[alfa] 164 Air Conditioning

[Clint Tomasino <cstomasino@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

It seems the only break I get these days is on my 92 164L. 

I have been driving the car almost 2 years with AC. It started to get weak last summer but I still used it. This summer I made a long road trip to FL and when I got back it barely worked at all. I spoke to the previous owner he said he used to have it charged peiordically. So I took car in for valve adj and ac recharge. Picked it up at night and the AC worked great. Then turned it off as I didn't need it. @ days later tried to turn it on and it didn't sound quite right and no cold air. I left in on to see if it would start working. Then it let off this Pssssst sound so I decided it was definitely having trouble so I turned it off. When I popped the hood it was smoking from the center of the pulley and the inside wouldn't turn when it was on. Now it makes this horrible metal grinding noise when the car is running with AC off and the pulley is wobbly. I assume its on its last leg and I know the consequences. 

My questions are how does an AC system go from working fine to blowing up in a matter of days?  Was it the tightening of the belt or the charging of the AC that killed it? or something else? Whats this about oiling the compressor? 

What are my options here? 1150 for mechanic to replace? If get a 600 unit from IAP how difficult is it to install? I've done an engine swap before so I'm pretty mechanical but never worked on AC system or this engine. Any hidden difficulties?

Is it possible to get a used one and hope it works and lasts 2-3 more years?

Do I sell the car as scrap metal? I can't drive a black 164 in Atlanta, ga with a non-working driver window without AC. I've already put about 1500 into it in the last 2 years and 900 in the last 3 months. I cannot afford 1150 or another major blow after this.

TIA,

Clint "If it weren't for bad luck I'd have no luck at all" Tomasino
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