Almost new A/C compressor leaking | Page 2 | FerrariChat

Almost new A/C compressor leaking

Discussion in '308/328' started by Martin308GTB, Dec 13, 2019.

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  1. trs666

    trs666 Karting

    Apr 17, 2014
    83
    Göteborg, Sweden
    Full Name:
    Tommi S.
    Martin, older Volvo 240:s used a York compressor looking very similar that the Ferrari used.
    On vacation now for 3 weeks so cannot check at our databases i they carry the seal as part though.
    ///TRS
     
  2. Aircon

    Aircon Ten Time F1 World Champ
    BANNED

    Jun 23, 2003
    100,524
    Melbourne, Australia
    Full Name:
    Peter
    I feel your pain! My newish compressor has an oil leak..... But from the sump ..... Not losing gas.

    Very annoying
     
  3. Martin308GTB

    Martin308GTB F1 Rookie

    Jan 22, 2003
    4,286
    Black Forest Germany
    Full Name:
    Martin N.
    #28 Martin308GTB, Dec 18, 2019
    Last edited: Dec 18, 2019
    Hi Peter,
    thanks for letting me know. How we say: "a problem shared is a problem halved".
    Mine also. Still enough gas for the magnetic clutch to engage. But I think it won't take long till the system is empty, because the refrigerant circuit and the compressor crankcase is not separated completely tight. Otherwise, if both would be completely sealed against each other, compressor oil would not disperse in the whole system and all components. So over time gas escapes through the crankcase and the leaking shaft. I suspect you have the same problem with the shaft seal. See also my post #14.

    I have an appointment this afternoon in my workshop for extracting the refrigerant. I will report back when I have pulled the compressor. Probably during coming weekend.

    BTW. I found a picture on ebay, which shows such a compressor inside its box. If that's the way, they are stored by the factory, this would fit the wrong storage theory regarding the shaft orientation I mentioned in post #14.
    Unfortunately I unpacked mine and stored it with the shaft oriented horizontally.

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    Best Regards
    Martin
     
  4. Aircon

    Aircon Ten Time F1 World Champ
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    Jun 23, 2003
    100,524
    Melbourne, Australia
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    Peter
    G'day Martin.

    The leak on my compressor is definitely not from the shaft seal. It's leaking from the bottom of the compressor and the bolts are tight.

    I was under the impression that it's not the refrigerant oil, but I would love confirmation.
     
  5. Martin308GTB

    Martin308GTB F1 Rookie

    Jan 22, 2003
    4,286
    Black Forest Germany
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    Martin N.
    Hi Peter,
    with a leak you only see the compressor oil. The leaking refrigerant will evaporate immediately after escape.

    Best
    Martin
     
  6. Martin308GTB

    Martin308GTB F1 Rookie

    Jan 22, 2003
    4,286
    Black Forest Germany
    Full Name:
    Martin N.
    BTW,
    I just took my car out of the garage. This is the mess, which collected over three days, after I have wiped off the same mess last weekend.

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    Best
    Martin
     
  7. Aircon

    Aircon Ten Time F1 World Champ
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    Jun 23, 2003
    100,524
    Melbourne, Australia
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    Peter
    wooooo....mine was NOTHING like that!!
     
  8. Martin308GTB

    Martin308GTB F1 Rookie

    Jan 22, 2003
    4,286
    Black Forest Germany
    Full Name:
    Martin N.
    Proof, that not only oil, but also refrigerant got lost, is the fact, that I just had the system extracted. From the 800 grams we filled the system early this year, 90 grams remained.

    Best from Germany
    Martin
     
  9. TommyA

    TommyA Formula Junior

    Oct 7, 2002
    549
    Atlanta
    Full Name:
    Tommy A
    Martin,
    I will be headed to Stuttgart the first week of March. I can get the parts to you.
     
  10. Martin308GTB

    Martin308GTB F1 Rookie

    Jan 22, 2003
    4,286
    Black Forest Germany
    Full Name:
    Martin N.
    Hi Tommy,
    I hope to have eliminated this annoyance by mid of January. You're nevertheless welcome :) I'm 100mls. southwest of Stuttgart. In the lowest left corner on the map. Near Switzerland and almost on the french border.

    Best from Germany
    Martin
     
  11. Martin308GTB

    Martin308GTB F1 Rookie

    Jan 22, 2003
    4,286
    Black Forest Germany
    Full Name:
    Martin N.
    Hello together,

    yesterday I had the refrigerant extracted and this evening I pulled the compressor. After removal of the front flange and the seal I couldn't absolutely see anything what would explain this serious loss of oil and refrigerant.
    I will now do one more try with a new seal and if the problem recurs, I will convert to a Sanden rotary compressor. After searching the www and reading a lot of forum posts, no matter what car brand, having the same problem, I slowly begin thinking, that the T/CCI York knockoffs are complete crap. Furthermore, because the shaft seal is completely differently designed than the one in my old original Aspera compressor, which was actually an old York and NEVER had a leak problem at the compressor itself. Not even after the car sat for four years at a dealer.
    Another alternative would be re-engineering the shaft seal similar like I did on my waterpump conversions.
    Any opinions?

