I have (suspect) a noisy pulley that sometimes makes loud noises. I had the car inspected almost a year ago, and the person told me that it was a noisy ac compressor pulley. I first started getting this noise when the car went into the dealer for the steering link recall on 95-'02 cavaliers. I had it for a month or so into the winter last year, but it cleared itself up, and I had no problems until the past two weeks.

I'm wondering whether anyone is familiar with this and/or could give some advice on what it could be, whether it is actually the pulley or something else.

I appreciate any input. Thanks.

Most likely it is the pulley bearings or the a/c clutch. It is a common problem with cars when they get older.
The fact that you had it, it went away, and came back again would make me think it was the clutch. The bearings would just get progressively worse.

my ac pulley is getting noisy , it is the bearing inside the clutch pulley assembly !



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Would that mean a new ac unit altogether? A place I went to told me that they would just replace the compressor as opposed to trying to repair the pulley itself.

I believe you when you would say that it will get progressively worse. I want to sort of guage the wear so as I can predict what to do about it and when.

My friend has a 96 cavalier. His compressor pulley was making a lot of noise so we went to the junk yard and bought a used compressor for $40 and put it on, but then after a week it went bad to. i was wondering if it is too hard to change the a/c clutch only since it is the problem and not the compressor itself. How much would the a/c clutch cost? Should I just go get another compressor off a 99 sunfire that I saw there too?




stock '00 2200 cavy

lbls1 wrote: I first started getting this noise when the car went into the dealer for the steering link recall on 95-'02 cavaliers.

What recall is this? Where can I find more info?

Old Wolf wrote:

lbls1 wrote: I first started getting this noise when the car went into the dealer for the steering link recall on 95-'02 cavaliers.

What recall is this? Where can I find more info?

It was a big mailing that was sent to cavalier owners last year. I was surprised since I didn't think that Chevy knew or cared that I bought this car recently at that time. You could either check with your local chevy dealer and/or call the central customer service number and inquire about the steering link recall notice sent last year. I am fuzzy on the details, but it involves a fix on either the steering link, or if the problem (which was stalling of the power steering during turns) is severe enough, a replacement of the steering rack.

Back to the compressor issue: I may ask around to see if anyone will know how to fix or replace the pulley. I am (actually I am but I lack the time, equipment and space needed to fix my own cars) not very mechanically inclined so I'll need to scout out someone that can do this job cost effectively. If it ends up costing a lot of labor to fix it, then it probably is better to replace the whole compressor. Funny as I speak, the pulley was almost whisper quiet today (I put belt dressing on it on saturday, and it did not like that!). That pulley is funny that way, the noise sometimes won't happen for months, and then all of a sudden it makes that darned scratchy noise that I hate.

If the noise is changing daily, one day it is noisy, next nothing then it is probably your compressor clutch that is causing the problem.
The previous owner had this problem on my van. Sometimes the clutch catches, sometimes not. Suddenly it (or the compressor) will seize and end of story. In my case the compressor clutch started burning and the hood filled up with smoke.
The previous owner replaced the compressor with a clutch less compressor that was laying around and happened to fit. I bought the van without working air conditioning.

Later when the bearing started to go (a constant noise) I went to the parts store and bought the non-air conditioning idler pulley and belt, went to the wrecker and pulled the parts for the non-air conditioned setup and completely switched the vehicle to non-air conditioned for about $40 plus the idler pulley.

I don't really need air conditioning where I live in Canada and this saved me money. Perhaps you might want to consider this approach or... whatever.

lbls1 wrote:

Old Wolf wrote:

lbls1 wrote: I first started getting this noise when the car went into the dealer for the steering link recall on 95-'02 cavaliers.

What recall is this? Where can I find more info?

It was a big mailing that was sent to cavalier owners last year. I was surprised since I didn't think that Chevy knew or cared that I bought this car recently at that time. You could either check with your local chevy dealer and/or call the central customer service number and inquire about the steering link recall notice sent last year. I am fuzzy on the details, but it involves a fix on either the steering link, or if the problem (which was stalling of the power steering during turns) is severe enough, a replacement of the steering rack.

I have owned my Cavilier since 2000 and the only recall I have received was for the fire hazard in the starting circuit. Did the steering link recall apply to all Cavaliers or just specific years?

The third gens, but specifically I believe that the years ranged from '97 to '02. I am not 100% sure so you should check it out with the dealer or the Chevy center.

Pearl WhiteZ wrote:If the noise is changing daily, one day it is noisy, next nothing then it is probably your compressor clutch that is causing the problem.
The previous owner had this problem on my van. Sometimes the clutch catches, sometimes not. Suddenly it (or the compressor) will seize and end of story. In my case the compressor clutch started burning and the hood filled up with smoke.
The previous owner replaced the compressor with a clutch less compressor that was laying around and happened to fit. I bought the van without working air conditioning.

Later when the bearing started to go (a constant noise) I went to the parts store and bought the non-air conditioning idler pulley and belt, went to the wrecker and pulled the parts for the non-air conditioned setup and completely switched the vehicle to non-air conditioned for about $40 plus the idler pulley.

I don't really need air conditioning where I live in Canada and this saved me money. Perhaps you might want to consider this approach or... whatever.

Wow...well I would except it can get as hot as a mutha in NYC during the summer. My first car had a/c which did not work, and when I look back now I can't figure out how I was able to make it without a/c. Oh well, I'm just decades older and hundreds poorer......

Just as a bit of a warning, because the guy I bought my van off of ( a co-worker) tried to nurse out the failing clutch/compressor as well.
When it went, it was without much warning and he could not go too far or his serpentine belt would have been torn to shreds.
This is probably something you don't want to drive around with, if it seizes you'll need a tow.