Please tell me I'm wrong

clutchdust

Millionaire Playboy
Joined
Mar 27, 2008
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In transition
All of a sudden I'm getting a nasty rattle under the hood ('01 vert). I know it's in the A/C circuit because the rattle goes away as soon as I turn the A/C off. I pulled the belt and checked the tensioner and idler pulley and can't discern any looseness or wobble in them, although I am a little suspicious of the tensioner.
I have a mechanics stethescope and I get a lot of rattle on both the compressor and the tensioner. I could really, really use a break and hope it's the tensioner but I'm not optimistic. It's the middle of summer and I just don't have anywhere near the coin to replace a goddamned A/C compressor right now. But the fact that the rattle goes away as soon as the A/C is turned off (clutch disengages) really leads me to believe the pump is about to puke guts. Please tell me I'm wrong.
 
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