A/C Compressor Belt
 

Evening All,

I have an '08 V70 with non-functioning A/C. Took it to Kwikfit for a regas where it held pressure etc when they refilled but didn't cool. They said they though they could hear the clutch kicking in but no effect. Turns out there is no drive belt on the compressor from what I can see! Is there any way for me/a garage to tell if the compressor is actually still functional (e.g. and therefore worth paying to get the belt replaced) without actually removing and replacing it? Don't think I can quite stretch to the full replacement job if new compressor needed given age of the car but wasn't sure if possible to tell if functional or not?

Any thoughts most welcome!

Sandy

Sticking a belt on is a cheaper way to test it instead of trying a different compressor.

Another good reason not to use that mob :shocked:

The A/C doesn't work. Inspection shows there is no belt driving the compressor. What to do next? Change the compressor? If you don't fit a belt you wouldn't know if the new compressor worked. So you have to fit a belt. So fit the belt and see if the current compressor works. You're going to have to fit one anyway. :confused_smile:

Belt is about £25 from Volvo, so you’ll be able to find a cheaper one for less. Access is from under front wheel arch, you need to take liner out. You’ll need to partially take main aux belt off to fit new belt, if just checking the compressor by hand you will be able to turn it without.
There’s a guide here. https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=208501

^^^^ what he said, though I would add that it is a stretch belt, there is no tensioner, fitting it can be a little tricky but by no means impossible.

As per previous posters, you'll need a belt on the compressor to find out if it'll work or not. It's a bit fiddly stretching a new belt on, I did mine a few weeks ago. There are some photos on post 19 of my thread here which show what's involved and the part number for the belt, I got mine from VolvoTradeParts on eBay along with an aux belt and tensioner. :regular_smile:

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showt...=302878&page=2

Thanks very much indeed all - that's really helpful. Belt shopping I go!

Buy a decent brand too!

Hi before fitting a new belt a few things:

I had what sounds like your issue a few months back. Whilst I did have a leak in the condenser fron corossion pitting, the compressor was also leaking on the rear gasket. It took me a while to figure it out but I also had a broken belt and given that it was fairly new it was a bit odd. What the issue boiled down to was that the pully bearing was shot meaning that the pulley was dragging even without the clutch, causing it all to get hot to the point where the belt got soft and eventually shredded itself.

Big issue here was that the belt bits ended up in the timing case which had potential to cause a serious ball of trouble.

So, it as was probably cost effective to do, I got a new condenser and compressor from Air Con Parts (cheap and not brilliant quality) but it will do the job and was easier than trying to get the pulley off and all that nonsense and trying to fix the leaking gasket.

My suggestion to you is to doube check your pulley bearing for play and general wear and tear. You can watch it running without the belt and see if its dragging or acting up before you fit the new belt. Also, check about for the remains of the old belt. They're good quality and don't break for no reason. Wife's '09 XC60, exactly same age as my 70, is in perfect order with double the mileage. I think my compressor developed a leak because of the heat and/or constant running as a result of the knackered bearing meaning it never stopped operating.

Swapping the compressor is quite easy from below and will actually make the belt fitting easier as it can be fitted to the pulley "loose" and then bolting the compressor back in place. I say easier and not easy! You'll need to get the gas recovered properly too and the correct amount of oil added as it will not come with the new compressor. Get a good auto a/c fitter to do this and not KF.

Hope that helps.