    Best from Germany
    Martin
     
  12. Aircon

    Aircon Ten Time F1 World Champ
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    Jun 23, 2003
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    Peter
  13. Martin308GTB

    Martin308GTB F1 Rookie

    Jan 22, 2003
    4,286
    Black Forest Germany
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    Martin N.
    Hi Peter,

    no need to be confused. There's a lot of nonsense in that thread.
    It's simply not possible to separate compressor oil sump and refrigerant circuit completely. If the compressor leaks oil it will also leak refrigerant.
    But please allow me one question. Since you're an A/C specialist. Do domestic A/C equipments work significantly different than those in our cars?

    Best from Germany
    Martin
     
  14. Freddie328

    Freddie328 Formula Junior

    Jul 29, 2013
    393
    Herts, UK
    Full Name:
    Richard
    The principle is the same, but domestic A/C systems generally use electrically driven hermetic compressors, so there is no shaft seal to leak. Additionally the whole system is hermetically sealed with brazed joints, so no mechanical joints to leak.
     
  15. Martin308GTB

    Martin308GTB F1 Rookie

    Jan 22, 2003
    4,286
    Black Forest Germany
    Full Name:
    Martin N.
    Meanwhile my research led me to the conclusion, that the T/CCI York knockoffs are actually made in China. They recently opened a facility in India. 'nuff said.
    What annoys me is the 'stars and stripes'-sticker they put onto their junk.
    Too man stories in the www about failed seals.
    I have an offer for a used original York-compressor from a 308QV, which was stored since 2012.
    Could I use this after such a long storage? Replacing the seal is no option, because the replacements are the same junk which I found in my new compressor.

    Best from Germany and thanks
    Martin
     
  16. Aircon

    Aircon Ten Time F1 World Champ
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    Jun 23, 2003
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  17. Martin308GTB

    Martin308GTB F1 Rookie

    Jan 22, 2003
    4,286
    Black Forest Germany
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    Martin N.
    Hi Peter,

    because there IS refrigerant present inside the crankcase, the only explanation could be, because your leak is below the oil level, that the oil sump is still enough amount to prevent the gas to escape through the leak at the bottom. My case is different, because my leak is at the shaft seal above the oil level. Oil has stopped leaking as soon as the level was below the shaft seal (without the compressor running of course), but the refrigerant leaked further.
    Be cautious. When all oil is gone, refrigerant will follow, if the compressor hasn't gone south before.

    Best
    Martin
     
  18. Martin308GTB

    Martin308GTB F1 Rookie

    Jan 22, 2003
    4,286
    Black Forest Germany
    Full Name:
    Martin N.
    Hello together,

    o.k. Lat night I installed a little setup for controlled pressurizing my compressor.
    Here's the result. No comment:



    Best from Germany
    Martin
     
  19. Aircon

    Aircon Ten Time F1 World Champ
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    Jun 23, 2003
    100,524
    Melbourne, Australia
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    Peter
    Looks perfect! What are you worried about?
     
    Martin308GTB likes this.
  20. Martin308GTB

    Martin308GTB F1 Rookie

    Jan 22, 2003
    4,286
    Black Forest Germany
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    Martin N.
    Thanks Peter. I am relieved. Now, that you A/C specialist confirmed, that it's perfect that way, I will reinstall the compressor untouched ;)

    Best
    Martin
     
  21. Saabguy

    Saabguy Formula 3

    Mar 28, 2012
    1,785
    Shreveport, LA
    Black paint on the cap isn't thick enough... ;-)


    Lester

     
  22. Saabguy

    Saabguy Formula 3

    Mar 28, 2012
    1,785
    Shreveport, LA
    And what setup? It would be nice to check before installing my next one.

    Lester


     
  23. Martin308GTB

    Martin308GTB F1 Rookie

    Jan 22, 2003
    4,286
    Black Forest Germany
    Full Name:
    Martin N.
    Hi Lester,

    nothing complicated. I just turned a hose nipple for a filler valve (see my post #19 on page 1), because I couldn't find something with hose end and M14x1.5 thread and connected it with my compressed air regulator.
    For plugging the fittings I had to purchase two endcaps and seal them with teflon tape on the fittings.
    For future reference, these threads are 7/8"-14 UNF for the high pressure / discharge side, and 3/4"-16 UNF for the low pressure / suction side.

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    I should have painted the cap too. The compressors are coming in glossy black and I painted it silver to match the original. I taped the cap, because I feared, that paint spray could get to the seal. LOL!

    Best from Germany
    Martin
     
  24. Martin308GTB

    Martin308GTB F1 Rookie

    Jan 22, 2003
    4,286
    Black Forest Germany
    Full Name:
    Martin N.
    A correction. The threads of the the fittings I mentioned before are the other way around.
    7/8"-14 UNF for the low pressure / suction side and 3/4"-16 for the high pressure /discharge side.

    Best
    Martin
     
    Saabguy likes this.
  25. Martin308GTB

    Martin308GTB F1 Rookie

    Jan 22, 2003
    4,286
    Black Forest Germany
    Full Name:
    Martin N.
    Hello together,

    today I received the new seal kit, which Robert (crowndog) sent me. Thanks to all who offered me their help regarding supply feom the U.S. You are great folks :)
    Though german customs regularly is a PITA it arrived after 8 days.
    I installed the seal kit this evening and a pressure test at 6 bar showed a tight seal.
    Like mentioned in a previous post, there are two different seal designs for these,York-compressors. I meanwhile think, that the newest design is an error. Therefore I purchased the seal, which resembles the design of the old originals, which is still (or again?) available.
    I hope I can assemble all things over the weekend, because it seems, that we have spring in January in SW-Germany.

    Best Regards
    Martin
     

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