I've got a 1993 taurus with a horrific screeching sound when you have the engine running. it started out as a simple metallic grinding sound a few days ago, now its a screeching sound like steel against steel. I looked at the engine, and could see smoke coming from the AC pump, and discoloration on the pulley, which I know isnt a good thing. this thing is unholy. I'm not sure exactly what's wrong, or how to fix it, without spending more than $500 on it. the smell of the smoke was like burning plastic, which is rather strong and unpleasant, so I know something is wrong there. my mechanic, is a moron, and I wont take the car to him since I know he'll make it worse somehow.

 

Well sounds like the AC pulley brg. locked up , ,, looking at the belts , you should see a small square hole on one of the pullys sorta in the middle of all the other ones , This is your belt Tensioner. , if you take the belt off the car ( pay attention which way it goes around the pulleys) most cars have a sticker to show how the belt goes , Sometimes they are missing however, or they got a bunch of dotted lines for this that an the other ,,, Anyway after you pull off the belt , spin each pulley by hand it should turn freely, an make no noise .If it dont turn ,or is VERY stiff an noisy its BAD !!!, As long as the shaft on the AC compresser isnt damaged you should be able to get away with a new AC pulley kit an belt. I wouldnt recommend you drive it like it is , as the belt is going to break an cause futher problems like blown head gaskits etc, if its just the belt an pulley kit your probaly looking at $300.00 + to get it fixed, Shouldnt go to $500.00 however ,,, Cheaper if you cn do it yourself ,, Goodluck

 

That is if the noise is there all the time. If you turn off your a/c and the noise goes away, then you got a locked-up a/c compressure. So hopefully is only a bearing, because a new a/c compressure and a good flushing, orific tube, and accumalator is going to go over $500. And it not just any possum that can do that work [&:]

 

I just bought a 99 3.0 DOHC. Very nice car, except that, as the saying goes, if it's too good to be true, it probably is. The car was cheap, but the repairs are gonna kill me.

I've got a CEL that reads "lean on bank one." I think it's a vaccuum leak, but I don't know how to find it. At $175 for a pair or O2 sensors, I'd prefer to rule out the vaccuum leak before buying those damn sensors...

Then, last week, my A/C compressor starting clicking...you know what I mean, that little spinner on the side would go for a few seconds, then stop for 10 seconds, then go again. Didn't do it all the time, and the A/C was never on. In fact, the A/C hasn't worked in quite some time. (Leak in the system somewhere)

Tonight, we started smelling the burn. When we checked under the hood, sure enough, the pulley was turning, but the side was bright red and smoking like crazy. We stopped the car for while, let it cool. Finished the quick drive home and parked it overnight. Last thing I wanna do is bust the damned belt while out on the road.

Tomorrow morning, we'll be going out there to look at it, when it's cool. Am I looking at compressor, compressor and clutch, or what? I don't know much about replacing this part, but I want to get some ideas of what this is going to cost me, before I go out and start buying parts *****-nilly. I got a guy who'll put it in without charging me an arm and leg, so any help much appreciated.