Is ok to take off AC fan belt?

[Eomak]

Hi, i don't use AC and when i finished my valve job ,putting back my AC i noticed that the back bolt didn't seem to tighten like it did before, so i didn't want to leave it that way might cause some problems so i just took the AC belt off and bolted what i could down for the AC .Seems to run ok the engine without it. Is this ok to have the belt off and leaving the AC in place just without the belt driving around? Planning to take out the AC anyways but might be a few weeks from now. thx

[KCinBR]

I have also removed the A/C belt from my 88 Carrera and it does not create any problems with the engine or performance.

[Freybird]

Ditto on my '86. Removal of the belt relieves the motor of a slight load and hence more horse power ( :

[Quicksilver]

Originally posted by Freybird
Ditto on my '86. Removal of the belt relieves the motor of a slight load and hence more horse power ( :

When the AC is off the clutch on the compressor is completely disengaged. The only load on the engine is what it takes to spin the pulley's bearings. In other words there is no measurable load on the engine. The only real gain you will get from disabling the AC is by removing the compressor from the car to get rid of the weight.

Back to the original question...
There is a real reason that you might want to keep the belt on the car. It is a good practice to run the air conditioning at least once a month. The coolant contains the system's lubricant and if you don't run it from time to time the compressor will corrode and then fail.