Can someone please tell me whether this is due to a poor-quality remanufactured clutch, or a faulty a/c compressor:
My '87 Mercedes 300D Turbo A/C clutch went bad: it wouldn't engage but at least didn't jam the pully which still spun freely when the clutch was disengaged. I replaced it with a remanufactured Autozone clutch. It worked for a month of use. That last one went bad and actually seized the pully, breaking the serpentine belt in about 4 seconds. The mechanic said when he was replacing the clutch the first time that when he spun the compressor by hand there wasn't abnormal resistance. As I say, this time when the clutch went bad it broke the serpentine belt because it wouldn't freewheel the pully when the clutch was disengaged. This could be because the bearings in the remanufactured Autozone clutch were never replaced (or are terrible quality) and the entire assembly just melted together, or perhaps the compressor went bad and the clutch went bad together.
Option 1: It is $650 parts and labor to replace the compressor w/ clutch, evac and fill the system.
Option 2: It is $150 labor to replace just the clutch, as that previous clutch is still under warranty so there is no other parts cost with this option.
I don't want to spend the $150 on the 3rd clutch that is likely to burn out because of a faulty compressor.
So do you think it is a faulty compressor, faulty clutch and a properly functioning compressor, or faulty compressor and faulty clutch?
Thanks! Michelle