Noisy air conditioning

The air conditioning unit on my TD5 has got very noisy. Working OK but very noisy.
I no nothing about A/C units. Is there anything I can check or is it a garage job?

what kind of noise is it? banging, whistling, wheesing or what?

The sound is the same as it as always been which I suppose is a whirring but it is just louder. I wondered whether there were an lubrication points or oil levels to check on the A/C unit.

that ill be the fan then
nowt to do on yer a/c except ensure it got the right amount of gas and oil in it, which YOU can't do. but if it coming from the dash unit and its a whirring noise its most likey yer fan . so don't worry unless its a worryng noise in which case ,worry.
does it increase and decrease with how high you have yer fan turned up?

Tonight I pulled onto the drive and opened the car window. The engine & air con were running and a loud noise was coming from the engine compartment. I turned off the air con & the noise stopped. Turned A/c back on and noise restarted. I must admit I assumed it was a/c unit. Could it be something else?

by unit do you mean the compressor?

Sorry for delay in responding, yes the compressor. The noise is coming from the engine bay, not inside the car.

from this distance the best i could say is that it may be the clutch that is a bit gubbed. if its working ok then i's say its either the clutch or the bearings. you may be able to get a rebuild kit for it but yer best bet would be a trip to the scrappy. for a replacment

A good swing with a sledgehammer will stop it whirring,

M