July 25, 20178 yr 05 forester xt manual. I got a slight clunk that recurs every couple seconds or so when the a/c is on. Then I noticed about one third of my a/c belt was chewed up and wrapped around the backside of the compressor pulley. I cut the belt off which was about 3-4 years old and the a/c compressor pulley spins nice and smooth with no play but the clutch is very stiff/drags and not smooth at all in either direction. But I also noticed the idler/ tensioner pulley has a bit of play as well. I'm assuming I'll need to replace the idler pulley but what about the compressor?...From what I read the a/c clutch is not a serviceable part. The crank pulley/harmonic balancer has no visible play or separation. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
July 25, 20178 yr The clutch will be somewhat difficult to turn as that's what drives the rotor inside the compressor. Turning the clutch makes everything inside the compressor move, so there will be some drag. Common for the bearing in the idlers to fail. Does it spin smoothly or does it spin quickly and sound like it has sand in it? If it sounds fast and Sandy it probably needs a new bearing. A small amount of play is normal. The clunk was probably just the gaps in the belt hitting the pulleys.
July 25, 20178 yr +1 id replace the belt and bearings/tensioner and verify you have no other symptoms.
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