Ac siezed??

Can anyone help? I have a 98 2.4 Tacoma and when I started to turn on the ac it started squealing and burning up my belt. With the ac off and engine running it is fine on the pulley. I turned it off and k can spin the clutch not too easily but am still able to turn it. Any ideas on how to diagnose if it is my compressor or low on Freon ? Any input would be appreciated!

 

It sounds like either your compressor is toast, perhaps due to lack of lubrication, or maybe your belt wasn't tight enough but I'm no expert. It definitely shouldn't squeal & burn up the belt.

I'm in the middle of overhauling my AC system on my 98 3.4. The truck had been sitting for years stored in a garage for years (SoCal weather), but the AC lines had been opened up/no freon inside, only whatever oil was left inside the compressor. My compressor was completely seized up. I tore it open, and it was rusted & in really bad shape. I'm guessing the left over oil/refrigerant interacted with the moisture in the air & completely destroyed everything. It seems like it doesn't take much to ruin an AC compressor, and they're really freakin expensive. lesson learned.