We need some airrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, especially down here in Florida. Man right now it is really hot, since this strange thing happened with my air conditioning belt, should say belts. The first one broke off then we replaced it with a new one. Took her out for a spin to cool off and it broke off again. Really should said shredded the darn things. Any ideas out there we would surely appreciate the help. Can't wait till the steady drip, drip, drip stops and the cooooooooooooool relaxing ride starts.

We need some airrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, especially down here in Florida. Man right now it is really hot, since this strange thing happened with my air conditioning belt, should say belts. The first one broke off then we replaced it with a new one. Took her out for a spin to cool off and it broke off again. Really should said shredded the darn things. Any ideas out there we would surely appreciate the help. Can't wait till the steady drip, drip, drip stops and the cooooooooooooool relaxing ride starts.


Wow, it sounds like either your idler pulley is locking up or your A/C compressor is locking up. And burning the belt off. That's my guess.

Hi toobroketoretire,
Thanks for the response. Sure hope it's the idle pulley. Thought today we'd check it out. Hope it's not the A/C air compressor. How would I check the air compressor and if it is locking up does that mean I need to replace it?

:bump2: Anyone have any ideas about this?

I have seen this happen before, albeit on other cars but the same concept. If any of the pulleys are not lined up properly it won't take to long for it to break.

Install new belt. Watch belt track with engine idling and AC off. If it looks ok have someone turn on AC while you watch. See what happens. If it looks good raise RPM's and watch some more. Just keep clear in case the belt shreds and debris goes flyin.

Well, since the belt is shredded now just spin the idler pulley by hand, if it is shot you will hear the bearings and feel side movement if you pull on it from front to back. Normally idler pulleys do not freeze up though, they just wear out, get noisy and start wobbling arround.

Compressors do freeze up though when low on oil or when they get extremely hot, and after freezing up once can continue to freeze up even if replenished with oil. Reason being that when it freezes up metal transfer takes place between the moving parts altering the original clearances.

You can try to purge the system, and replenish the freon and oil, and it might then be ok, or it might not. Last resort is to replace the compressor and purge the system and then service it.

Hi toobroketoretire,
Thanks for the response. Sure hope it's the idle pulley. Thought today we'd check it out. Hope it's not the A/C air compressor. How would I check the air compressor and if it is locking up does that mean I need to replace it?


I had an A/C compressor lock up on me about 10 years ago and I was alerted by the smoke that came rolling out from under the hood. It burned the metal clutch to a crisp in a matter of 30 seconds. Your idler pulley should spin freely with no noise, so you can easily check that by removing the belt and spinning it by hand.

If it's the A/C compressor that froze up, it's totally shot inside. So you can either buy a new one (or a factory rebuilt) from your G.M. dealer, or a rebuilt one from your local auto parts store. My new one from G.M. set me back around $500 if I recall.

I can't live without AC!!!