A/C problems

[mubienrulz]

Hi!
1)i have a 87 camry ultima. when i switch the A/C on there is a noise coming out of the pulley. the belt is tight enough. will i have to replace the compressor? and also i feel that there is some air coming out of the driver side blower when i'm driving even though its switched off.



2)there is some oil dripping off my automatic gear box. it coming out somewhere close to the dipstick. i can't figure it out. and also when i come down a hill i usually use the 2nd gear. but now there is a lot of oil coming out when i do that.

[Kep]

The noise could be the AC clutch system or the compressor. If the noise goes away when the car is running and you turn the AC off that is a good indication that it is the compressor. If the noise is constant with or without the AC being on that suggests the clutch mechanism or maybe a bearing. You hear my compressor kind of rattle when I am idling with the AC on. The general consensus is to keep using it until it craters and then to replace it. Evidently, it won't hurt anything in the meantime. I don't know about the clutch.

For the oil problem it sounds like you need to clean out the engine compartment and trace down the source of the leak. If the oil is puddled on top of the transmission you can hope that it is the distributor gasket. Otherwise I lean towards the main seals. It might be the valve cover (torque the spark plug tubes down to 17 ft lbs.) or many other things.

Kep

[mubienrulz]

the oil is coming out of the gearbox.

[Musikmann]

Originally Posted by Kep

The noise could be the AC clutch system or the compressor. If the noise goes away when the car is running and you turn the AC off that is a good indication that it is the compressor...Kep

What do you know? The search function works here! Sorry to resurrect a months old thread.

That's exactly how my A/C is behaving and has for a couple of years. It blows cold air fine, and since I have owned the car (taken over from my father at 12,000 miles in 1995), the A/C has never been serviced. The only time I can hear the compressor making noise is at idle, and it's usually on a pretty hot day.

I suspected the compressor was going south and asked a tech to listen for the noise. He could not hear it, but it was not very loud that day. I've been playing the "wait and see" game and if the noise gets worse, or the A/C stops working, then I guess I'm due for a new compressor.

Thanks for the tip Kep.