Hi, new member just registered. I've been reading a lot of the threads here for the past couple of weeks and wish I would have found this site when I bought my car 2 years ago.
I have the 2001 3.4 and had the harmonic balancer replaced late last year or early this year, can't remember the date. about a month or two ago I noticed a very loud rattle that I traced to the AC compressor (at least I think), it will stop when I turn the AC on and the compressor engages. sometimes the rattle will start back up when I turn the AC off and sometimes it will go away. it has been pretty random when it shows up, and I hadn't had it for a few weeks until today. I can't really see in there very well to tell if there is metal bits or not.
my question is; should I go ahead and replace the compressor or wait it out? and how difficult will this be to do on my own?
I've got a basic set of ratchets but no torque wrench and a small 2 ton jack and stands.
here is a video of the sound....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X07mjahebXA