1995 Caravan AC problems

[pacamper]

I bought this 95 Caravan from an Auto shop and the AC was not working, so we made a deal for him to fix it. The old one was making alot of noise and when he put the belt back on it looked like the clutch was not working. So, he got a used compressor from the junk yard and installed it and recharged the system. I don't know if he did anything else but that, but I went just a few miles and it had broke the AC belt, which runs off the crank pully and has an idler for adjustment. So, I went back and he checked things and his mechanic replaced the belt. I drove it home(40 miles) and seem ok. The next few days it kept making squealing noises on and off? The AC was cold just the noise. Well, finally it broke the belt again? The mechanic had said something about a high pressure switch to check may need changed? I called and he is going to look at it and said maybe it isn't the compressor? The squealing sounded more like a belt to me, but this could be due to several things? So, anyone have any ideas what I should look for and/or ask him when he checks it? I don't want to pay for him to change that compressor and have the same problem?

Thanks,
Larry

[EVH5150]

Sounds to me if the belt is squealing on and off, and the belt is breaking, then the a/c clutch is probably siezed up. Pop the hood and run the van with the a/c on. take a flashlight and watch the compressor clutch. When it engages the belt will probably squeal. Mine did that to the point where it will stall the engine. If you have to change the compressor, dont get a junkyard one, better getting a rebuilt one. Good luck

[pacamper]

Originally Posted by EVH5150

Sounds to me if the belt is squealing on and off, and the belt is breaking, then the a/c clutch is probably siezed up. Pop the hood and run the van with the a/c on. take a flashlight and watch the compressor clutch. When it engages the belt will probably squeal. Mine did that to the point where it will stall the engine. If you have to change the compressor, dont get a junkyard one, better getting a rebuilt one. Good luck

Thanks for the info. That's what it seems like to me. The problem I already paid for a used junk yard compressor and can be taken back for another one.(no refund) Is there a way to check the clutch before installing? And can the clucth be easily repaired if seems abd?

Thanks,
Larry

[pacamper]

Update...I did some checking tonight and got the broken belt out of there. You could see that it was more or less burned through until it flipped off. Obviously, something was tight and it tried to keep turning. I was able to spin the compressor and it seemed quite free? So, I am assuming the clucth was not working correctly and caused the belt to break. Does anyone know if there was a bad pressure switch or something else that would cause the compressor itself to get tight and cause this problem? As I said before, the AC was cold and the squealing continued until the belt broke? Thanks.....Larry