federalist10

Story might be a bit complicated and long winded, but here goes. Sorry for the length and for the potential unseemly size of the images, this is my first post...

Background: I have a 2000 XJ Classic 4.0L, 120,000 miles. Regular oil changes every 4,000 miles or so whether it needs it or not (10w-30 synthetic). I'm the original owner, bought new. Never really had any problems with it. Mostly dealer serviced.

I last did an oil change/new filter on August 1, 2014.

One problem I did have was the air conditioner hadn't blown cold much cold air for about the last 4 or 5 years, it would stay cold for about 5-10 minutes then blow warm/room temp air. I never bothered with it because I don't use the a/c much. But this summer I went ahead and recharged it. Seemed ok. The thing blew cold air consistently, though I didn't use it much, but the cold air lasted much past the 5-10 minutes it had been doing. But shortly after this I noticed that when I turn the a/c on, it would squeal for a moment before engaging, then it would be fine...I thought maybe the pulley on the compressor was a little course from not being used for so long. And I'm not too far away from a new serpentine belt, so I didn't worry too much about it. Without using the a/c you'd never know anything was up. But this isn't really the problem, it is only the background to the start of the problem....

On a 2 hour long trip I had the a/c on, it seemed to stop blowing cold air after maybe 30 minutes. After the cold air stopped the sound from under the hood seemed to change, a new kind of a gurgling hissing sound (kind of like when water boils in a kettle), along with the absence of another sound I'm used to (perhaps one of the fans?) Neither the oil pressure nor the temperature gauges were registering abnormally.

So I parked the jeep, did a quick check, to see if anything was obviously amiss, didn't really notice anything too strange except for some sludge near the oil filter, but I wasn't sure if that was new or not since it seems like that stuff is always there. Didn't use the jeep any further.

I took it out for a short trip a couple days later to test it, didn't run it too hard for too long, long enough to give it a workout and see what might be going on. The same hissing/gurgling/water boiling-in-a-kettle sound was heard after starting up the jeep (along with the absence of some sound I am accustomed to). I drove it around, got the RPMs up, the gauges for the oil pressure and temperature seemed to be acting normally, but something was happening...it felt and sounded like the car was about to overheat even though the gauge said otherwise, so when I slowed the car to a stop and put it into park the engine let out a squeal before I turned it off. I popped the hood and the thing seemed way hot. But I didn't notice any major leaks anywhere, nor did I see any smoke. It did smell like something was burning.

I let the car cool off over the next couple days and inspected it. My code scanner didn't register anything. I thought it might be the dreaded head gasket problem that plagues these guys but I didn't notice any of visual signs. There doesn't seem to be any significant loss of coolant, didn't notice any milky oil under the oil fill cap. But I am not mechanically trained and can only do very minimal work, so I am out of my league here. I opened the radiator cap and the coolant there looks pretty normal except for a tiny buildup of light brown gunk in some of the treads, but it's not mixed in, the coolant seems clean as deeply as I can inspect without draining it. The coolant tank is filled about midway between the low and full lines, and it looks clean. There are a couple of drops of oil that have leaked onto the ground, but I think it's been doing that for a while now (maybe due to the synthetic oil?) There are a couple wet spots on the underside of the car, but again I think those have been there before. The oil level is normal right now, so if it has leaked or splattered it hasn't lost enough to measure.

My gut is telling me it could be the water pump, keeping the radiator from doing its thing. From what I have read here it could also be the oil distributor. I don't know if recharging the a/c had anything to do with this, or if it is just a coincidence. It's just guesswork at this point for me. So I am posting pictures of the areas I have described along with other potentially suspect areas in the hope that someone can advise me. I just moved to the Schenectady/Albany NY area and don't know anyone here, so I am kind of stuck with either the Jeep dealership or a random mechanic shop. I hesitate to drive the car too far to get it serviced as I don't want to make any problems worse. I don't mind paying a dealership to get it fixed but I don't want to get upcharged up the **** and have them randomly doing guesswork to fix the problem, doing unnecessary work, etc. so knowing a little bit about what the problem is or might be can be helpful. And if someone has a recommendation on where to go, that would be great too. Thanks in advance for any help! I've already learned a lot reading there forums here, makes me wish I knew more than I do as I've already enjoyed the little things I've been able to do on my own, but I am not expecting to be able to do it myself here ~Tony



under the radiator cap, this is the extent of the light brown gunk I mentioned, it's not mixed in anywhere and don't see it anywhere else




broad shot showing the dark sludge on the passengers side around the oil filter, I don't know if this is new or not.




closeup




another closeup




wasn't sure if there was anything suspicious here




about a year ago I had a cylinder 4 misfire and read the Jeep recall bulletin on it so I put the recommended heat shield around it. There is residue around the PCV valves or whatever they're called now but it's been like for a while I think.




little bit of leakage maybe




not sure if anything suspicous here




not sure if anything suspicious here




not sure if anything suspicious here




another broad view that includes the motor oil dipstick.




not sure if a picture is helpful, but I figured I'd include one anyways, I didn't see anything here




seems to be some leakage/sludge in the middle, didn't notice anything active




not sure about anything here




not sure about this either

slownis

Look for oily residue around all of the A/C fittings. Likely you have a leak in refrigerant, or a clogged line. The A/C refrigerant actually cools your compressor when it is working properly, and so my best guess is that the squeeling sound and burning smell is due to A/C compressor bearing failure.
An A/C with bearing failure can cause exactly the symptoms you are describing. If you hear that squeeling again, quick turn off your A/C and see if the sound goes away. Be quick about it, because it can cause your belt to break and then you'll be dead in the water.

federalist10

Ok thanks I will take a look and see if that happens. I did some poking around the forum based on what you said and the A/C bearing sounds like a likely candidate.

