Newbie Needs Help - Coolant? Leak

[e9999]

dude, if the oil comes right from that joint, it's the exact same place mine is leaking refrigerant oil.
Good point above: see if the refrigerant is green in the little window.

 

[JZenger]

I am glad to see I am not alone. The refrigerant/oil in the window on the refrigerant line on the driver's side of the engine compartment is the same color as what is leaking - flourescent green.

Well, it sounds like I need to take it to someone who has the right equipment to discharge/recharge the system.

I emailed the previous owner who had the AC system charged and apparently checked for leaks given the color of the oil, to see if they will be willing to do it right this time.

 

[e9999]

OK, so it is refrigerant oil then.
FWIW, mine has been leaking a tad since I got it (over a year).
I put in a few ozs of 134 once a year, it's blowing cold just fine.
I added some oil with Oring rejuvenator too, both to fill up a tad with oil and to try and stop the leak but the latter does not seem to have happened yet.
You could aways try to put some oring swelling agents in there to see if that would cure the problem before you try to take things apart...
I would be careful, however, that if you lose a lot of oil, you may risk some compressor problems so that's not great...

Oh, you can also try to tighten the bolt, but be careful, the spec on that is very low IIRC.

 

[JZenger]

I will have to borrow a torque wrench to see if the bolts can be tightened. I looked up the torque settings and you are right they are very light.

I assume you add the oil to the compressor and does the manual tell you what oil to use?

Mine is leaking enough that if it keeps up, I will have to fix it because it is making a bit of a mess.

Thanks for the help.

Joel

 

[e9999]

I will have to borrow a torque wrench to see if the bolts can be tightened. I looked up the torque settings and you are right they are very light.

I assume you add the oil to the compressor and does the manual tell you what oil to use?

Mine is leaking enough that if it keeps up, I will have to fix it because it is making a bit of a mess.

Thanks for the help.

Joel

they sell oil supplements to squirt in just like you do when recharging. Problem is that you don't know how much to add, so it's a bit of a guess. More is probably better than not enough, though, I would think.

but if it's that bad, you probably want to replace that Oring.

 

[elmariachi]

they sell oil supplements to squirt in just like you do when recharging. Problem is that you don't know how much to add, so it's a bit of a guess. More is probably better than not enough, though, I would think.

but if it's that bad, you probably want to replace that Oring.

I agree, you should replace it once and for all. If A/C is not your cup of tea, then go have an AC shop draw all the refrigerant and oil out (so you'll know how much oil is in there for sure.) Then install o-rings AND a new drier (because you are opening up the system). Then recharge and you should be set.

 

[JZenger]

Thanks for all the help.