I went to the shop complaining of a leak on the hose from condenser to dryer @the condenser.

They, however fixed a leak they found on the other side of the dryer on the hose going to the expansion valve. They didnt even pull the grill and look at the condenser! I think its because they were very busy, and didnt half listen
to me.

When I picked the car up, the fitting at the condenser was still leaking. But it was no longer leaking oil, as before, but rather a liquid with a grayish color, which pooled on my garage floor that evening.

At the time I was more concerned with the fact that they hadnt made the repair that I had requested, more than I was concerned about what was coming out of my system. This reflects my lack of experience and knowledge concerning ac systems.

I returned the car to the shop the next day, where they made a new hose for the condenser to dryer line. The system was now tight and leak free.

The next day , however, I noticed a slight degradation in system performance and, more alarming to me, my new(and quiet)compressor was now making rumbling noises. Additionally the system cycles off and on more that before.

My conclusion is that a sealer was added to my ac, and that it was not a good thing. What can I expect now. The system is working, and is cooling, though slightly less efficient than it was, and then there is my noisy "new" compressor. What to do? What to do?

Thanks for listening. Any comments?

L.

The greyish liquid was probably oil. They may have not added at the second recharging. If your car has an expansion valve, then it is a 240 with a temperature type cycling switch. If it cycling more often, then it's getting colder than before.

If the car has a fixed orifice, then the pressure controlled system could have been slightly less charged than before. I word it this way because it is possible that it is correct now and was overcharged previously. The only proper charging method is to start with an evacuated system and charge by refrigerant mass. 1993 and later would have been specified for a proper R-134a charge, but 1992 and earlier would have been for Freon (R-12). The newer gas has to be limited to 60-70% of the Freon spec.

If the service guy did use a sealer, don't fret too much because they are quite compatible with the refrigerant and most remain inert without oxygen or moisture (depending on sealer).

"most remain inert without oxygen or moisture".
Yes, My concern is that if sealer was added, and there was still a leak that wasnt fixed til the following day, could air, and or moisture, have gotten into the system and caused more sealer activation than is prudent. Thats why Im concerned about the rumbling coming from my "new" compressor, noise I hadnt noticed before.


I hope you're right about it not being much to worry over.
My car is a 240-1990.

Thanks

Unless your car is able to defy the laws of physics by allowing low pressure air into a high pressure system, it's not happening. The lowest theoretical pressure point in the system is at the suction side reed valves inside the compressor, where pressure is still nearly 15PSI above atmospheric pressure.

Many compressors are noisy but, if yours was not until the service, then you should talk to the repair guy about whether oil was added. I am assuming that you converted the system to R-134a either prior to compressor replacement or during. If your car had R-12 and the service guys didn't know it, then the mineral oil (not miscible in R-134a) would be providing very little lubrication.

Yes I agree, that the sytem probally needs to be evacuated, vacuumed at laest 15 to 20 mins and add at least an ounce of oil and then recharged to proper amount. Also maybe add dye to see in furture for more leaks, the dye sometimes is in the oil added after evacuation.

Im truly not the sharpest tool in the box. But, Im working on it.
What you say makes perfect sense.
Thank you.

L.

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