Non-AC belt on an AC-equipped B4?

My compressor has been on its last legs for two years now. Squeals really badly at times, mostly at idle, and I've had it hooked directly to a toggle switch as well. A complete AC revamp is on the list, but I was wondering if there was a belt I could keep in the trunk to bypass the compressor completely if a grenade-type situation ever occurred.

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thechoochlyman said:

My compressor has been on its last legs for two years now. Squeals really badly at times, mostly at idle, and I've had it hooked directly to a toggle switch as well. A complete AC revamp is on the list, but I was wondering if there was a belt I could keep in the trunk to bypass the compressor completely if a grenade-type situation ever occurred.

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No. To bypass the compressor you have to use a different setup. It's not as simple as just changing a belt. Now would be the time to fix it correctly or completely delete it before you are stranded.

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The non-AC cars use a belt path that is in conflict with the AC compressor. On non-AC cars the water pump is driven by the serpentine belt with a completely different pulley, but the path is in conflict with that for AC cars.

On the plus side if you lose the serpentine belt on the AC cars you only really lose the alternator and the AC compressor, the PS and WP are still on the small v-belt, so technically you can still drive the car without concern, and if you minimize electrical usage you can go quite a ways. I've gone over 100 miles without a functional alternator and I suspect I could go a lot further. Just don't try it at night.

There is no effective solution that leaves the compressor in place, unfortunately.

Steve

The compressor can be swapped in about 30 minutes or less. Just toss a known good one on, and seal the ports if you’re too busy to truly fix it.

-Todd

ToddA1 said:

The compressor can be swapped in about 30 minutes or less. Just toss a known good one on, and seal the ports if you’re too busy to truly fix it.

-Todd

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Ditto what Todd suggested, that's actually a good idea if you're in a situation where the compressor you have is getting close to seizing up.

Steve

I do have a used compressor from a Cabrio I'm willing to roll the dice on for a bit. I just wanna go ahead and replace the expansion valve and dryer at the same time. I'll buy the $70 vacuum pump on Amazon and I should be pretty well good to go again. It won't be that much of a loss on Oil and freon if I have to actually buy a new compressor down the road anyway.