Hi,

Thanks in advance

Mazda 6 2006 2.3L (RHD)
For a good year and a half the AC would make a rapid clicking sound when turned on, but it still worked (I don't use it that much). I figured it would eventually fail. Given that it was a clicking sound I figured it was NOT a slipping clutch and was something more serious.
I used it for the first time in probably 6 months the other week and worked for a few seconds and then blew warm. When I stopped at an intersection there was some smoke - I immediately knew what it was and turned the AC off. Stopped a few minutes later and had a look. The AC pulley was really hot, but the serpentine belt was not. I waited till the next day so the pulley was cool and turned the AC on for a few seconds - the clutch engaged...I could see the three lobes rotating. I pulled the AC relay out from the fuse box.
Several weeks later and I thought I'd see whether there was gas in the system. It's still there, surprisingly.

Given the symptoms I'm wondering if actually it was a slipping AC clutch the entire time and that I might get away with only replacing that. Has anyone else had similar problems/symptoms? Anyone had success replacing a clutch without removing the compressor (opening the refrigerant system)?

Thanks,
S