xjzaped

I have a 99 with 130K miles on it. Recently the AC compressor has been making funny noises. When I popped the hood there was an oily substance on the radiator hose above the compressor and the surrounding area. Looks like it is coming from the front seal of the compressor (by the pulley). Any ideas on what the cause could be? Oh, the AC hasn't been working as efficently since but I have been trying not to run it.

bigvig

Mine was doing this a while back and ended up crapping the bed. The bearing went (well, actually the "lip" thats cast into that area which keeps the bearing in place) and was spitting grease and crap all over the place. It happened at the beginning of a 3 hour trip and LUCKILY I made it to my destination fine. BUT, when I got about 15 minutes away you could smell something burning. When I pulled into the driveway I popped the hood and it was SMOKING badly and REALLY HOT! You better watch it just in case, or pull it apart and check it out. I couldnt replace the bearing on mine, and you cant run the damn Jeep without the AC compressor since it runs off the belt. If youre AC compressor goes while youre on the road, youre getting a ride from a tow truck basically. I paid $210 ish for my compressor from a Jeep parts place and then paid to have the AC flushed and charged. Easy job in the driveway to swap it out in an afternoon.

xjzaped

I smelt the burning too. I thought it was the transmission because that had been constantly dropping from 3 to 2 to keep up speed with the cruise control. So you opinion is the bearing? What year do you have?

bigvig

My opinion is, hard saying not knowing. However, thats what happened to mine (not the actual bearing, but the lip that holds the bearing in place). Take of your belt and remove the pulley and see what it looks like in there. You can see if something is broken. If not, put it back together. If it is, you know what your problem is. Mines a 99 and you cant replace the bearing itself on it. Some models you can, for like $10 bucks. Its a joke that we CAN NOT replace just the bearing for so little and we have to buy a whole new compressor (I would of had to anyway because again, it wasnt my actual bearing that was shot). You should be able to pull the pulley off and look at it with no problems if memory serves correct.

Edited: Ive got some pics of mine here somewhere, I can post them if it would help.

xjzaped

That would be great. I took a look at the pulley after it got dark, it is throwing grease out of there. The lip under there is just coated in grease.

kenjen11

That sucks man, from what you describe here the AC compressor bearing is out. I bought one from a junk yard that came off a newer vehicle but still fit my car. It did take a afternoon to switch the bad one with the good one and the new one did hold the charge. If you switch the AC compressor you can charge the compressor your self. You will need to put oil into your compressor while you install it and also the right amount of charge. Sounds complicated but if you do some reading on the web it should not be too hard.