FWIW, we r still getting low/mid 30s at the center vents 4 years after our a/c overhaul.

 

Well it's been about a month since I charged the system and it is still blowing cool air.... And I am not seeing any dye so I may have fixed my leak.... But....

Once in a while when I turn the A/C on, I hear a growling sound for a couple seconds. It then stops and everything seems fine.. It has only done it about 3 or 4 times and I have tried to get out and open the hood to verify it is coming from the compressor but it stopped before I could get the hood open.... To me it sounds like a bad bearing...

I haven't used the A/C much yet because I haven't needed to. But I'd like to get it sorted out before summer

I have found a compressor for $138 at "Partsgeek.com"... and am thinking I should leave the A/C shut off until I can replace the compressor...

I just replaced the dryer so I am hoping to replace JUST the compressor.
My other choice would be to run it until it fails...Don't want to do that because I have heard that if the compressor fails I will need to replace other parts because of parts clogging them.

What do the experts here think?