Is it OK to drive without an A/C belt??

[tsi1991awd]

When I was driving home from work tonight, I heard a loud pop and sounded like something hit the undercarriage of my car. I doubled back and didn't see anything (this was near my house) and so I went home, got the flashlight out and noticed that the A/C belt snapped! It is still attached by two teeth worth of belt and the rest is shredded up and hanging there.

So if I remove the belt, can I drive like that, or will it affect drivability? I don't use my A/C....but if its better to have it on, I will change it out tomorrow.

 

[98GSXtreme07]

You will be fine. You'll notice slightly better performance too. The engine doesn't have to work as hard.

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/pro...-belt-merged-8-8-cutting-remove-removing.html

I had to do it a few months ago cause of a failing A/C Compressor.

 

[Dsmj89]

You will be totally fine without it. Although there will be no noticeable difference, i did this on my 91 tsi awd back in the day and it felt the same performance-wise. But indeed your motor will run a bit easier taking a toll rest on that ac pulley.

 

[PIMking]

Yes, I bet you will see better mpg's not much but a bit.

I cut mine this summer.

 

[tsi1991awd]

Thanks guys....will it have any effect on the rear defrost? I ask only because when I turn the rear defrost on, I hear the fans come on as if I turned the A/C on.

 

[tunethis]

Thanks guys....will it have any effect on the rear defrost? I ask only because when I turn the rear defrost on, I hear the fans come on as if I turned the A/C on.

The rear defrost has nothing to do with the A/C. I don't know why your fans come on when you press the rear defrost button.

 

[98GSXtreme07]

^Good answer.

 

[Splitpi]

The only ones that are not ok to drive with out is the Timing belt and the WaterPump/Alternator belt. Power Steering is Optional aswell... but I wouldn't drive without it.

 

[FIBA M - EC17PSE]

The only ones that are not ok to drive with out is the Timing belt and the WaterPump/Alternator belt. Power Steering is Optional aswell... but I wouldn't drive without it.

maybe if you wished hard enough you could drive with out them
im going to do this aswell and maybe relocate my altonator aswell where the AC pump is IF I CAN!!! if you do get rid or your belt you might aswell take out everything mate will reduce weight abit aswell and then you can connect the ac fan to come on and cool the radiator more aswell!.

 

[jdodds]

Go get some tools and remove the whole a/c system. You might as well lose the weight. Once youre done with that, relocate your alternator to where the a/c was.

 

[Wicked_Sick]

Perfectly safe without the belt. If you dont use the A/C you can drop the whole system and lighten the car a bit.

 

[knochgoon24]

The A/C does help defog the windows faster for us DD guys.

 

[tsi1991awd]

Yea, my windows have been fogging up...I've found out that using the outside air instead of recirc will help as well. The thing is, I have no refrigerant in the system, so my A/C couldn't be anymore useless than it already is.

Is it OK to run without the A/C fan too? I'm about to put in a front mount and the A/C fan has to go....but I don't want to buy a thin fan if I don't have to. I already have an aluminum radiator, and it seems to be keeping things cooler...my fans don't come on as often as they used to.

One last thing - can the A/C condensor in front of the radiator be removed without taking out the radiator itself?

 

[fran_drivertsi]

A/C compressor takes a lot of force to rotate. When i was changing my timing belts, I had that question rise, if to even install the belt or not and I decided to install it anyway, because if I ever decide to use AC again, I could.

But technically you will have less rotating mass and therefore more HP. I doubt you will actually see the difference though.

 

[GRAVEDIGGER]

You should be fine with only one cooling fan and yes you can remove the condeser without taking out the radiator. As far as the windows fogging up, just turn the recirc off totally and maybe crack your window and you should have very little if any fogging of the windows.

 

[lowandsleekDSM]

Use some of that Anti-fog solution from Rain-X. I used it a couple of times on the inside of the windows and i had some success but it didnt totally solve the problem. But i have driven without my belt for nearly 2 yrs now and its hell in Florida summers and also in the rainy season we get here., but i manage.

 

[PIMking]

Yea, my windows have been fogging up...I've found out that using the outside air instead of recirc will help as well. The thing is, I have no refrigerant in the system, so my A/C couldn't be anymore useless than it already is.

Is it OK to run without the A/C fan too? I'm about to put in a front mount and the A/C fan has to go....but I don't want to buy a thin fan if I don't have to. I already have an aluminum radiator, and it seems to be keeping things cooler...my fans don't come on as often as they used to.

One last thing - can the A/C condensor in front of the radiator be removed without taking out the radiator itself?

Okay I cut my belt off and havent taken the ac compressor off yet because its too cold outside. I will leave the ac fan on there to help cool the car when I put the front mount on. The only thing you have to do is hit the ac button and it will turn on the fan and keep air moving thru the radiator. Now for your defrost keep it on fresh air if you recuricit the air it will fog up. If your putting a fmic on I would leave the AC fan on the car. It wont hurt anything and like I stated you just press the AC button and it will kick on and help move air.

 

[Splitpi]

Okay I cut my belt off and havent taken the ac compressor off yet because its too cold outside. I will leave the ac fan on there to help cool the car when I put the front mount on. The only thing you have to do is hit the ac button and it will turn on the fan and keep air moving thru the radiator. Now for your defrost keep it on fresh air if you recuricit the air it will fog up. If your putting a fmic on I would leave the AC fan on the car. It wont hurt anything and like I stated you just press the AC button and it will kick on and help move air.

Or wire it into the harness for when the normal fan kicks on, the AC fan kicks in.

 

[tsi1991awd]

Yea the only thing is, the normal fan seems like it doesn't come on a whole lot. Ever since I put in my aluminum radiator, it only comes on every once in a while. I guess it really cooled things down getting rid of the stock piece of garbage. It was leaking bad and all that jazz.

 

[Tison28s]

Oh yeah dude, you'll be perfectly fine. I did the same thing on my G35, just took that sucker off. I don't use A/C anyway so what the hell do I need this for. Just make sure the belt for your Crank,Alt,Waterpump,and powersteering(if you need it) are still on a belt.