Help!!! A/C Compressor Pulley '95 STS

[clusco]

New to the group! Need help desperately within the next few days, please. I have a 1995 Cadillac Seville STS and I love my car. We've been through a good deal of fights and I think I know just about every problem that can possibly occur with it now. It has 220,000 miles and the only permanent problems that I haven't fixed and I hear are quite common with these cars, is the suspension and oil leaking.

My Help matter-- Recently, I began hearing a sort of buzzing noise from under the hood near where the alternator is located. I figured the alternator was going out and the belt already needed to be replaced since it had been a while since I had the 1st alternator put in. So, I went and bought an alternator and a belt. This is one of the most aggravating cars I've ever worked on. It was a killer to change this alternator. I don't know how I would have done it if I had short, fat fingers from tightening those damn hard to get to bolts.

Needless to say, the alternator is now changed and the noise is still there. I talked to a few people regarding the symptoms and they say it's probably my A/C Compressor pulley. Now my questions are, Can I just simply replace that small wheel that the belt fits around? Or, what I'm afraid of, Is the problem going to make the job more serious to where I'll have to replace more than just this pulley wheel.

A local mechanic told me that I probably need to change the A/C compartment clutch (or something to that effect). So, what do you guys suggest and if I do need to change that part, is it a HUGE job and will I need any special tools to get it done?
Also, can you guys tell me the exact parts I'll need to change so that I can ask for the parts by name and obtain them from a salvage yard so that I don't have to go bankrupt to fix the old gal. Thanks and much appreciated ahead of time, guys.

[M.A.C]

Sounds like the A/C clutch bearing is worn and making the noise. If so, fix it as soon as possible or bypass the A/C compressor with a shorter belt until you can fix it, such as ACDelco 6K739 or CarQuest No. K060739. If the hub seizes it can ruin the compressor. If you pour some water on the compressor hub and it beads off it is an indication that the baring is defective and is causing the hub to heat-up. Yours may not be that far gone yet, but it will eventually get to a point where the hub will heat up as the bearing disintegrates. Also, be careful while looking at the A/C compressor while the engine is running because shards of metal can fly off the bearing as the hub is rotating.

I had this problem and bypassed the A/C compressor. The hub bearing is inexpensive, about $23.00 at a Cadillac dealer. The entire hub with bearing is about $110.00. If you just want to replace the bearing, you will have to take the hub to a machine shop and have the old bearing pressed out and new one pressed in. You also need a hub puller tool.