1997 Legacy 2.2: Can I remove the AC belt without ill effect?

[cyclist916]

Hello all.

 

This is my first post here. I've been researching my car and have seen a lot of knowledgeable posts on here and I figured that I would tap you for some advice.

 

I just bought the car a week ago and had it checked out by my mechanic. Among other things he said that the AC belt is fraying and needs to be replaced. I am looking at having a friend of mine do the belts and in the mean time want to make sure that it doesn't break and mess up everything else.

 

In short, can I simply cut off the AC belt for now without doing any damage?

 

Thanks all.

[lmdew]

Yes, you can just cut it and remove it.  No problems

[idosubaru]

+1 it's a stand alone belt, nothing else is affected.

 

make sure the frayed belt isn't caused by the crank pulley starting to separate.  draw a line across the face of it and make sure that line stays solid and doesn't separate.  or, if the belt is already damaged, the unevenness of the pulley is likely visible.

[Bushwick]

Only ill-effect is the AC compressor over time might seize up or not work correctly next time if it stays put for a lengthy period. It might also get noisy. I'm running mine belt-less for the time being due to a noisy pulley. Running front defrost with heater won't have the benefit of acting like a dehumidifier, but I've yet to see my windows fog with front defrost on, unlike my 9-3 that has issues w/o the AC hooked up.

Edited November 30, 2013 by Bushwick