2000 Grand Dodge Caravan 3.0. a/c

First, visually inspect the accessory drive/v belt going to your compressor and make sure it’s aligned. If you have an auto tensioner assembly/idlers in said system, inspect them to make sure they move smoothly, but not too noisily/freely (Eric has videos on inspecting accessory drives, but I don’t have time to find them now). If all that checks out, try manually engaging the compressor clutch (you can jump it with a paper clip/piece of wire, but be sure you know the pinout of the connector so you don’t fry anything). With the compressor clutch engaged, attempt to manually turn the compressor (with the engine off and belt removed). If it’s seized solid/difficult to turn, you probably have a bad compressor. This would possibly explain why your car keeps eating brand new belts (if nothing else is wrong in the accessory drive system).

If your compressor had a major failure, the reason that it’s so expensive to fix is because virtually the whole a/c system needs to be flushed (to remove metal bits from the old compressor that will ruin the replacement). Also, a few additional parts need to be replaced (usually the receiver dryer and expansion valve). Also, many parts suppliers won’t warrantee all of those new expensive parts unless the above are replaced/flushed with an approved product. It’s fairly labor intensive and there’s a lot of expertise and expensive parts involved here, so the repair cost is justifiably expensive.

Good luck!