Oil (AC Compressor possibly) splatter ...

[Jan Larsson]

Chasing some sort of very light oil leak ... getting oil splatter from one of the pulleys and it seems like the AC pulley is getting some light oil on it that is then splashed around my engine bay (1989 TTA).

Splash pattern on hood insulation then onto the driver side engine bay area perfectly in-line with the edge of the AC pulley.

Have had this for some time (car driven very little); AC Compressor replaced and everything re-charged 4 years ago ... this started to happen maybe 3 years ago ... AC is still blowing cold so not sure if it's the AC compressor or not.

Been checking AC compressor and can not feel or see any leaks on the AC Compressor housing. Same with the PS pump and hoses (new unit when I had the engine rebuilt back in 2006) ... just checked the pressure hoses today and they are all tight and can't see any oil weep anywhere.

Cleaned everything up (again) and took it for a 20 min drive and sure enough again oil splatter and the front edge of the AC compressor pulley have some very light oil residue on it ..

Did not run the AC at all today ... could the AC compressor seep some oil out up front on the clutch? And if so would I also loose refrigerant or not?

Not happy driving the car with the risk of a pulley seizing and causing some major damage / issues so any help / advice / pointers much appreciated.

 

[williamsGN]

I'd go with compressor is leaking and on it's way out. Probably would end up replacing it unless you can rebuild it yourself. Oil is added to refrigerant, so if one is leaking, most likely the refrigerant is or will soon leak. You can pick up a cheap gauge at the auto parts store and check the pressure off the port on the drier/accumulator.

 

[Jan Larsson]

I'd go with compressor is leaking and on it's way out. Probably would end up replacing it unless you can rebuild it yourself. Oil is added to refrigerant, so if one is leaking, most likely the refrigerant is or will soon leak. You can pick up a cheap gauge at the auto parts store and check the pressure off the port on the drier/accumulator.

I've been suspecting this as well but it was a brand new delco unit (not rebuilt) installed and got maybe 500 miles (or less on it) ... and it still blows cold.

Need to get my AC guy to check the pressure I guess.

Is there any harm running the car with the AC off (so not engaging the clutch on the compressor)?

 

[williamsGN]

Probably would prolong the life by limiting the leakage, I would get it to your guy before any damage is done.

 

[Jan Larsson]

Must been something taking out the shaft seal or so ... always something :-(

 

[Joeld]

If a leak in compressor shaft wouldnt gas have been lost in short order and ac not blow cold?

 

[Jan Larsson]

If a leak in compressor shaft wouldnt gas have been lost in short order and ac not blow cold?

That was my thinking as well hence me chasing this leak elsewhere like my powersteering pump / hoses but definitely no issues there as far as I can tell ...

 

[johnl455]

That front seal cannot be perfect by design. They all weap and sling the oil to a small degree. The car has enough extra oil at build-out to allow for this. Best thing is to use the AC every month. Worst thing is to not use it as the oil completes the final seal to some extent and more refrigerant is lost by not using. Car systems are not hermetic like home systems and all leak at the comp shaft seal, o-rings, hose crimps and hoses by porosity themselves. The question is how much is the total allowable before worrying, and the old rule of thumb on R12 was a pound a year was acceptable. More than that you should hunt it down with a sniffer and repair. Try cleaning it up and then use the air (if it still is charged) and see if using it minimzes the weaping. The compressor is not necessarily "shot" and an old school guy would just replace that front seal if that was all it needed.

 

[Jan Larsson]

I can see some oil weep from the front seal but not seen them splatter oil around, on the TTA being white you can tell straight away after just driving around for 5 min after you cleaned it up. Never had this issue with the old original compressor.

And I agree you need to run them once in a while to keep the seals lubricated and I never have the car sit more than maybe 3 or 4 weeks before I do run it and I always make sure I run the AC as well until it blows cold so I don't think that's an issue really.

I'll have my AC guy look at it to see if I lost any refrigerant at all or not then decide what to do. These GM compressors requires special tools to remove the pulley etc to just replace the front seal but might try that first before replacing the compressor.