My A/C has a slow leak in it so I put some dye in to see what was going on. The only thing that shows is Freon film all over the back of the A/C compressor. I really don't know where its coming from though. I looked at the front and underneath of the compressor in case it was leaking from the front and blowing back, nothing. Could it becoming from the connection of the hoses on the top of the compressor? I notice where the hoses connect to the compressor is like a separate piece bolted to the compressor. Is it common for the seal or gasket here to leak? Or do the bolts all have little O-Rings that wear and leak over time? I suppose the answer could be yes to all these questions, but does anybody have an idea of which is most common?


My Cherokee is a 98' with nothing fancy as far as mods under the hood.

 

The setup changed over the years, but basically the manifold hoses bolt to the top of the compressor. On my 01 there is one bolt that holds it in place and a gasket for sealing between the compressor and manifold. I would suggest cleaning everything off and watch the leak reappear. It may be the compressor itself is leaking and needs to be replaced.

 

Yeah, that back plate compressor gasket is probably leaking.

If that's it, time for a new compressor.