Looking for information on A-6 Air Conditioning Compressors for 1967 Corvettes. Is it normal for them to "weep" and have oil appear on the hood? Who can rebuild these compressors and guarantee they will not weep or leak oil?
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Re: A-6 Air Conditioning Compressor for 1967 Corve
Some will say it's 'normal' but it's not. Originally, the A6 in your car's era used a sintered metal front bearing/seal and it wore with use over time allowing refrigerant oil to 'wick' through to the front input shaft and spray the bottom side of the hood.
On later era Shark cars, Delco improved the design releasing a ceramic bearing/seal that's a drop-in retro fit for the earlier compressors. Following the instructions in your copy of the '67 Chassis Service Manual (air conditioning section), you can install a ceramic seal kit yourself, provided you have the special tools to remove the pulley (most auto parts stores that sell A/C components also stock these tools).
If the system is purged, the job can be done on-car, but most prefer to pull the compressor and work on it on the bench.... In addition to the bearing/seal components, factory original A6 compressors lined the front shaft cavity with a cylinder of absorbant cloth to contain minor seepage.
What you get with an aftermarket, rebuilt, A6 is generally bargain basement (no liner, metal vs. ceramic bearing/seal) because a few pennies here/there go a long way toward profitability in the intense competition of remanufactured AC compressors.... -
Re: A-6 Air Conditioning Compressor for 1967 Corve
The oil unattended will eventually penetrate the fiberglass and get under the paint and cause bubbles. It happened to my hood. I thought I had burned the paint while buffing when small pin head size bubbles appeared during the buffing process. I wet sanded the area of about 3 inches in diameter and it slicked out. After a few exposures to the sun and the engine heat, the bubbles would re-appear. After a few years of aggravation with the hood bubbling, I decided to strip the hood. After stripping the paint, washing it down and leaving it in the hot sun to dry, I returned a few hours later and found an oil saturated spot of about 14 inches in diameter had come to the top surface of the hood. Then several hours of continuously heating the hood with a heat lamp drawing the oil to the surface, washing and re-washing away with lacquer thinner; I finally cleaned the hood. Taking measurements to the center of the oil spot showed that the oil was dead center of the A/C compressor clutch. All has been repaired and a guard has been put over the clutch just in case.Comment
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Re: A-6 Air Conditioning Compressor for 1967 Corve
I was interested in knowing where you got the 'guard' that has been put over the clutch. I want to try the same thing. Thanks for any additional information.Comment
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Re: A-6 Air Conditioning Compressor for 1967 Corve
Pete I used to see guards in Corvette magazines, however I made my own. Mine is wider that what was available. I had some thin metal that is about inch or more wide that I used for braces. I cut three pieces for braces about six inches long and bent each one 90 degrees on one end and drilled a hole large enough that the compressor bolts would go through. I then took a piece of aluminum flashing, about a 12 inches in length and cut it to a width of about 4 1/2 or 4 3/4 inches and used my rivet gun to attach it to the three braces. I rounded the corners and painted it black and then installed it. It has done a great job of keeping oil off the underside of the hood and the hoses along the engine side of the fenderwell. Have used it on my 70 for about 10 years now. Was really easy to make, it is very secure with three attaching points on the compressor, two locations on the top and one on the side of the compressor. It can be very easily removed for judging if needed.Comment
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