Did I drive through grease or do I have an A/C problem?

[Woodyhfd]

I just finished washing my 1987 911 and I noticed that the driver's side rocker panel behind the front wheel was covered with grease. At first I thought I drove through a blob of grease on the road, but when I looked up under the wheel well and saw that the A/C dryer was covered, I started to wonder if it's an A/C oil leak or something else. It may have just been thrown up there by the wheel.

I had the A/C on last week, but mostly for the fan.

Any suggestions?

[ossiblue]

Clean everything well with an oil cutting, biodegradable product, dry it thoroughly, and go for a drive with the AC on. Or, clean it up and simply run the AC and see if you see oil seepage while the system is on.

[ischmitz]

if you didn't you do......

The oil seems to be from the AC system. An AC charge contains the refrigerant and a small amount of oil to lubricate the moving compressor parts. Maybe some shop did a sloppy job before and didn't clean up. Else you have a leak.

Normally, with a leak the refrigerant goes first and the compressor won't even come on because the system pressure is too low. However, a conclusive test is to clean the area and then watch it. You might want to buy a dye or have a shop charge the system with a dye to spot tiny leaks. The dye is contains UV-active components and will glow when illuminated with an alternate ligth source. (UV lamp).

Cheers,
Ingo

[Woodyhfd]

It looked to be some kind of blue grease. If it's coming from the A/C system, I may just remove it all and be done with it.

Unfortunately, hand surgery this morning is going to delay any more work for a while.

In the mean time, any other info is appreciated.

[Tigerrat]

Does the AC get cold now? See any bubbles in the sight glass? With it running you might can see any leak that splattered that much oil.

[Woodyhfd]

It never really got super cold to begin with.