newbie here....

when the ac is off I get a loud and annoying squeel... turn it on and it goes away... obviously related to something in the ac or heating unit.

I've heard of these problems before, what is it? how do I fix it? how much would it cost?

I also see that when the car idle's for a time it starts to heat up a bit. Once you get going again it drops back down to just above 90 degrees C (metric) where I think it should be.... it hasn't overheated yet, but just wondering what this could be caused by and how to fix it? also would it be related to the ac squeel?

Thanks!!! this site is great

If it's squealing it could be your serpentine belt. In that case you can replace it.

If it's more of a grinding noise, it could be your clutch plate on the outside of the compressor. Turning on the a/c stops the noise because the clutch engages. I'm not sure what causes them to start grinding over time.

You can see the plate in this pic. It's at the far right.


You can pry out on it a little so that it doesn't grind all the time. Don't go too far though, or it will make it so it can't engage at all.

I had this same problem on my '99 Z and didn't know what the problem was and ended up trying to take the compressor apart and broke it lol. I had to buy a used one from a member on here.

Rob





Sold 2/2/05

Thanks Rob!

I was told by a mech that same thing about the ac clutch. It does goes away when you turn the ac on and gets better as the car runs.

any other known fixes?

I think you can replace the clutch plate, which requires special tools if I remember correctly.

Rob





Sold 2/2/05

ac clutch might need adjusted mine did something like that.