Should I try to refill the refridgerant as a temporary measure, not to use the A/C but just to get the vehicle running ok? If I am not turning on the A/C or heater, is there risk to breaking the belt, is it safe to drive the car far enough to get it fixed?

If this is the problem, what would the repair be? Would I be looking at replacing the compressor and the bearing? How much can I reasonably expect this to cost if I am going with a new/refurb part at a repair shop? (dealer or otherwise--I am brand new to the Albany area, don't know anyone yet to get advice, so I wouldn't know where else to take it for repair). Thanks guys, you're the best! ~Tony

federalist10

So I checked the A/C fittings as best as I could. I didn't notice any residue anywhere except for a little bit along this hose:

the newish looking hose has a little bit of film on it


I checked other A/C related places and didn't notice anything. Here are the main unit pics:





I did notice some hints of something residual under the coolant tank, but I couldn't distinguish if it was specific to the A/C or if it was related to the oily sludge around the oil filter, or something else...either way it didn't seem like much.

Firestorm500

Synthetic oil doesn't cause leaks that weren't already there.

I think you need a new (and I do mean new, not reman) A/C compressor.

The A/C also comes on when you use defrost, down to about 40* F outside temp. So don't use defrost mode until you fix this.

It'll cost around $750 more or less to fix your A/C with the required new parts and labor. Could be upwards of $1,000 in some areas.

jeffcycles

Maybe not important to you, but if you do need the defroster you should be able to simply disconnect the two wires to the compressor. This would allow defroster use until the A/C issue is addressed.

Firestorm500

Yeah, it would blow through the dash vents but he will lose the ability to defog/dehumidify efficiently.

federalist10

This is excellent advice, thank you all. I won't be engaging the A/C, heater, defroster at all until I get it repaired, just gonna leave it switched off. Now it's just a matter of finding someone to do the repair in the area.

So it looks like I'm probably looking at a new Sanden Compressor with Clutch, parts and labor $700-1000. Should I stick with Sanden, or should I be wary of any other brands? Are there any upcharges to be suspicious of?

Firestorm500

Four Seasons or Sanden are OK as long as it is brand new.

Remans have burned me too many times.

federalist10

Would this be a good choice/price? New Four Seasons Compressor with Clutch for about $159 shipped from Amazon?


If I supply this part to a mechanic, would anything else being replaced related to the compressor (lines, etc.) need to be specific to this brand or can they use whatever is in stock?

Firestorm500

If it really is brand new, that's a good price.

Be sure to read all the info they post about replacing other required parts, for warranty purposes.

The hoses are normally not replaced unless they are bad.

federalist10

Update:
I found what I think is a decent mechanic shop nearby (lots of favorable reports from coworkers). Installed a brand new compressor w/clutch, had him put in a new serpentine belt too. Everything ended up costing about $690 out the door.

So far so good I think. On startup it seemed to sound like it's supposed to. The A/C is blowing fine, so is the defroster. Heard the belt squeal a couple times while driving it home, but it didn't do that on a later test drive. I popped the hood to take a look, saw the compressor engaging like it should. Only potential concern is that I saw a few scattered drops of oil near the engine oil cap and near the compressor's low port where the hose connects. Thought I saw a couple drops of anti-freeze near the coolant tank. I suspect (hope) that it is just spillage from when they filled the A/C and topped off the anti-freeze tank. I wiped everything down and let it run for a while, did a quick test drive, and then checked all the lines and areas where I saw the drops before and didn't see anything. So I'll do a more thorough check on Monday when I drive it again. If anybody thinks there is a red flag please let me know. Otherwise, thanks for all the advice! ~Tony

tracyk

Firestorm, I have the AC squeal as well but didn't care too much as I don't use it. Am I to understand from your comment that I need to fix it anyway if I plan to (oh, and I will need to) use defrost in the wintertime?

....sorry federalist10 -- looks like you got the prob solved, so I didn't imagine I was hijacking your thread

tracyk

...sucks because if I understand correctly, mine (99) doesn't have a separate AC clutch so whole compressor must be replaced. Ug.

Firestorm500

The squeal is usually caused by a compressor that is trying to lock up. It's pretty hard to buy just the clutch if it is the bad component, so it is more economical in the long run just to replace the whole unit. Along with the required other parts to activate the warranty.

When you want to use defrost/defog above forty degrees, the compressor will be commanded to come on. As another poster mentioned, you can unplug the wire that goes to the clutch to deactivate the compressor.

But as I stated, above 40 degrees your defrost/defog times will be longer as no dehumidification will be available from your now-disabled compressor.

Out in the desert this is usually not too big a problem. I live in a high-humidity area where it would be a problem.