AC Clutch destroyed itself...

Smell was inside, didn't smell anything in the engine compartment. I was getting more of a 3G sound (groaning/grinding/grating). A tick, depending on what it is you're hearing, could be lifter noise, fuel injector, exhaust leak, belt/pulley related...

It's like a real light grinding. Really have to listen closely. I'll just wait and see if it gets worse and easier to pin point. Doesn't seem engine related at all. Given the mileage I'm thinking the AC clutch is in the early stages of going out.

Only after replacing the clutch do I now think I heard it going bad - in other words, the new clutch is very quiet compared to the old one. The old one had a faint grinding that I never really noticed - till it's gone

When mine went I was accelerating down an expressway on-ramp and was winding the engine up in 2nd gear. Just as I got to the end of the ramp the AC started blowing warm air and 3 to 5 miles later I heard nasty grinding to go with the burning smell @CactusJacked described. As you can see in the picture I posted in the How-To the bearings were falling out of the bearing race when I pulled the clutch off the coil. It was toast...

Bob

Alright. Thanks. I'll keep an ear on it. We'll see what happens. I didn't hear it at all today with the hood open when I was seeing how clean I got the engine.

When mine went out my wife was driving it and she said it smelled like burning brakes to her and she thought maybe the rear caliper had locked up again. I could smell it outside the vehicle and inside when she got back tot the house but it didnt smell as strong as burning brakes.