1997 Pontiac Grand Prix A/C clutch fuse blows

First of all thank you so much for the donation.See if the center of the clutch moves freely?With the year and mileage of your car your probably better off changing the a/c compressor and clutch all together.Let me know what you find.

I can spin it by hand, but feels pretty tight, I figured that was the diagnosis, but didn't want to spend $500 if it just needed a $20 bearing

What model grand prix and engine size do you have?Let me know.

it's a GTP with the 3.8 s/c engine

I found a complete compressor for 177.00 plus 9.00 core plus shipping at www.rockauto.com.If you have anymore questions let me know.Thanks again for the donation and thank you for using 2carpros.

Went back out today, and tried a different angle of attack, compressor turns by hand same as one on in laws 01 buick that works fine.With engine running it is not blowing the fuse now, but clutch spins fast about 1 to 1.5 revolutions then stalls for a second, but not as if disengaging, looks like sticking. I spoke to a dealer tech, and he said he's never replaced one of this type for failure except for leakage.

[quote:241a34418c="archemedes"]Went back out today, and tried a different angle of attack, compressor turns by hand same as one on in laws 01 buick that works fine.With engine running it is not blowing the fuse now, but clutch spins fast about 1 to 1.5 revolutions then stalls for a second, but not as if disengaging, looks like sticking. I spoke to a dealer tech, and he said he's never replaced one of this type for failure except for leakage.[/quote:241a34418c]
If your saying the clutch is bad and the compressor is good then just replace the clutch if the compressor spins freely your ok.Especially if the dealer says the compressor's don't fail often.I would replace the whole clutch though not just the bearing.Let me know if you have any more question's.