Green Refrigerant on cabin air filter?

[Barkleymut]

I don't know much about heat and AC on cars so here we go, 2001 Town & Country LXI 3.3L. It has been leaking some condensation from where the cabin air filter is for a while. The other day the wife said coolant is coming out of there. I did some google and youtube searches, some say it could be coolant from a leaking heater core, others say it could be refrigerant. Looked around where the cabin filter goes (I took the filter out years ago) and there is indeed green neon looking stuff that has a different consistency from antifreeze.

I pulled the heater core out this weekend and while I could not pull it all the way out because the steering column was in the way...I did get it 95% of the way out and it was dry as a bone and looked to be in really good shape. That is when my attention turned to the possibility that it could be refrigerant.

This car is not going to be taken to a mechanic, she is old and tired and the wife is itching for a new car. I am attempting to put off a new purchase for another year or so if possible. Wife will NOT drive the car without A/C.

I also pulled the little drain elbow off and jammed a coat hanger in the drain with no result, so I doubt the drain is plugged up.

Any suggestions on what the problem could be? And any fixes for a weekend junior mechanic?

 

[exranger06]

Probably a leaking evaporator. The green stuff you're seeing is probably PAG oil, not refrigerant.

 

[Barkleymut]

any danger in continuing to run the AC? I noticed today that the air flow is not nearly as high coming out of the vents.

Thanks for sugggesting Pag oil, I have never heard of it.

 

[exranger06]

The PAG oil is there to lubricate the compressor. No oil in the system leads to a seized compressor, same as an engine with no motor oil. There's a total of roughly 7 oz of oil in the whole system.

I would think the refrigerant would leak out long before a significant amount of oil leaked, though. The AC will probably blow warm and be useless before all the oil is gone.

 

[Barkleymut]

hmmmm, I am on vacation right now so no access to tools. If the AC dies on the way home my wife is gonna be MAD. Looks like a pretty decent amount of the green stuff in the cabin filter housing....

 

[doitmyself]

Any chance that it is algae growing on the water condensate?

 

[Barkleymut]

not unless it is genetically modified algae...the green stuff almost looks like it is glowing.

 

[Donald]

As others have said, the R134a usually leaks out before the oil. And once the pressure is down, the A/C will not come on. If your A/C is cycling on and off in a normal fashion you are OK.

 

[AVB]

Originally Posted By: Barkleymut
not unless it is genetically modified algae...the green stuff almost looks like it is glowing.


That sounds like leak identifier dye. The air flow problem is going to be separate from the leak. It could just be something you knocked loose or didn't get aligned perfect when messing with the heater core.

 

[EricF]

Pag oil is clear.. the green stuff is probably dye from the factory to look for any leaks before it goes on the truck.

 

[yonyon]

If it's dyed PAG oil leaking from the evaporator it should feel oily and have a very distinctive odour. Feel it and give it a sniff, then go to the auto parts store and sniff some A/C oil.

 

[yonyon]

...also, the dye should glow brightly under a black light. There should be one available for use at a poorly lit store in the nearest shopping mall or in a nearby bar.

 

[Errtt]

Doesn't some of those DIY cans contain some kind of a greenish color sealer? (Freon, PAG oil, Sealer) Or is it the PAG oil itself or just dye itself greenish.