bjr1990

So the past couple of days I've noticed a noise in the front of the car. I popped the hood up yesterday and it seems to be in the area of the AC Compressor. I did a bunch of research looking up AC compressor issues, but I'm still not sure if that's even the issue.

The noise is consistent whether the car is in park or in gear. The AC is also running fine for the time being and the noise doesn't really go away no matter what's happening to the car. I read some things about the idler pulley and was thinking that maybe it could be the culprit? Just curious if anyone has any idea or had run into this issue before. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Reece

An old broom stick makes a good stethoscope but in Texas we like to live dangerously. What I do is start the engine and place the round end of the stick to my closed ear and the other end to various accessories and give a listen for the noise.

NCMetalMechanic

could be all of the above...use a stethoscope(couple dollars at harbor freight) or a screw driver touching near the pulley, and the handle end of the screw driver in your ear. usually(not always) if its the ac compressor, the noise should change if the clutch is engaged vs not engaged. best way to pinpoint a noise is with a stethoscope.

bjr1990

Thanks for the suggestions. After doing some listening, it appears it's the AC compressor. If that is the case, should I be concerned driving it around for about a week or so until I can get it fixed?