I need some AC help!

BRPL XJ said:

ok for the past year or so when ever I turn my AC on I hear an awful squeek from the compressor when accelerating, the compressor seems to have alot of resistance to it because the dash lights dim when I turn it on and theres a noticable power loss. Ive heard of guys taking the clutch out and packing it with grease to free up resistance and stop the squeeks, has anybody heard of or done this? anyway I know I probably need a new clutch or all new compressor but to my understanding those are expensive and I dont have the cash for doing that now. does anyone have suggestions as to how to fix this besides greasin it up? TIA, Drew, btw 96/4.0/100k

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XJXJ said:

Think about it for a minute, would you grease the clutch for your engine/transmission if it were making noise? No, you might replace the throwout bearing but grease isn't gonna help ANY clutch situation except for the external pedals/levers/linkage used to actuate the clutch.

Same deal with your AC compressor clutch. Perhaps the "throwout" mechanism is hanging-up and could use some lube but that is very unlikely. You probably have either a poorly adjusted belt and/or a bad compressor that is dragging the engine down when engaged.

If it's really bad you can disconnect the electrical plug running to the compressor/clutch to disable the system until you have money to get it serviced properly. You probably don't need AC much right now except the defrosters work a little better if the AC can run to remove excess mositure. Some XJ's never had AC from the factory anyway so it's not super critical for defrosting.

Anyway, I'd leave the grease alone here and disable until it can be repaired.

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