Compressor or Belt?

Hello, I haven't been on here in a long time, but when I needed help everyone was super helpful. Some guy even took the time to take pictures for a diagram--awesome.


So just the other day I was idling for like 5 minutes with my AC on, and I heard a loud blowhorn or trumpet sound followed by a burnt rubber smell. I didn't know what it was but immediately I turned my AC off and the noise stopped.

I checked the under the hood and after I saw everything was fine (waited 5 min), I turned the truck back on. All fine. Then I turned on the fan/AC and the the loud sound and burnt smell again.

My friend asked her dad what it could be. He's a Toyota mechanic, but is too far for me to go to on a weekday. He did say it could either be the belt or the compressor.

Question:

1. How do I test/check to see if it's the belt or compressor?

2. Is either an easy fix that I could do at home?

3. Has anyone had any insides with this that could recommend a compressor if it comes down to that? They seem pretty pricey--200 to $300.

Thank you guys, in advance.

JC

 

Thanks for the quick response. So if the middle part does not spin, it's the compressor that has an issue? I haven't had a chance to look at it yet, but this weekend I'm dedicating it to solving this.

 

Yes, you grab the clutch part in front of the pully to check.

 

I had a bad A/C Compressor not too long ago, and it was the clutch pulley. I couldn't find just the pulley separately, so I swapped it from a spare compressor I had. Easy swap.

You can shove a screwdriver in the hole next to the tensioner pulley to take the slack out of the belt, then spin it by hand to check for any weird noise, resistance or grinding.

Here are some videos of the sound it was making:

 

Ok...now, the burnt smell, is that an indicator of one or the other?

 

That's an indicator that your belt was slipping on the compressor pulley because it was locked up. A compressor swap is pretty tough to do unless you're an HVAC/R tech by trade (which I am) since you'd need gauges, a recovery machine, recovery tank, vacuum pump, and a micron gauge to do the job properly.

 

^^ This. A simple check: Have someone start the truck with the AC off and you watch the center of the AC pulley. It's not turning, now have the helper switch the AC on. It's still not turning and the belt is squalling, right? The compressor is locked up.