Friends stupidity, my problem - Honda Prelude Forum

Tarnoth · 08-29-2009, 10:53 PM

Ok, so a friend of mine and I were driveing down the road and i had the A/C maxed out. It was 100 or so degrees outside. We stop at a 7/11 to grab something to drink and when we come back out, i can see a little trickl of smoke from under my hood. I pop the hood and it seemed my a/c compressor was the one smokeing. Least i think thats what it was. From the front of the car looking back, on the right side going down theres the power steering pump, the alternator, then the a/c compressor i beleive. So my friend stupidly takes the COLD bottle of water hed just bought and dumps some on it to try and cool it off while my backs turned. Now whenever i turn on the car theres this terrible grinding noise, and i'm guessing its the compressor.

Question is, can i take the belt off the compressor and not effect any other system? I cant tell just by looking at it. Not only that, but how do i go about fixing the busted compressor once i manage to get it out?

ZRoEXzisTeNcE · 08-29-2009, 11:31 PM

Are you sure he dumped it on the AC comp? Cuz the alternator is right above it. And no you can't just take the belt off cuz that same belt runs the alternator.

On a related note, if it is the AC comp, I happen to have a brand new OEM compressor for sale.

Edit: I just realized I was in the 4th gen forum. Oh god IT BURNSSS. Must...leave...IMMEDIATELY.

Tarnoth · 08-30-2009, 01:29 AM

I'm fairly sure it was the comp. Thought not sure. All i saw was the boiling water as its hissed away. And yes, sorry, this is a 93 vtec. Realized i hadn't said that before hand. How much would the compressor run, and i was under the impression you had to take it to an actual A/C tech to get it worked on? The mechanic i normally take my cars to said he wont touch A/C components.

ZRoEXzisTeNcE · 08-30-2009, 06:33 AM

Um well you can order whatever parts you need. You probably just need a mechanic to fill/recharge the system or whatever. Anyways, the AC comp is for a 5th gen. I dunno if it's the same part number for 4th gens but I have it up for $300

92lude4gen · 08-30-2009, 06:48 AM

if you had only had this prob a year ago lol i took A/C and power steerin out of my car and had the perfectly good compressor sittin in a box for some time. the only way to by pass the A/C compressor is to find the smaller belt that will just run the alt. i belive a new A/C compressor from rockauto.com will run anywhere from $200 to about $600 plus shipping

92lude4gen · 08-30-2009, 06:51 AM

Parts Classifieds (17 Viewing)
fs: h22/h23 usdm/jdm tons of...
this form also mentioned an A/C compressor for like $50 if i read right go check it out

G_Loc · 08-30-2009, 11:10 AM

Yes you CAN take the belt off. Just need to replace the belt with a shorter one to bypass the compressor yet still rotate the alternator.

Does the grinding stop after a while? With age, the bearings inside the pulley wear out which makes the compressor very noisy. If you catch it early enough, you can probably get by with just changing the bearings, if not, might need to buy a new compressor or have your existing one rebuilt. Does the compressor pulley wobble when the engine is running?

Tarnoth · 08-30-2009, 11:40 AM

Yes actually. It does go away after a few minutes. It will die down and you can just barely hear it making the engine sound just odd instead of sounding like the engine is fried. If i can just get away with the bearings, that would be great. Id rather replace that than the entire compressor.