This isnt MY car, but its a friends 93 Old Cutlass Ciera w/ a 3.3 and the Compressors the same as ours. The clutch is loose and rattling badly, it just started out of nowhere, and turning the A/C on makes the noise get much much quieter, the a/c works great, and hed like to keep it that way, im pretty sure its just that very outside part of the clutch that needs replacing, how exactly does that come off, i see the hex nut in the middle, is there a special wrench u need to take that off??
You can buy a replacement from autozone, and it does pretty much just come off pretty easily. You need a set of gap guages to shim it out properly thou. I have done one befor, it took about 2 hours because I had never done one befor.
I wouldn't just change the cltuch disc with out at the very least replace the other half it rides on with the bearing. The clutch disc and hub wear in together and replacing one with out the other will usually cause it to slip and fail early. I usually replace the 3 pieces on the front of the compressor. there is the clutch disc, bearing with the mating surface for the clutch and the coil. The problem is they sell this stuff 1 piece at a time or all of it in a kit and who know what way they will do it next week. The other problem is sometimes the clutch kit can cost as much as a reman compressor with a clutch on it.
As far as taking the nut off and sliding the disc off. I doubt yours is one of those. I don't do many GM A/C but do quite a bit of A/C. (I work here in Florida) If this compressor is anything like a 98 lumnia it is tought to change the clutch assy on the car and much easier to remove the clutch and if you haven't changed on it can be very easy to damage the new parts. Good luck
Tim
Actually im prolly wrong, my Auto teacher says its most definatly the Harmonic Balencer. This is a 3300 V6 and its making an AWFUL rattling noise that changed loudness with the accesory load, (putting it in reverse, powersteering, a/c, ect..) and if u rev it the noise completly disapears, but its LOUD at idle. The rubber has large peices missing and worn out, and the balencer wobbles. Thanks GM, I had to buy a 46$ Special Harmonic balencer pully puller Adapter kit specific for the 3300/3800 engines. Well see if that fixes it, thanks for the help tho. if u have any in sight on this problem futher or Harmonic balencer replacment say so.
Take the harmonic Balancer puller back. There is apsolutely no need for it...
Once you get that large nut off the center of the harmonic balancer, take the belt out of the way, and pull on the harmonic balancer. My 88 Olds just had a junk yard one put on it. Once that bolt was out of the way on the yard car, and the toro, the pulley came right off. Just make sure you have a impact to get that bolt off. That is a mofo with hand tools..
My dad has a 3300 out of a cutlass ciera and the harmonic balancer in that one was shot too. They thought it was the compressor, so they pulled the belt off to check, the noise didn't go away so they parked the car in the woods thinking it was shot, there it rotted and we now found out it was just the harmonic balancer, everything else was good, what a sad shame.
the puller was nessesary, that pully defintly wasnt coming off alone (this was on the parts engine, i still need to put it on the car)