Noisy A/C compressor VR

[vl_davo]

Travelling home last night with the A/C on and noticed a tinny rattling/grating noise coming from under the bonnet. I pulled over immediately, left the car running and one by one, switched things off to try and troubleshoot the problem. I noticed that the noise immediately stopped when i switch off the A/C. If i started the A/C again the same scary sounding noise started. So, it appears the noise is the A/C compressor. The A/C still blows cold air. Just wondering if anyone else had this problem ? Also, could it just be the clutch on the compressor thats rattling and if so, can you just replace it and leave the compress there. Any help much appreciated. cheers.

[vl_davo]

Sorry, maybe i should have also added, its a VR V6.

[Cica9]

Sounds like you have worn compressor or clutch. You can replace clutch only but you still need to take the entire compressor off ie degas + regas etc. You also need specialised clutch removal tools to do it. In this case I suggest second hand compressor since labour cost of replacing the clutch only is more expensive then labour cost for compressor replacement. It is sometimes very hard to pinpoint where the noise is coming from ie you can replace the clutch and still have the same problem. The only time I would be looking at replacing clutch only on Commodore is if the compressor was almost new and it was a definite electrical problem with the clutch itself.

[johnnie5]

stuffed bearing in the compressor