Success! I read in another post that even if the compressor is seized, if it is disengaged it will still spin. So I disconnected it, set the climate to hellfire, and the vehicle ran just fine.

I'm still going to cut it, just to be sure. Going to Michigan this weekend.

Now to find how to get the right tension for the alternator belt I loosened.

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1981 300D 205,000 mi.