I've been told that my loose air conditioner component may break and cause fan belts to break. It's under the hood. It makes a harsh rushing air sound at engine startup and the noise use to stop, but now it doesn't. Will it be expensive to fix? Is it dangerous?
thx. Sharon
The only air conditioning component
I can think of which could cause the serpentine belt to break would be the
compressor. If you look under the hood
you can see the belt winding around several pulleys of engine parts. The air
condition compressor is the part which has two hoses with metal fittings and a
wire harness attached to it. When the
engine is on the pulley attached to the compressor should be rotating at the
same speed as the other pulleys. Keep your hands, clothing and jewelry clear of
all moving engine parts. If it is moving at the correct speed it is good, if it
is not moving correctly it will cause the belt to slip creating friction until
the belt breaks. Once the belt breaks the engine cooling, power steering and
battery charging will stop, which will quickly cause the engine to stop
working. This could cause engine damage, but it will defiantly strand you with
a broken vehicle. If the pulley is
working and the air conditioner is working, do not worry about it, but you may
want to check the belt with the engine off for cracks or damage. If the belt is
slipping and the air condition is not working, the vehicle will need a new
compressor, coolant, and possibly a dryer. This could set you back about three
hundred dollars. If you do not want to
fix the air conditioning and the belt is not slipping run the
vehicle as usual if the belt is good. If you do not want to fix the air
conditioning and the belt is slipping you may be able to bypass the compressor
and use a smaller belt.
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