Hey all I have an s80 that just shredded the serpentine belt yesterday while on the highway. Towed it home and noticed my ac compressor pulley is completely seized and just melted the belt off. Money is really tight at the moment and I don't have the tools or knowhow to swap the compressor. I cant find anything about s80 ac bypass online, only other models. Is it possible to just leave the compressor in and measure for a shorter belt? I have heard the compressor is quite the b to remove. I saw a forum post for a v70 and it looks to be impossible for that model due to routing of the belt and amount of grip on the alternator causing charge issues. Wondering if it will be a similar story for my car. Any insight would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

you may find a better fix by seeing if you can simply replace the compressor clutch vs the whole unit. I'd be hesitant of doing the delete since it will change angles in the belt routing and may not have clearance in the right places. See if you can access the compressor clutch and remove w/o pulling the whole unit. if that works then you can simply leave the clutch unplugged and it will work as an idler.

 

I trust you have the b6294 6 cyl or the 5 cyl engine - if so Volvo offers cars with those engines and without ac in other markets. In place of the ac compressor there is an idler roller mounted to a special bracket that fits where the compressor was. (#9 and 10) May not be available in the US since I thought all cars came with ac here (everyone lists the 9458470 idler pulley, FCP has an aftermarket one listed for $22) - And you would need someone more knowledgeable than me to verify those parts are the correct ones. As far as a shorter belt just looping over the ps pump and alternator - not only would there be no grip on the alternator - the alternator is designed to turn counterclockwise (ps, crank and ac turn clockwise) so not sure it would work turning backwards. As far as removing/replacing the clutch without compressor removal - I've never found enough room to get the outer clutch plate off (frame rail in the way) to reshim a clutch without removing the compressor bolts and dropping it down a few inches. It's not difficult getting the compressor off. Just a really tight fit.

 

Did you ever get it figured out? I have same car and need to know the belt number to bypass my AC compressor any help would be appreciated!

 

You can't just buy a shorter belt to bypass a seized compressor clutch. You have to get the bracket and pulley (#9 and 10) shown in the parts diagram above. Replace the compressor with those - then you can install a new belt.