My compressor is making all kinds of noise. I'm installing my supercharger this week and thought about just keeping the AC belt off until summer when I replace the compressor. The noise just pisses me off... So can I run without the AC belt? Just not sure if the belt runs anything else...

Yes, perfectly fine.

yes

I previously had to replace the seized ac belt tensioner. That may be a cause?

I also replaced mine, bearing was making tons of noise. Dealer wanted about $50 for the pulley, so I went aftermarket at NAPA.

Every time you drive without the A/C belt on, 1 Jeep has a flat tire!

I will look into that as well. Although it gets really loud when it engages so I'm pretty sure the compressor is bad.

Hey guys.

Need some help with diagnosis.

My AC belt snapped off. I figured it wasn't a big deal. I drove home.

However, the engine began to run hot.

Is there any relation to the AC belt breaking off and the engine running hotter?

Or did I suffer a huge coincidence in which I had two failures happen concurrently the same day?

Does the AC belt effect the water pump? Or engine cooling?

I'm actually hoping the two problems are related and solved by simply replacing the belt. But I want to know what you experienced techs think.

It seems like if I make a turn or go over a bump, the temp will drop back down a little. But it seems like the coolant isn't circulating well.

Thanks!

On second thought,

It may be that an overheating problem caused the belt to break.

The radiator mail have boiled over, and some hot coolant got on the AC belt broke and broke it. There was some evidence this may have been the case since the hose to the radiator overflow tank was loose.

That's probably what happened.

So now I have to diagnose an overheating problem. Ughh. I'll do a search, but please link me to a good overheating/cooling diagnosis thread if you already know of one. Thanks!

More than likely your belt issues and overheating issues are related by a lack of maintenance.

The water pump is driven by the timing belt.
The 3 belts you can see drive the AC pump, power steering pump, cooling fan, and alternator.
You can visually inspect those by just opening the hood and looking.

Coolant shouldn’t damage a belt unless it causes it to slip and then burn up from slipping. This takes some time and usually involves a fair amount of squealing.

Thank you for the response.

The belt closest to the engine powers the alternator. I replaced that last year.

The middle belt is for the AC. That's the one that broke off.

The one closest to the radiator powers the power steering.

I'm pretty sure that radiator fluid spilled out and splashed on the belts. The middle one didn't survive hot fluid splashing on it.

My radiator cap (underside) looks damage. There's no spring action.

I am now going to replace the radiator cap and thermostat and report back.

There is no milkiness in the oil. No apparent leaks of fluid (other than from overflow from top of radiator cap to overflow reservoir). No white smoke. No sweet smell of burning radiator fluid. So hopefully no head gasket problem yet. Radiator fan is spinning and working as it should.

It hasn't red-lined, but is running at about 3/4 on the temp gauge. Though I only run it for short trips.

I already have some new belts to put on. Just want to address the overheating first.

Start with a new OEM radiator cap. Yes, OEM. Don't cheap out, the parts store crap leaks.

That might be all you need to fix the overheating.

-Charlie

There was definitely something wrong with the underside of my radiator cap. I'd take a picture and show you but my phone is broken (it's been a bad week).

Unfortunately, replacing it did not solve the problem.

I will try thermostat next.

I have a bad feeling it might be the water pump.

At that point if you have to do the water pump you midswell do the timing belt if you haven’t already.. definitely could be the thermostat stuck closed though.

Ughhh.....Thermostat didn't fix problem.

Anything else to check before I start researching which water pump and timing belt to buy and carve out an entire weekend to do it?

Is the cooling fan spinning when the motor is running?