Mechanic Died after rebuild.AC Compressor pulley eats serpentine

[JCFox]

2000 EuroVan with AES 12v Engine.

Rebuilt the engine, and the mechanic delivered it, and up and died. (Nice guy too, stomach cancer. Gone in 90 days.)

Anyway, AC was acting up, so I took it into AC shop for service. Compressor is dead, so we pull it, get an identical compressor, new belt, and the belt does not line up with the pulleys of the other accessories. Like the pulley is too short, so the serpentine rides off the edge of the pulley by about an inch.

So, it eats the serpentine belt. A $75 belt.

We try a compreasor from a 2001, won't fit.

So, from what we can tell, the other pulleys are not lining up with the compressor, and it should. No way to adjust the pulley, so I'm wondering if the dead mechanic messed up lining up the others. If that's possible.

So...... Has anyone seen this? Is there a solution?

Help please.

Thanks.

JC

[TDCTDI]

I'm thinking that it's the aftermarket compressor that's at fault. There is no way that the mechanic could alter the brackets to cause the misalignment. Besides, this belt issue didn't start until the compressor was replaced.
This issue falls on the shop that replaced your A/C compressor, not the deceased mechanic.

Some of the VWs had aluminum spacers sandwiched between the compressor & the bracket to allow the compressor bolts to be removed with the compressor since there was not enough room between the compressor & frame rail to completely remove the bolts. I don't remember if this was the case on this particular VW but it might be a possibility that the A/C shop failed to reinstall these (or reinstalled them on the wrong side of the bracket.).

[JMB3]

[TDCTDI]

[JMB3]

[JCFox]

Thanks for all the comments.

The problem actually existed with the prior OEM compressor, but now that I think of it I took it in for a Power Steering pump just before this all started.

The AC guy said the belt on the OEM pump was also riding outside the pulley.

I'm looking for a new mechanic to tow the van to, as it shot another belt last night leaving the AC guy. At $75 a pop, those things get expensive.

Thanks again.

[Stripped66]

Wow.

I don't think I've ever recommended this before: take it to the dealership.
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[JCFox]

That is not entirely a bad idea - only because I'm on the border with México, and their shop rates are not that out of line.

I've got 2 of these vans, the 2000 with an AES, that I've rebuilt the engine, transmission, and now the AC - that I just want to sell, and a 2002 that I've done the same to, that is in the middle of a high end paint job and customization. (Client with high end shop is only charging for Materials.)

It's getting the full treatment, including replacing the middle seats and back bench with front seats - so it only seats 6, but all can recline and move forward and back as needed.

Should be a fun Van, if he'd ever finish.

Thanks!

[Stripped66]

You know what, I take that back...


...I bet $20 that somebody installed the power-steering pump pulley backwards.

Take a picture of the face of the pulley. The pulley hub should be convex:

if it's concave:

it's on backwards.


If this is the case, you can fix this in your driveway (you might need to rent a pulley-puller from Autozone) and save you further $$$ and idiocy from dealing with incompetent mechanics.
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[JCFox]

Thank you so much!!!!

I'll check it out over the weekend.

My mechanic was a good guy, it's a shame I can't give him a hard time about this.

Thanks for the tip, I'll check it out and post some pictures so the thread is complete for anyone with a similar problem in the future.

[JCFox]

[Stripped66]

Purchase a 3/8"-drive set of metric allen "sockets" (assuming you have a ratchet/socket set). It should be a 5 or 6mm allen. I don't recall how much of a press-fit may be holding the center of the pulley onto the hub, so after you remove the allen bolts, you may be able to wiggle the pulley off, or you might need to use a 2 or 3-jaw puller (Autozone usually rents these out for free, with a nominal deposit).

It's not a complicated job at all, ~10 minutes for a shop (though, they may happily charge you for an hour's work regardless, so you'll likely be ahead financially buying the tools and doing it yourself).

Glad it was something simple, and glad you found the culprit before sinking more money into searching for the fix!!!
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[JCFox]

Thanks for the assistance, it was exactly as you said.

One thing to note, is that it takes an M8 bolt I to the tensioner to release it so the Serpentine can be installed.

The bolt on the pulley was a 6mm allen, and the middle was likely a 9mm, but I could not find one, so I just put the jack handle through one of the holes to hold it in place.

Backed the van up to a curb to hold it in placed, jacked up the passenger side high, removed the wheen and put in under the van, and did the work in an hour.

Thanks for the assistance. I don't think I could have figured this out without your help.

[Scottn59c]

Guys,

I'm having a related problem and I think it makes sense to attach it to this thread .

I just paid a shop to install a new A/C compressor/components. When I picked the van up, it was making some loud, whirring belt noise. The shop took it back in and was uncertain if there was a pulley problem or a problem with the serpentine belt. $120 later, we had replaced the serpentine belt, and the whirring was not as loud, but definitely still present.

I followed this thread and took off the skid plate and looked at the A/C compressor and pulleys. The power steering pulley appears to be correctly installed (it's convex), but the pulley right behind it (The one that looks like the power steering pulley but only has three holes in it rather than four) is concave. Should it be?

I took the van out for a 50+ mile drive yesterday and the belt noise disappeared after the first fifteen miles. Started it back up this morning and the noise was back.

Your thoughts are appreciated!
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Farfignewton!

[JCFox]

[Scottn59c]

They told me they suspected a pulley, though the pulley wasn't making noise prior to the installation of the new compressor. The shop mentioned that finding a replacement pulley by itself was difficult and that they could only get it through VW.

The new compressor that was installed wasn't the most expensive OEM one, but it wasn't the cheapest option either. I'm wondering if the problem is with the compressor itself. The noise I'm hearing could be from a bad bearing on the A/C compressor? I'm not sure.
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Farfignewton!

[Zeitgeist 13]

Did they leave the release bolt in the tensioner? It seems plausible that they left the bolt in the tensioner and it's not allowing the belt to be fully under the proper level of tension, and thus the noises.
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Casey--

'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik?

[Scottn59c]

Casey, it's possible, but I'm not sure what I should be looking for. Can you give me more details on the release bolt on the tensioner? I'm confused as to what is what. Should I be looking at the drive belt tensioner or drive belt idler pulley? A/C belt tensioner? I'm not even sure which is which. Pictures would sure be helpful if anyone has any. Keep in mind that I am a total numbskull/novice.
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Farfignewton!

[Zeitgeist 13]

Here's a vid showing the bolt I'm referencing


Link

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Casey--

'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik?

[Scottn59c]

There's no bolt in the tensioner.

Still trying to troubleshoot. Is the noise due to my new compressor, or is there possibly pulley misalignment? Again, the shop tech thought it was a pulley problem, and the shop floated the possibility of replacing the pulley (I don't know that they told me which one) but I thought it was strange that there was no noise prior to the installation of the new compressor.

Also, any thoughts on why I hear the noise at startup, during accelerations, but then not after driving for awhile?
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Farfignewton!