Compressor shaft seal / compressor leak

[PickupMan04 FX4 L2]

alright guys i need some input.

ive had a feeling that my truck was a lil low on 134a this summer it takes awhile maybe five min to cool down the cab after sitting in direct sunlight. interior temps at 140* and exterior at 110*

once it cools down with ac settings on not recirculate, fan speed at three and max cold to about 45* with exterior ambient temps at 110* plus.

the compressor has never been too noisy but you can hear it when its cycled on. yesterday i was in the drive through and the compressor got a lil noisy just louder than normal operation as if it was working harder, vent temps did not go up but i shut the ac off anyway and waited and turned it back on and everything was normal sounding again.

than i smelled r134 coming through the vents and saw nice white puffs from under the hood it was a visible cloud of refrigerant and oil. so i hopped out of line and popped the hood. there was refrigerant coming out in a steady mist from behind the clutch and than it stopped venting.

my guess is i blew the shaft seal there is a slight oil residue on the front of the clutch.. the question is why? if the orifice valve gets plugged there would be no refrigerant to the evaporator and no cool air (which i still have).. if the system was over pressure the computer would have disengaged the compressor and alleviated the excessive system pressure..

what other things can cause this problem? how would i know if the compressor is toast? and should i just break down and replace the compressor, drier and flush, vacuum and recharge and say hell with it or keep running the ac till its dead?

the ac does still work, in any case i know it needs more oil and refrigerant but is it worth risking running it with a crap compressor that leaks or is on its way out and damage more parts?

i know its a long post but i wanted to cover all the details

 

[exbass94]

Replace/fix the compressor now, before it REALLY shits the bed. When it goes, it basically grinds itself to pieces and spews metal shavings and crap throughout the whole system. At that point, you'll need to flush the evaporator and all the hoses, and most likely replace the condenser. The compressor on my Explorer seized up a few months ago and I'm right in the middle of overhauling the whole AC system because of it. It's not cheap or easy. Well, pretty easy, but not cheap.

 

[PickupMan04 FX4 L2]

THAT WAS MY THINKING, THANKS FOR THE AFFIRMATION

i just had time to look at it here at work, the clutch does have refrigerant and oil on the outer ring. as far as the compressors grenading i know about that first hand as well my buddy tried to put a NEW compressor in a 88 sentra filled with the oh so wonderful black death. now my predicament is procuring a new compressor and condenser that are new as cheap as possible!

exbass94 i read that thread! sounds like a hell of a fun time!

 

[PickupMan04 FX4 L2]

the ac system is the only thing i wont touch on a car due to it not being feasible with the tools i (dont) have..

i got a quote today for a new compressor, dryer, orifice tube, flush vaccum and refill and all labor for 587.58 sounds pretty reasonable to me 279 in parts i can understand but that labor is a killer!

sometimes i wish i had the extra cash to throw at tools id just flat out do it myself

 

[exbass94]

What special tools are you referring to? I would have a shop evacuate it, do the work yourself, and later have the shop recharge it. All of this can be accomplished with very basic hand tools, no special tools required.

 

[PickupMan04 FX4 L2]

gauges, hoses, vaccum pump, flush canister etc. ive never had good luck with fixing ac systems.. ive got a shop that works on or commercial vehicles. i have alot of faith in the guy so hell idk.

 

[exbass94]

Well like I said before, if you have a shop evacuate and later recharge it, you don't need any of that stuff.