I have a 1997 Honda Accord EX 2.2L VTEC Automatic. The other day when I turned it on, I started hearing an unusual noise coming from the driver side of the engine. I popped the hood while it was still running and was able to locate where I think the sound is coming from. The noise is a shaking "wheel" part that the serpentine belt runs around. The sound is just the shaking/rattling of the wheel part. I don't know what that "wheel" part is called, if it is called a pulley or not, but it is the part of the A/C Compressor that the serpentine belt spins around. After doing some research online I found out that that part is the A/C Compressor. It is a Denso A/C Compressor. The car runs normal, the A/C inside the car is normal, it is just the "wheel" part that makes noise i guess because it is shaking/rattling slightly. I was looking at potential costs of getting it fixed by taking it to a shop and it looks like it could cost around $600 just for a used replacement A/C Compressor and then with labor costs could go up to or over $1200. I don't know if it is possible to just replace or stop the "wheel" part from shaking/rattling by tightening it, or if it would be necessary to replace the whole A/C Compressor. Please let me know if you know anything about this as soon as possible because I would like it fixed ASAP. Also, is the car okay or safe to drive while it is currently how it is and do I risk doing more damage to it if I drive it in the mean time before getting it fixed?

 

If it's the pulley that's right on the AC compressor, for some model-years you can change that pulley without changing the compressor.

Just to confirm, remove the belt that drives the AC & alternator. First you'll have to remove the PS belt. The engine can run without those 2 belts, just get a battery warning lamp and it depletes the battery so don't drive very far. Waterpump continues to be driven by the timing belt inside the plastic covers.

With the belt off, it shouldn't be making that noise. Also, try to wiggle that pulley. It should spin freely, but not wobble.

 

The problem is likely the bearing in the pulley. You can replace just the pulley or just the bearing. It isn't terribly difficult to do.

I bought a bearing at O'Reillys and had a machine shop install the bearing. If you go this route, take the pulley with you, because they initially gave me the wrong part.

A junkyard pulley is another alternative.

You want to be careful when you remove the clutch, because there are a bunch of shims under the clutch that can fall all over the place. I can give you more detailed instructions on the steps if you decide to do this yourself.

 

I just drove my car for the 1st time in a couple days. The noise is still there. Also, today was kinda hot, like 80 degrees. I tried turning on my A/C inside the car on full-blast and even after 15-20 minutes it was still blowing room temperature air. Do you think there is something wrong with my A/C? because it surely was not blowing cold air.

 

There is something wrong if the a/c is not blowing cold air.

Was the a/c working before?

 

Yes, it was working fine before when I made my 1st post. I just didn't know if by following my storyline you could tell if 1 thing could cause another and things might be related. I would like to avoid as much A/C work as possible because I am pretty sure it is very, very expensive and I don't have a lot of money and I also don't know a whole whole lot about it.

 

You can get a short belt that drives only the alternator and bypass the AC compressor. No AC, but no cost to repair. Get the No-Ac belt from a parts store.

This repair can be made in-place w/o discharging the AC,...if it remains charged which seems in doubt. I managed to do something similar (remove shim from underneath clutch plate) by removing compressor from mount and rocking backwards w/ hoses attached. This provides enough room to access clutch plate retainer bolt (10mm socket size). You will also need to remove the clutch coil which contains the bearing.

good luck