So i have spent a while looking through the forums and google and found a couple things but i am not super mechanically inclined and the "help" of a shop i took it to has added in my confusion. (sorry for the long post)

A while back i had some a/c problems that affected idle in the car. Turning on a/c could cause rpms to drop so low it would stall and i have a terrible belt squeal at 4-5k rpms but only with a/c on. I just stopped using the a/c. problem solved. but i live in florida and its june and there have been days in the high 90's and feels like over 100 so i would like a/c.

Here is what the mechanic told me. He thought the a/c belt was loose and he would have to jack it up and tighten it. about $40 for labor. im poor so i wanted to try it myself. after searching on google i have determined. i think. what all the belts are and the one that the mechanic was pressing on was def not a/c belt but i think the p/s belt. the p/s belt and the other belt (serpentine?) have the same amount of give but the one im sure is the a/c belt has almost no give.

it feels like when the compresser is on the bearing is locking up or something but i dont really know what that would feel like. could the a/c belt be too tight? that doesnt seem like a common problem. i did find in the forums someone with a gsr that had too tight an a/c belt and a similar problem. i feel like the mechanic was wrong. should i loosen the a/c belt to a similar tension of the others?

Edit: oh its a 99 civic lx stock btw
Edit: also i was reading to tighten the belt you need to tighten the nut in the center of the pulley. so to loosen the belt loosen the nut? by how much?

 

ok well i seem to have gotten it. mechanic was right. i tried to loosen it first and problem got worse so i tightened it. seems to be good now. gonna drive around for about a week or so before im certain.

 

Squeaking noises in the belts are usually due to them being too loose and slipping. If it's a loud squeak, you need to tighten the belt up. If the noise is not so loud, it might be slipping and you need to spray some "belt conditioner" in order for it to quiet down and stop squeaking.

 

yea it was real loud. we tightened it and it seems good but i cant drive the car right now due to problems with leg studs breaking off and breaking the bolt off in the brake caliper mount bracket, all while trying to change the brakes.

 

That sucks about you breaking a bolt, it sucks when that happens.

 

yea and when we tried to do the other side the same bolt broke off. we werent able to drill them out. prob gonna have to buy new mounts.