I have gone through 3 compressors this summer. I just put the 3rd on yeasterday. Charged it with 4.25 lb's R-22. Now the seals are starting to leak again. All 3 compressors leaked at the front seal. I added 8-10 oz refergerent oil to the dri compressor. rotated it at least 2 dozen times to lube up the seals before I installed it and a dozen more after it was on the car as I was waiting on Vac and pressure test. Today I see oil comming from the seal again. What gives?
Oil leakage from the ceramic shaft seals on A6 Compressors is considered normal. They are designed to "seep" a bit to keep the seal lubed. They ALL leak to some extent. Even when they were new many of them slung oil like the Exxon Valdez. Many higher end GM cars had a shield over the comp. clutch to deflect the oil and prevent the ever present oil stripe on the inner fender and hood blanket. How much leakage is normal is up for debate. GM couldn't even give a definitive answer and their specs seemed to change from year to year. Basically, if it leaks only oil then it is in spec. If it leaks oil and a detectable amount of refrigerant then it is out of spec. To prevent the oil slinging you can replace the ceramic shaft seal with a modern neoprene double lip seal. I believe the seal kit is for a V5 compressor. The details and part numbers are available in the Tips, Tricks andFAQ section at www.autoacforum.com . I always check the shaft play before performing the seal replacement. If it's more than about .002-.003 the neoprene seal will not work. This seems to be an issue with the cheaper remans sold at the chain parts stores.
Why are you using R22? Isn't that for home/commercial A/C units? I don't know as much about R22, but the various types of freon require different types of oils, and I would figure different types of seals too. If it's not a typo, my guess is the freon isn't compatible with the seals or oil you are using. Or the orfice tube/expansion valve isn't compatible with that freon and is building excess pressure in the lines. Kinda like R-134a runs at a higher pressure than R-12 to have the same cooling efficiency.
Sorry My bad. After reading your post I re-read mine. I charged it with R-12 In my biz I write R-22 so much it sort just flows from my fingers when im not payn attn. The Neopream seals are a good tip and I will look into that. Also the sheild if I can find one. on both of the last 2 compressors it lost at leaset 1lb of freon as well as slinging oil all under the hood.
The neoprene seal will work IF the shaft deflection is minor. I've done it quite a few times with great results. I'm a fan of the A6 but it seems that "good" remans are getting harder to find. I've always favored keeping the A6 over adapting a different compressor. However, here's another alternative that keeps looking better all the time due to quality issues with remans. http://www.oldairproducts.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=12351
Where are you buying the compressors? Most remans I see from local auto parts stores are junk. There are only two places I would get a rebuilt compressor and thats Classic Auto Air or Old Air Products. The compressor shaft will sometimes get worn where it rides on the seal. If they replace the seal and not the shaft, its a waste of time and no seal will work. I had only a teeny amount of leakage on the last compressor I had rebuilt at Classic Auto Air.
That's been my experience too. I can't speak about Classic, but I had issues with the last A6 I purchased from OAP. I'm wondering if a good reman A6 is even available any more. A quick search of OAP shows one reman choice available(1972 Skylark). For $185, that looks a lot like the same unit available from the parts stores. Quality units are/were usually in the $250 range. o No:
So the best approach seems to rebuild the one you own. How hard is it for a person to rebuild one themself?
I still have the origional compressor that came on the car from the factory. I also own the puller set. I dont know where to start with tearing down the compressor.
There's not really much that you can do with the compressor besides reseal it. If there are worn parts internally it is doubtful that you could source replacements. What is wrong with your original compressor?
There's not really much that you can do with the compressor besides reseal it. If there are worn parts internally it is doubtful that you could source replacements. What is wrong with your original compressor? BTW, brand new A6's are available so that's another option. They're pricy, though. About $400-450.
Not really sure as it was working fine when I removed, as far as I remember. I did have the oil stripe on the hood FWIW. It has been sitting open for quite a few years.
I never ran it. car was low on charge when I bought it and it had the thick ring of oil and dirt all on the fender and bottom of the hood. I just bought a replacement. sence I detailed out the engine bay I reallt dont want oil slung all over under there.
It sounds like the seal was shot. Add some refrigerant oil into the ports and turn the compressor by hand. If you get good suction and pressure it's probably ok. Check the endplay of the shaft with a dial indicator (or have someone check it). If it's less than 3-4 thousandths a neoprene seal should work good. It will get rid of the oil slinging too. It's kind of funny. When these cars were new, not many people complained about the oil stripe on the hood as long as the AC worked. Of course there wasn't much during the warranty period and GM installed shields to catch the oil on the expensive cars. Once they were just old, used cars very few folks actually fixed the AC when it all leaked out or they just kept pumping in R12, the big oil stripe was a total non-issue. Now that these cars are "classics", nobody wants that mess on their nicely detailed engine bay. I'm not saying it's a bad thing. I just find it a bit amusing that an issue that was "normal" back in the day is such a problem now. Post back with the results on your old compressor. BTW, What kind of oil are you using? ceas350 has asked a couple of times. I'm guessing mineral based refrigerant oil with R12.
Not really. The A6 has a sump that holds the oil. The drain/fill plug is on the bottom of the compresor. It's not like a modern system where the oil circulates with the refrigerant.
