Just a little venting here. I got the ZJ safety and emission inspection done yesterday and it passed! WooHoo! That would be the good part. While driving home I heard a loud squeal for about 2 seconds and then the smell of burning plastic or rubber consumed us. Luckily I was only about a half mile from home so I pushed on. Everything felt normal so I could tell the belt was still on. When I parked in the driveway the smoke billowed from the hood. After having the kid run in and grab a fire extinguisher I popped the hood. The A/C compressor clutch was smoking like crazy! After minimal internet research I found a brand new compressor for $229.00 at www.jeepair.com. I was hoping to rob one from my spare Durango with the same engine but it turned out that the compressors are different. Even the serpentine belt is different which is weird because it has the same engine and component locations. I guess the pulley sizes are different. I feel better.

 

couldnt you take the one off your durango, and just swap the belt too? could possibly save yourself $230

 

Did the compressor lock up, or did the clutch just burn? I know the best thing to do is replace the compressor, and some of the time with the heat generated it might have burned the front seal, but I have replaced the 3 clutch pieces before with good results.

 

The Durango compressor is totally different. The Cherokee compressor is shorter and the lines mount on the side instead of the back. I am pretty sure the pulley burned out so maybe I will replace the pulley and sell the compressor since I already bought a new one.