I noticed when I was sitting at a stoplight today that when I turned on the AC it groaned a bit, and then made a quieter groan when I turned it off. I did this repeatedly. AC works just fine, though. Should I be concerned?

 

If there are no visible oily spots near hose connections etc, there is little you can do about it. If you can see oily spots, you may want to add some oil. The total amount in the system is about 7-8 oz of PAG46 oil. There are freon canisters (R134a) that has 0.2 oz of PAG46 oil loaded in them.

My compressor failed around 70K miles which is short. And the compressor including the new one do groan when they are started in my car. The Calsonic CWV618 compressor used in 4G cars is designed to run all the time. See the other A/C post.

 

Try adjusting your belt, I think this is common when your car is on then turn on A/C because of rpm's drop/increase on initial start up of a/c. If it's leaking oil it's probably leaking refrigerant also so check your pressures fix what's damaged and add PAG if need be.

 

Crooper hedder is having a groanig sound, if he had too much refrigerant in his system the comp would shut off. Most our max's have a combination low press and high pressure cut off switch, his compressor is turning on so I don't think this is his prob. As for jiffy lubes pricing, why pay $100+ when you can follow the dirrections in the STICKIES and do it yourself for under $50 buck guage and hose (re-useable) for next time?

 

Yeah I'm more into DIY, unless I need special equipment or multiple sets of hands. I have a bit of fluid on my garage floor under the left side of the engine bay. I thought it was excess brake fluid from when I replaced my pads, but maybe it's oil? I'll check into it. I'd ask where it's located and stuff, but I know how to use search and my FSM.