Hi, I'm Chris, This will be a long post. I have done some searching but haven't found anything and I want to give as much info as possible.
I have an 03 Voyager sport/short model V6, flex fuel.
It has about 150k on it, I bought it at about 105k.
I've performed regular oil changes and other maintenance. The previous owner kept every receipt/record.

The past year or so my voyager has seemed to have an engine noise. It might have always had it but I have seemed to notice it more over the past year or so. It seems like something more at the top of the engine maybe in the intake or something almost like the valves are tapping really hard or the injectors are firing really hard.

I noticed that it only happens when the AC is on. If you turn the AC off, the noise goes away.

For the past couple weeks, the AC hasn't been cooling as well. It has been really hot here in SE NC and it is like the AC will cool well sometimes and then it is almost like it is only working 1/2 way or something other times.

Saturday night I picked up a can of freon and hooked it up to the AC just to see if maybe it was low. My reading at 10pm was about 50lbs at roughly 80 degrees which appears to be in the normal range.

Today my wife calls that the van is "running hot". She said that she sees "steam" coming from under the hood but the temp gauge is still normal and she heard a hissing sound like steam/air leaking.

I drive over and the van feels hot but I mean it is 95 degrees. Coolant level is fine, it isn't wet anywhere and I smell an odd smell.
I have her crank it up, no noises. I don't hear that odd noise I reported earlier anymore. I ask her is the air on and she says yes.
I ask her is it cooling and she says no.
At least one efan comes on, unsure about the 2nd one. I forgot to check. This tells me that likely my temp sender is working and telling the fan to come on.

I drive it home and the air never seems to vary from the ambient temperature.
It is hot in the van for sure.

I get it home and check the fuses/relay and they are fine.
I even switched the AC and Horn relay (same number) and the horn still works.
I hook the freon bottle up and it reads 0.
I try putting in some freon, maybe 1/2 a bottle and it might have moved up to 1.

I'm thinking my AC compressor is likely shot.
The keys I think are I was having this noise when the AC is on and now I don't and the AC doesn't work. Am I on the right track?

This van might have been worth 3k with a working AC. I'm not sure I want to spend a lot of money to fix it but don't want to get rid of it cheap if it is something easy/cheap to fix.

I'm not a mechanic but usually with enough help on forums I can get most anything done. I've done a couple engine swaps for an XJ (Jeep) so I am comfortable in the garage.

 

dang, I should have realized this.
I search and find no content.
I should have looked at all the posts with no responses that are days old.
All these ads drove your responsive members away, I wonder did vertical scope buy this site like they did another site I used to frequent?

 

U do realize that not everyone lives and breathes on forums
I have my own biz and a family U allowed 4 hours and no one responded ahh ok

 

yes, thanks for getting back to me. I do understand, I'm a mod for a GM enthusiast forum. When I see several other threads with no responses for a few days it leads me to believe that folks aren't here for one reason or another. I figured the ads drove them away. I've seen it happen to other boards I have been a member of in the past.

On another board I got a second opinion from someone with a similar issue and it was indeed their AC compressor. I hope this may help someone in the future who is searching.

 

An A/C compressor won't fix the overheating. For starters make sure both fans are spinning.