1997 Chevy Lumina Noise

PDLADY88101

MEMBER
1997 CHEVROLET LUMINA
6 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
115,000 MILES

My car when cranked makes weird noise, someone told me it was a/c compressor. Would it make that noise even if a/c is not on? They said it sounded llike the bearing is gone. If I buy a compressor/ with clutch, what kind of time are we talking about for a mechanic to replace. The air conditioner didn't run too well last year. I had to keep replacing freon. Do mechanic's have a time manual to let me know how many hours it would take?The noise that it makes is continual when car is running and driving.

3 Replies

FACTORYJACK

MECHANIC
4,159 POSTS

If someone has said it is the bearing, all I can do at this point is to agree. It can make the noise with the A/C on or off, if it is the pulley bearing. It is turning whenever the belt is turning it. One way to rule that it is an accessory noise, is to remove the belt and run it. To replace the compressor, you are first going to have an evacuate and recharge addition that usually is approximately 1.4 hours flat rate. To replace the compressor, for a 3.4L is 2.2 hours flat rate, and for a 3.1L it is 1.1 hours. You may have a recommendation to replace the expansion device(orifice tube) at the same time, which will add some time to the estimate. These times are approximate, and will calculate to the dollars a shop charges per flat rate hour. The times are taken from ALLDATA.