V70: General Belt to bypass seized Ac compressor v70 2008

[Al Blackheath]

Hi,
Can anyone help please....
The AC compressor has seized on my 2008 V70.
The belt threw loads of smoke and when engine turned off the Belt fried then snapped at the point It was on the AC belt wheel.
The car is old with lots of miles and is on life support - little point in replacing the ac compressor.
Can I simply fit a shorter belt and route it such that it bypasses the ac compressor.
If so, any ideas what belt length is needed and a routing diagram ... I’m presuming that other fly wheels (eg alternator) must spin in a specific direction.
Thanks
A.

[Beanwood]

IF It's the same as mine (D5), the AC compressor is a separate belt, that you don't need, as it ONLY drives the AC compressor.
Mine went without for several weeks after the AC compressor siezed.

[Kev0607]

It'll have a separate belt for the a/c, just take that off (On the D5 engines anyway).

The longer belt (auxiliary) is for the alternator, power steering etc - That one has nothing to do with the a/c.

Jack the car up, take the driver's front wheel off & then remove the plastic wheel arch liner - This will give you the best access to the aux belt & a/c belt. The belt closest to you is the a/c belt (Its also the shortest). You don't need to undo a tensioner or anything, as it just fits snugly around the a/c compressor. By the sounds of the condition of yours, you should be able to find it easy enough!

Removing just the a/c belt won't affect the running of the car.

[Rids666]

Yep as said belt for ac is totally separate so just cut it off. Won't effect the car

[Al Blackheath]

Thanks for your help and advice.

My ac compressor was definitely fed by the same serpentine belt that drives the alternator and other components - rather than being a separate belt.

Couldn’t come up with a routing that by-passed the seized compressor and still turned the other pulleys in the correct direction/ had enough contact with the fly wheels.

Having pondered trying to guess possible shorter belt length (possibly buying a couple at £12 each) with it prob being abortive, or put in a free wheel at a parts cost of circa £50, I concluded it was cheaper and faster to put in a salvaged ac compressor and use the correct belt following the correct routing. At least I knew that solution would work.

Thanks for your help though.

[Tannaton]

If your AC is driven by the main belt, the chances of you finding a belt of the correct length is very slim and it is even less likely to have the correct path - the belt route is optimised so the contact area of the belt around the various pulleys is maximised. Like others have said though, the AC compressor is usually on a separate belt. It might still be that the compressor jamming has caused the AUX belt to fail. If you could post a pic - that would useful.

Your best bet (if you do have one belt) is to buy a second hand AC compressor (circa £50 on ebay) and fit that, even if you never re-gas it.

Remember the most common cause of early death on these engines is the AUX belt going and taking the timing belt with it, so you don't want to be experimenting with it...

EDIT: Just read your second post and you've done just that :-)