I took the freon out of the system and took the condensor out today. I am planning on leaving the compressor in for now. How long can you run it "free wheeling" the compressor pulley?
IMO, other than weight and appearance, there's no reason to remove it. The pulley is free spinning and adds no more load to the engine than what a tensioner does. If its siezed up, just unplug the compressor and drive on.