.625 inches, so I'm feeling pretty good.

[blackedout]

I had the same problem with my '96 SE 2.2L, (a/c compressor), I just ran the belt for the 2.2L without A/C and haven't had any problems yet..... been about 5 months now, and no squeeling.

As for rear speakers, if you don't feel comfortable putting in new speakers yourself, go to a car audio shop in your area and have them put it in, it will probably be cheaper for some aftermarket speakers. I paid $50.00 for my pair of audiobahn's, had to cut some holes to make them fit....... but that's because I wanted something that elaborate.

[LeoP]

I put the shorter belt on today and the car is running fine. I posted a tip on how to replace the belt, pushing down on the tensioner with a 1 x firring strip. I expect all GM techs to carry firring strips now.

I inspected the compressor by turning the pulley with my hand and it does not appear to be turning roughly or feeling like a bad bearing. But it is rubbing on the stationary plate.

I have sent a letter to my dealer, with copies of all the comments I've found here and elsewhere about the two different reasons for the compressor noise. I've asked him what makes them so sure it is bearing failure rather than clutch plate drag.

[KTJNMD]

As for the clunk in the rear end, check and make sure the caliper bolts are tight, and also your lug nuts.

[LeoP]

Speaker update.

One day last week the rear speakers came back on and sounded great.

It lasted about an hour and then they were gone again, and still are.

I makes me skeptical that they are "dead", the dealer's diagnosis.

Would they come back from the dead, to visit, if they were really dead?

[hopeless4life]

Ok for your AC compressor, you will be fine routing the compressor outta the belt loop, I'm not good with air conditioning diagnosis, but when i worked for ford, replacing a compressor is quite involved and you are dealing with Freon gas i believe which is quite dangerous to the environment and yourself, so its not something you wanna replace yourself until you have the freon discharged.
Your blower motor problem is the heater resistor as you stated its very common in these vehicles but relatively cheap and easy to replace.
As for your rear speakers, if they work intermittently that means that you either have a bad contact at the speakers themselves or the cd players outputs might be goin kaput. Unplug each speaker and test each speakers terminals with a meter set at ohms. I believe the rear speakers should each read 8 ohms give or take in the sunfire. Second take a small 1.5 volt battery and touch positive on one side of the speaker lead and negative on the other the speaker should click. If it doesn't the speakers are bad. Also if you don't feel comfortable testing or changing them yourself take the car to you local car audio shop, much cheaper and more experienced in car audio than the dealer. Also if you believe the speakers are bad diconnect them as bad speakers put a greater load on the stereo which cooks the outputs. very bad. Sorry i just realised you were wondering why those speakers blow. They blow due to an excessive amount of gains. If you have your gains turned up high on the deck, ie bass, treble. As you increase the volume too much distortion gets passed through the speakers, which to the untrained ear can be unnoticable. Thus it is overloading the speaker. Hence where amplifiers come in, they increase the signal to noise ratio which creates a cleaner less distorted sound at high volumes. Generally the less the gains are turned up the louder you can increase you volume without it becoming distorted, thus less likely to damage the speakers. And another reason is cuz factory stuff is the shits.
As for your clunk, Sounds like a bad strut mount to me, these cars are notorios for bad strut mounts. I have the same problem right now in the RR of my car, Its a good clunk on warmer days and a good squeak on cold days, I'll worry about it when the strut ends up bustin through my rear quarterpanel or somethin.

[LeoP]

Thanks.

[LeoP]

I finally got around to replacing the blower motor resistor. I've noticed from various Internet sites that not having all the blower speeds is a common problem, one I think GM would do something about. But oh well.

The various description of this fix is right on. The resistor is squeezed in between the blower motor and the firewall, underneath the right side of the dash. I could just barely get a finger on the screw on the firewall side, so I didn't even try to get a tool on it.

I undid the plug from the connector and plugged it in to the new resistor.
I stuck it up in a little gap next to the blower motor and duct taped it there. The blower motor has all four speeds now.

The dealer wanted $80 for this repair. It cost me $26.73, including two-day FEDEX delivery.

I got the part from www.rockauto.com

My wife is ecstatic. A week ago we intalled DISH, and now her little Sunfire blower is working.

[GEARwarnMUTE]

I have similar issues....

1. Blower works only on 2 highes settings. (first 2 settings don't work)
2. Rear speakers work intermittently for a little while, then out for weeks. i can't seem to isolate the problem.
3. Turn signal works intermittently, and when turn signal is switched on the light and 'click" sound freezes in the "light on" position sometimes or in the "light off" position.
4. In a left hand turns at speed, there is 'skipping' noise coming from the front right hand wheel.

I will take your previously posted remedies in consideration for the first 2 items as they sound identical, but if anyone can provide advice on the last two things your help will be appreciated.