Omega aircon compressor bearing

The bearing on the air-con compressor has been getting gradually
noisier over the past year or so. When I originally noticed I popped
into main agent for a diagnosis & mechanic said to live with it as it
would probably out-live car. Now it's got to the point where it's
bugging me, even though it only runs for 5-10 seconds after start-up.
So want to know (1) is it an expensive repair (2) is failure liable to
damage other parts (3) any other cures, apart from ear-pugs ;-)

 

1 probably in relation to the value of the car, if you buy a new unit.
2 I guess the belt might hit something
3 remove the compressor and/or the drive belt.

 

With you saying it only runs for a short time on start up do you mean the
secondary air pump not the air con compressor?

 

A very good point!

This does sound like the secondary air pump (although mine runs for
more than 10 seconds).
If this is the case, & it is noisy, it certainly won't outlast the car
(I have replaced one already).

These do wear out fairly frequently, especially when the gate valve
(off the exhaust) has begun
to leak hot (corrosive) exhaust back into the pump.

 

I've had the hose that goes to the solenoid valve fail twice in 120k
miles and that made a noise like a bearing going. It's just inside the
bonnet at the top of the radiators so it's easy to check. It's only a
few inches long with a couple of bends in it - don't know how to
describe it any better but I would have expected Vauxhall to know if
it's the air con compressor or something else.

I'm wondering how the bearing fails. It's running in oil and if it's
out of gas the low pressure switch should stop it running anyway. Could
it just be the clutch plate catching on the clutch?

A belt for a car without aircon will fit and leave the compressor in
place but not go around it.

 

If it is the secondary air pump, is this a major job or can it be done
DIY?