Would appreciate any suggestions,
I drive a 2007 G35S, sedan, post-facelift model with the VQ35HR. My ac compressor bearing was going for a bit and yesterday it seized, so now the car won't run (model of engine has a single serpentine belt for everything). I have seen a few mentions of doing a bypass of the ac completely, so the car would run just without it, but no confirmation of whether it was feasible or someone had managed to do it. I was wondering if anyone has done/heard anything in this vein? I would appreciate any suggestions. I'm pretty tight on funds right now or else I would just replace the ac compressor.
Can the ac compressor be bypassed if bearing is seized
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VStar650CL
- Technical Expert
- Posts: 9448
- Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2020 1:25 pm
- Car: 2013 Nissan Altima 2.5 SL
2004 Nissan Altima 2.5 S
Re: Can the ac compressor be bypassed if bearing is seized
In theory it would be possible by removing the driver's side Idler Pulley and finding the right size shorter belt to bypass the compressor, but it won't be easy and I don't think you'll find any how-to information about it.
Re: Can the ac compressor be bypassed if bearing is seized
I found one forum post from about a decade back detailing the right belt w dimensions to do it and claiming they had done it, they didnt mention removing the idler pulley but they did say it may take some adjusting to stop the shorter belt from rubbing against it.
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VStar650CL
- Technical Expert
- Posts: 9448
- Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2020 1:25 pm
- Car: 2013 Nissan Altima 2.5 SL
2004 Nissan Altima 2.5 S
Re: Can the ac compressor be bypassed if bearing is seized
If the belt is strung directly from the crank to the center idler, the lefthand idler is extraneous and in the way. It might be possible to loosen and relocate it, but it's probably simpler and better just to remove it. You can see the belt layout here on EM-12:
https://www.nicoclub.com/service-manual ... 7%2Fem.pdf
https://www.nicoclub.com/service-manual ... 7%2Fem.pdf
Re: Can the ac compressor be bypassed if bearing is seized
My thanks to VStar650CL, your advice was pretty much spot on and the belt layout diagram really helped! Just wanted to write an update in case anyone encounters this post with the same issue, this worked for an 07 Infiniti G35S, with the VQ35HR engine (one serpentine belt for everything).
The ac compressor pulley can be bypassed with a NAPA Auto Parts belt, number 060500 (sometimes 25-060500). Its a 6 rib belt instead of a 7 but its cheaper and fits on well if its centered. I used a 50 and 3/4 inch belt, it might be slightly tight so maybe could have done with a belt around 1/8 inch bigger but everything moves nicely. The car is running fine so far and I found the belt advice from an old forum, the guy used it for his 350Z and said it had been working for 3 years with it.
I just had to pop the air intakes, coolant reservoir, and rad fans. If you want lots of room you could probably pop the rad as well but this way I didn't have to bleed the coolant system at all or touch anything but the res. Oiled up the tensioner and held it with a breaker bar. Only difficulty was the belt had to be rolled on by manually turning the crank, just had to make sure to manually roll it back before starting the car to take up any slack which may have been created in the timing chains. This may have been because of the belt being a bit tight, one a bit bigger like I mentioned and you could probably just heave it on the pulleys, but rolling it hunted it onto the pulleys perfectly (belt also was pretty cold so if left by a heater or worked through the hands for a bit and it may have loosened up). Rolling it also set off some engine codes for camshaft and crankshaft locations as their locations didn't match from when the car was turned off, I just cleared the codes with a scanner, when I ran it they didn't reappear at all. I also did not remove the ac compressor because I didn't have the equipment to properly discharge the system and didn't want to damage the system with rapid depressurization because I plan to replace the compressor eventually. Only thing I did remove was the lefthand (driver) side idler pulley, right next to the compressor pulley, because the back of the belt seemed a bit at risk of rubbing. Whole process took about two hours, and I just used sockets and some pliers (specialty pliers for removing pop tabs and the like to remove sensors and access everything as well).
The ac compressor pulley can be bypassed with a NAPA Auto Parts belt, number 060500 (sometimes 25-060500). Its a 6 rib belt instead of a 7 but its cheaper and fits on well if its centered. I used a 50 and 3/4 inch belt, it might be slightly tight so maybe could have done with a belt around 1/8 inch bigger but everything moves nicely. The car is running fine so far and I found the belt advice from an old forum, the guy used it for his 350Z and said it had been working for 3 years with it.
I just had to pop the air intakes, coolant reservoir, and rad fans. If you want lots of room you could probably pop the rad as well but this way I didn't have to bleed the coolant system at all or touch anything but the res. Oiled up the tensioner and held it with a breaker bar. Only difficulty was the belt had to be rolled on by manually turning the crank, just had to make sure to manually roll it back before starting the car to take up any slack which may have been created in the timing chains. This may have been because of the belt being a bit tight, one a bit bigger like I mentioned and you could probably just heave it on the pulleys, but rolling it hunted it onto the pulleys perfectly (belt also was pretty cold so if left by a heater or worked through the hands for a bit and it may have loosened up). Rolling it also set off some engine codes for camshaft and crankshaft locations as their locations didn't match from when the car was turned off, I just cleared the codes with a scanner, when I ran it they didn't reappear at all. I also did not remove the ac compressor because I didn't have the equipment to properly discharge the system and didn't want to damage the system with rapid depressurization because I plan to replace the compressor eventually. Only thing I did remove was the lefthand (driver) side idler pulley, right next to the compressor pulley, because the back of the belt seemed a bit at risk of rubbing. Whole process took about two hours, and I just used sockets and some pliers (specialty pliers for removing pop tabs and the like to remove sensors and access everything as well).