A/C went out, help....

[PhxExplorer]

I have a 91 XLT and after taking it out on a fairly difficult trail this weekend my a/c no longer functions. I drove back into town and stopped for lunch. When we got back in the truck I started it and turned on the a/c. I drove about 15 feet before I noticed smoke coming from under the hood. I shut off the a/c and the smoke went away. I parked the truck in my driveway and the next morning I noticed a large spot of fluid on the concrete under the passenger front side. I inspected the fluid and it is a clear oil. I looked under the truck but I can't find where this clear oil is coming from. Does anyone know what this oil is and any suggestions on what happened to my a/c? Are they related? Thanks for any input.

 

[Ru Dawg]

HERE'S MY GUESS!

Sounds like a refrigerant(SP?) leak. The "oil" could be the refrigerant out of the condenser for the a/c unit. The "smoke" you saw may have been the refrigerant in it's gaseous state. I'd check your a/c line and components for cracks/leaks etc. I could be WAY off, but that's what I think it sounds like! Hope this helps man!

 

[RadioFlyer91]

Leak failure.

The clear fluid you found was oil for the a/c system. not only does your system contain refridgerant, but also a number of ounces of special oil. passenger front side sounds like your leak could be at accumulator or evaporator. check under the hood starting at your ac compressor, follow one of the lines coming out of that compressor around the engine looking for anyspot with oil on it, there is an indication of the leak, do the same with the other line, one will go to the condenser (front of radiator), and the other to the accumulator (right rear of engine compartment), if there is no oil on the line, or the accumulator then the oil leak could possibly be out of the evaporator core, a large black box at the rear of the engine compartment. if a line or fitting cracks the refrigerant will propel the oil at a centralized location, and it will leak off from there, you should definately spot where the refrigerant oil is coming from, if not then it is probably a good indication of evaporator core failure.