KJ 3.7l A/C Bypass - is there a consensus on belt size?

[jamesbeat]

2005 Liberty KJ 3/7l 185k
I made a post yesterday about a noise that was happening when I turn on the A/C. It sounded like rushing water, so I thought maybe there was air in my coolant, but that was incorrect - the sound is a bad bearing on the A/C compressor.

I know this is quite a common problem, and that it is possible to bypass the A/C compressor by using a shorter belt.
Unfortunately, I seem to be having some trouble finding out exactly which belt length I need. Most of the posts I have found online are from quite a long time ago, and tend to be for older model years.

It seems that people have used all sorts of different belt lengths, and have routed the belt in different ways. A lot of the information is incomplete, like people would say what belt length they used but not how they routed it or vice versa.

The problem is that I have to drive about 15 mins to buy a belt, and the bearing could completely fail at any time, so I would really like to know exactly what I need before I set out.
Is there a belt length and routing method that is known to work?

 

[lfhoward]

Got it for your 05: 83-1/8” belt

Cheap AC Bypass **PICTURE**

Recently my AC clutch seized up on me and I figured out a new route for the serpentine belt. If your freezes up and you can't afford to get it fixed...use these instructions on this link to get your pulley and clutch off. I didn't have the pulley puller so i used a pry bar, hammer, a bit...

www.jeepkj.com

The picture with the belt routing is at the beginning of that thread.

 

[jamesbeat]

Got it for your 05: 83-1/8” belt

Cheap AC Bypass **PICTURE**

Recently my AC clutch seized up on me and I figured out a new route for the serpentine belt. If your freezes up and you can't afford to get it fixed...use these instructions on this link to get your pulley and clutch off. I didn't have the pulley puller so i used a pry bar, hammer, a bit...

www.jeepkj.com

The picture with the belt routing is at the beginning of that thread.

Thanks, but that is one of the sources that got me confused. That's the only reference I have found to an 83-1/8" belt.

There's a video on youtube of a 2005, and the guy said he used either a 79.5" or 82.5" but couldn't remember which. The empty package is for the 79.5" one, so it looks like that is the one he used.

Then someone in the comments asked if it was running ok with the water pump running backwards, so I don't know if he even has the belt routed correctly.

Then someone else commented that there are two different ways to route the belt.

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

 

[jamesbeat]

I just decided to buy the bypass pulley that replaces the A/C compressor. It does mean removing the compressor, which will make it more difficult to replace once I have repaired it, but it's not the end of the world. The main thing is to get back on the road.

The bypass pulley was only about the same price as a decent belt anyway, and there's no guesswork involved since it uses the original belt. I'll suffer without A/C for the rest of the summer, then aim to get the compressor repaired/replaced by next summer.

What I want to know is how the A/C bearing knows what your financial situation is -from all the posts I have read about the bypass, it seems to catch everyone at the worst possible time lol.

 

[KJowner]

If its just the clutch pulley then it may not be as expensive as you think.

 

[jamesbeat]

If its just the clutch pulley then it may not be as expensive as you think.

True, though this has happened at the worst possible time for me. I just bought my first home, and I am still tied into the lease on my old apartment until they find a new tenant, so I am paying both my mortgage and the rent on the apartment. Even the $50 I paid for the bypass pulley was more than I could really afford.

The other problem is that I only have one vehicle, so I need it back on the road immediately.
The bypass pulley arrived just now, so I'll get that bolted on this evening, and at least I will have a working vehicle. I'll fix/replace the bearing when the crisis is over and I have the funds.

 

[DadOSix]

Thanks, but that is one of the sources that got me confused. That's the only reference I have found to an 83-1/8" belt.

There's a video on youtube of a 2005, and the guy said he used either a 79.5" or 82.5" but couldn't remember which. The empty package is for the 79.5" one, so it looks like that is the one he used.

Then someone in the comments asked if it was running ok with the water pump running backwards, so I don't know if he even has the belt routed correctly.

Then someone else commented that there are two different ways to route the belt.

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

Anything in that range of sizes will work.
That is due to the tensioner adjusting as a belt inevitably stretches over time.

The first link shows the AC clutch removed from the compressor. It would be cheap and relatively easy to do by removing the center bolt and pulling the compressor pulley from the compressor. That leaves room for the shorter belt to run nicely below the compressor and you have an effective bypass til you can repair.

The water pump direction does not change this way. You are just taking the shorter path with a belt not stretched over the compressor pulley.