With the ac off your clutch the outer non belt driven part will not be turning. When it is turned on it will start to spin.
low freon
AC Compressor clutch relay may be stuck. Remove the relay and see if the clutch releases.
You cannot change the compressor bearing, however, you can change the clutch bearing. Which one is bad? Is there a noise when the clutch is engaged, or not engaged?
Clutch possibly not engaged compressor maybe.
No ned to. Unless clutch is engaged (AC on) it freewheels-using no power.
The ac could be causing the problem. Turn the ac off, and watch the compressor clutch to see if it is not engaged. If it is then the compressor or clutch could be bogging the engine down.
The system is probably empty of freon. Running the pump manually without freon can damage the pump. The pump relies on the freon to carry the oil for lubrication.
CLutch is buggered or might just be the clutch cable
Do you mean that the AC clutch does not engage the compressor? Or do you mean that the AC compressor won't turn even if the clutch is engaged? If the compressor is siezed and will not turn even if the clutch is engaged, the only choice is to replace the compressor. If you can turn the compressor by hand (understand that the belt pulley will turn freely with the engine if the clutch isn't engaged) but the compressor clutch isn't engaging, it might just be out of refrigerant. There is a sensor, usually somewhere near the receiver/dryer) that detects the "low side" refrigerant pressure. Once the refrigerant pressure at the sensor drops below a specified level, the compressor will not turn on. In other words, if the compressor clutch won't engage it might just be out of refrigerant.
If the ac has a belt of it's own you can just remove, but remember when ac is off, and not engaged it is freewheeeling and ther is no drag on the engine unless there is something wrong with bearing or clutch. If you have 1 belt for all, of course you can't remove it.
I am having the same problem. Brought it to an AC specialist and they told me it was my heating/AC panel switch that was going bad. The clutch would not stay engaged because the AC on/off switch was bad.
I'm no Mechanic but I'm experiencing the same problem and from what I can tell it has to do with the AC compressor Clutch getting stuck. Turn your car on and turn the AC on then pop the hood and look at the AC unit and if you see the it click on and then off you'll know it's the clutch. Not sure how to fix yet. Maybe WD 40 maybe new AC Clutch relay or maybe new clutch. Hope this helps.