1996 TACO AC Compressor failure, belt question

Hi, My compressor for the AC seems to have finally died. No feeling of it engaging when I hit the AC button and also no AC light coming on. There is also a slight burning smell coming from the vents if I turn on the fan. Looks like at least 1300$ to fix, not something I would want to try myself. At this point putting another 1300 into the truck may not be a good idea. My question is, can I just cut off the belt to the compressor? It is still spinning like normal, but I wonder if the smell is coming from there and if driving it is causing further damage.

 

Nope no dmg
removing belt actually will give you more HP!

Just helped a friend that bought old vehicle for a song
She was worried about a missing AC belt
I asked her to try to turn compressor by hand…..totally locked up

so very common practice to remove belt
GL