Noticed recently that my A/C unit is squealing. When accelerating, it gets louder. Saw an A/C clutch rebuild kit on Rock Auto for cheap (couple bucks)! Would that take care of the problem, or will I have to drop a couple hundred on a new unit? Rebuilding an A/C clutch hard to do? As always, thanks for the advice!

Have you checked to make sure you don't just have a bad belt tensioner?

Background Story::
When I first bought the car (little over 4 years ago), I noticed the belt would squeal when the HVAC system was engaged. Come to find out, the previous owner removed the Smog Pump. Not a huge concern living by Green Bay, WI. Only problem is getting a belt that fits exactly. After A LOT of trial and error, I found a belt that works - but isn't an exact fit. Plus I don't want to spend over $500 for a new Smog Pump...

During that trial and error, I replaced the idler pulley and checked the tensioner and it seemed to be working just fine (this was about 1.5 years ago). I've also been running w/o the air conditioning working for over 2 years now too. Starting to think that these cars aren't like normal cars if your A/C quits blowing cold air.

All of this info is leaving me to believe that the A/C pump is on its way out. This summer, I pretty much have to rip apart the whole front end to replace the ball joints, bearings, rotors, and breaks anyway. Was looking for some insight first and was gonna attempt to fix it all in one shot.

IYAAYAS, if you're lucky the A/C compressor is bad and needs to be replaced. If the evaporator leaks the entire dashboard needs to be removed and the evaporator replaced ... to the tune of $4,000.

With the custom drive belt configuration in your 1995 E320 there may be less contact area on the A/C compressor pulley causing it to squeal. You may want to consider installing a non-functioning air pump that restores the original drive belt length and configuration.

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Fred Hoelzle

I'm about 99.9% sure that the evaporator isn't leaking. I still have a slight squeal with the belt when I fire her up, all it takes is to give it a little rev, and the squeal goes away - with the belt anyway. As for the A/C compressor.... that's a constant squeak. For under $150.00, I can get a new compressor (wasn't a clutch rebuild kit that I saw earlier).

I never thought of getting a non-functioning air pump! I'll check the local junk yards and hopefully I can get one for cheap with the few E320's that are around here. Appreciate the tips!

Whelp.... on my way back to work from lunch and the serpentine belt decided to come off... sweet! at least I made it to work...

....was right.....

If only I would have checked it when it first started happening... Good lookin out