A/C Idler pulley bearing is whining and no refrigerant in A/C system
 

1999 Civic DX Sedan (D16Y7)
It's getting unbearably hot now (Summer) My car has a rust/gunmetallish paint job I suppose, and a ridiculously dark tint so it doesn't help with the heat. I just took out my A/C idler pulley today, finally, and the whining is all gone and so has my Freon for a few months; I want to get the aircon running ASAP though, so here are some questions:

-Can I just buy the bearing itself and re-pack in the pulley?
-If I get a new pulley / new bearing, would the chance of my aircon not losing it's 'cool' be gone, or do I have to test for leaks? (assuming the bad bearing is the reason for loss of freon over time somehow)
-I'm ready if I can't get a bearing alone, to buy a DAYCO pulley on Rockauto for $30 shipped; anything better?
(Contacted NAPA today and it costs $50+ just for the pulley; i'd rather not buy that)


Here's a video of how it used to sound
(swapped cluster from an Auto '98 CRV and was testing the tach, whining can be heard)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21E-XzxJXo4

Re: A/C Pulley Bearing (whining)
 

Are you talking about the idler pulley or the compressor pulley?

Re: A/C Pulley Bearing (whining)
 

Oops; didn't specify ... idler pulley.

Re: A/C Idler pulley bearing is whining
 

Thread title edited.

Scout some local junk yards for a replacement idler pulley if money is the issue.

Re: A/C Idler pulley bearing is whining
 

Thanks.
I actually did some more bit of research.... stupid of me to find this out now.
Size is (I hope): 70mm x 17mm x 20.5mm
Guess i'll just look out for that bearing new locally and pack the pulley; if not, junk yard.

Still wondering if the bearing affected my freon? Also; my car feels less held back now; there's a slight change in power unless it's just an audible illusion.

Re: A/C Idler pulley bearing is whining
 

It's completely unrelated.

Give more details. How do you know the A/C system leak out all of the refrigerant?

Re: A/C Idler pulley bearing is whining
 

I put refrigerant in one week; 2 weeks later it felt less cool; changed my headgasket and tried to increase work space by taking out the condenser. I ended up stupidly pulling off the lower hose and basically all of it emptied out.

Re: A/C Idler pulley bearing is whining
 

Re-assemble the system with new O rings, replace the receiver dryer, and place the system under a deep vacuum and check whether the vacuum holds overnight. If not, pinpoint the leak by adding a can of refrigerant containing oil and a leak detecting dye. The leak is located where dye appears.