Worn Air-con compressor bearing or...?

[Stoolie]

Ok - my '91 is making a nasty grinding noise that sounds like it is coming from the bottom left of the front of the engine, down below the belts.

Now, this has been since I had to drive through several inches on silt laden water 3 years back (and have hardly driven her since) on the day of a fairly large earthquake. The upshot was that there was high enough water to spray the interior of the engine bay because at least one of the spindles was in the water. I wonder if it could be the compressor for the air-con?

This silt is nasty stuff - some of it was powder fine, but mostly gritty, so I'm sure it has played havoc with any bearings low down.

Whilst I managed to waterblast out as much as I could once we had power and water back on a few weeks later, I wonder if some gradual damage may have been caused to a bearing.

What would be the prime suspects, from the bottom up?

[Mrmerlin]

pretty simple remove the belts and spin the pulleys the offending bearing will speak to you

[Stoolie]

Excellent - I'll give it a whirl...