Replace broken air compressor serpentine belt with non air belt?
 

Have a 2000 E250 4.2 6 cyl. It has factory air. The compressor clutch bearing is bad. I really dont care about the air at 165k miles.
Can i replace the serpentine belt with a no air sized belt? Bypassing the clutch?

If you by-pass/remove the air compressor, there is a idler pulley and bracket in place of the AC compressor. That's what a No-AC belt is for, not just to "miss" the AC compressor.

Check this out- Link

Wildman25, thanks for your help. Crystal clear. Tim

I apologize for bumping an old thread, but I have searched the forums with no luck looking for an answer so far.....

I have a 1999 Econoline E-250 with the 4.2L v-6. Also with factory air conditioning. 283k miles (ALL ORIGINAL DRIVETRAIN!)

The A/C failed a long time ago but now the A/C clutch is starting to fail and causing a lot of noise, heat and I would imagine will eventually cause the A/C compressor to seize.

I would like to use an A/C bypass pulley to just ditch the entire compressor. The Dorman part listed (Part #34187) is only as listed as fitting the F150 w/ the 4.2L v6. Even when selecting the E150 or E250 van on Dorman's site or another auto-parts website, removes the part as an option for the 4.2L v6 vans. I can't confirm if this part will work on my van or not.

I've been on the Fordparts.com website and it looks like the A/C compressor parts and brackets are the same on a 1999 E-250 and 1999 F-150 4.2L, but it worries me that I seemingly can't find any confirmed compatibility for the Dorman 34187 part for my Ford van.

Can anyone confirm or not if this will work for my van? I am hoping not to have to replace the A/C clutch parts in order to prevent the A/C compressor from seizing. The van has very high miles but still runs like a champ. We are trying to keep it running as long as we can but obviously at minimal cost.

Thank you.

The only difference I know of would be the number of ribs on the belt and corresponding grooves on the pulley. It is best if they match. You can use a wider pulley with more grooves on a narrower belt with fewer grooves, but if you try to go the other way with a belt wider than the pulley, it will make a mess. The smaller pulley will cut the belt off and the pieces can sling off and break stuff or jam up a pulley and lock it up.

That Dorman pulley listing says it is 6 groove. Check your van to determine if it is the same. If not, I would try ordering the correct idler pulley for your van and swap it onto the Dorman bracket.

Thank you. I believe it uses a 6 groove belt, but will confirm. I also just received an e-mail back from Dorman tech support. They said as far as they can tell, it should work on paper since the f150 and van 4.2l A/C compressor parts and brackets are the same....but that they cannot confirm with 100% certainty since they have not tried the install themselves in their lab.

I am going to give it a shot in the next few months and report back.

Thanks.