I had the same problem, It was the clutch and everytime I turned it on after a while a really bad smelling smoke would come out the side of the pulley. My compressor started acting up only because I tried to put the civic compressor on the integra bracket causing it to have to much play because only two bolts were in, which made the pulley loose which made the bearings and clutch messed up.. Also it is very much possible to take off your compressor, but you if you take it off you empty the a/c system. Look in the online resources area and get the helms manual for your car or for a car like it, and then find the area that explains how to remove a a/c compressor