Never mind my previous post: 02 Sonata GLS A/C leak found in compressor, bad o-ring?

Well, it looks like my mechanic found the leak. Without opening it up,
he's pretty sure its the o-ring in the compressor. It seems to be
coming out from the bottom portion where the two halves of the
compressor meet (the little "gap" spot). Seems rather odd that a car
barely 10 years old would have an o-ring go out. Over the life of the
car, I'd never been a heavy A/C user so I am a bit surprised.

So anyone else have this go bad on them too? Anyone had one replaced
and for how much? Cheers.

- Thee Chicago Wolf [MVP]

 

Not too surprising. Seals tend to fail more from age than use and 10
years on a piece of neoprene or rubber is a fair bit of time, especially
in a part that operates at a fairly high temperature like an AC compressor.

Matt

 

When I had a leak in the AC system, my mechanic added a UV material
into the system, then took a UV light and found the leak
immediately...no guessing. And it was similar to your problem--a leak
at the back of the compresor (and a 9 year old vehicle)

 

The AC on my '01 Buick went over the winter. Many auto AC units start
having leaks at about 6 to 10 years. Use matters little, time matters a
lot. In fact, many AC guys say to be sure and kick it on even in the winter
for a couple of minutes to keep the lube in the system and seals from
drying.

I have other issues with the Buick climate control so it will not be fixed.
It gets driven a few hundred miles a year at best.

 

Fortunately, most modern cars use the AC to aid in defrosting so if you
use defrost mode in the winter there is a good chance that you are
exercising your AC system.

Matt

 

I guess not. Same thing my mechanic told me. But the litany of
complaints from him about the cheap Chinese garbage that they make
these compressors out of doesn't help either. He used a can of the
sealer stuff along with the recharge but he says not to hold my breath
and be prepared to buy a new compressor if it fails to seal. I managed
to find a new one on Amazon (Four Seasons 58185) for $305 new which is
dirt cheap compared to what Autozone / Advanced / O'Reillys wants
($500-600). I can't even imagine what an OEM from Hyundai would run
me. Thanks for the reply.

- Thee Chicago Wolf [MVP]

 

When I had a leak in the AC system, my mechanic added a UV material
into the system, then took a UV light and found the leak
immediately...no guessing. And it was similar to your problem--a leak
at the back of the compresor (and a 9 year old vehicle)[/QUOTE]

Yup, my mechanic told me about the UV stuff but said it was how the
shops do it. He had the pressure testing equipment and such to do it
but no UV stuff so it only appeared after the recharge. Now, time will
tell if the sealant stuff will do any good. Seems to be a small leak
so who knows. Cheers.

- Thee Chicago Wolf [MVP]

 

It's funny because my wife's 98 Corolla still blows freezing cold air
like the day it rolled off the line. Well, probably not but you know
what I mean. Maybe in 98 they were still using better quality stuff
than 2000 and up models. My mechanic blames the cheap Chinese junk
these things are made with. He told me in the past months he's
replaced 10 compressors on various makes of cars and all the
replacement compressors are Chinese made.

I did use the A/C over the winter too for defrosting so if the leak
was there, it probably happened some time after that. Thanks for the
reply.

- Thee Chicago Wolf [MVP]

 

I had my eye checked for a leak recently. They injected UV dye into my
vein and then started taking pictures. When I took a pee, the toilet
bowl was glowing all green. The surprising part was that the sides of
the bowl up to the rim way glowing - that stuff goes all over the place.
Anyway, I think the docs should have warned me about that.

 

What they should have warned you about was hanging around places that
have black lights in their bathrooms!!

Matt

 

Not to make you feel bad, but so does my 94 Chevy truck! No idea where
its compressor was made, but its cast aluminum wheels have China cast
into them and they have held up pretty well.

Matt

 

I had that done for pics of my retina. Kinda pretty lime green. I
think I saw the color on an old Plymouth once!

 

If everybody had glowing pee, you wouldn't need lights in bathrooms.

 

I think you're right about that color. I once checked out an RX-2
station wagon that was lime green. That car was kinda goofy and oddly
designed so the color fit the general nature of the car. When I saw
there was a fluorescent green shag rug in the shape of a big footprint
in the back, I knew that I would buy the car. That thing was pretty fast
for a hideous little Japanese station wagon. I wish I had that rug.

 

Oops, make that an RX-3 wagon.

 

Except that UV dye doesn't glow...

 

You're right but gosh, so picky!

 

Good thing you didn't pee in the pool when swimming

 

My guess is that being able to pee anti-freeze would make a fine Penn &
Teller routine and would blow everyone's minds. They'd never be able to
figure out how it's really done!

 

It's pretty hard to hard to beat up cast aluminum rims though. No
o-rings to go bad on those though. ^_^ Cheers.