A6 seal leaks!!

[Domenic T.]

Re: A6 seal leaks!!

Dom-------


A lot of bearings are now of Chinese manufacture. I understand that Chinese interests have been purchasing complete German bearing operations and then moving them lock-stock-and-barrel to China. Tier 1 China bearing suppliers provide bearings to the OEM automotive and other industries.

Joe,
You know a person just orders parts and QUALITY is a gamble. I have bought RC engines that were coppies of Jap expensive engines down to parts exchange. The China engine and Tywan (not spelled) lasted every bit as long. They do copy and make things as good. COPY! That's easy. I did a bit with the manual on my work. Dial indicators are better than a .0005 feeler gage pulled by a fish scale in the book. I think quality control was compromised in areas to meet production requirements back then. Also mineral oil? I think that was a mistake. Mineral oil collects moisture much like brake fluid. Out of over 150, I have never seen a compressor without rust as they are the only metal that will rust in the system.
Dom

[Larry M.]

Re: A6 seal leaks!!

Don I am not sure if it was a new one or a reman unit. I just remember the guy saying the innards is metric but there was no issues reusing the original case. Sorry if my terminology is off this is the first time I really had to look into ac compressors

Keith and Dom:

The only metric A6 that I am aware of is the ALMA (or APCO) compressor. Although it looks like the old A6 it has a number of improvements done to its design. They are:

1. Extra/additional bearing support for the front of the shaft near the seal area
2. Hardened main shaft
3. Double lip seal
4. Tighter machining and tolerances
5. Different material of construction for some of the internal components

So although they look similar, I do not know if the internals of the ALMA can be successfully placed inside the old Fridigaire/GM housing. Maybe...

I have recommended the ALMA A6 to a number of guys, who have purchased them. To my knowledge, there are no performance or seal issues that have occurred since installation. Put an (old) reproduction decal on the ALMA compressor and almost no one can tell it from an original.......unless you put a wrench on the bolts. But it does not have the #6555302 dated rear cover as you would expect on an original.

Dom has done exceptional work on rebuilding the A6 compressor, and I believe is the best we still have working in the USA. But he can only do so much with the materials he has available. The A6 seal was cheap and not the best when these compressors were new, but now they are essentially junk. Dom and I had a ACDELCO seal purchased and then inspected by a company that makes seals for commercial equipment. The conclusion was the seal is not within any acceptable standard for a commercial use. Back in the day, R12 was about 10 cents a pound.........and no one cared if the seal leaked a bit. Except us Corvette guys who had paint issues from the compressor oil leaching thru the fiberglass. You simply added 1/2 to 1 can of R12 per year to make up for the leakage. Now these seals are likely made in China or Mexico and are substandard to originals. What can you buy good nowadays for about $12..........which is what these seals cost.

For folks that have original compressors that they want rebuilt, Dom is the best out there. And they will get a high quality rebuild, with the best parts still available. But for driving these old cars with factory AC, I recommend the ALMA compressor and a reproduction decal, or perhaps the Pro6Ten compressor painted black. It does not look the same as a A6, but it is close if painted, and seems to run as good as any new car compressor today. And it fits the original mounts.

FWIW.

Larry

[Leif A.]

Re: A6 seal leaks!!

I agree with Larry 100%. And, for those that like pictures...my A6 that Dom rebuilt for me and the Pro6Ten that I'm currently running. Dom's work is perfection!!

[Domenic T.]

Re: A6 seal leaks!!

Joe,
Looked at the bearing and nothing on the metal. Santech on the plastic shield. China!

Dom

[Gary J.]

Re: A6 seal leaks!!

Joe,
Looked at the bearing and nothing on the metal. Santech on the plastic shield. China!

Dom

Dom, you going try another bearing?

[Joe L.]

Re: A6 seal leaks!!

Joe,
Looked at the bearing and nothing on the metal. Santech on the plastic shield. China!

Dom

Dom------


Not surprising. As I mentioned, many bearings are now sourced from China, including both PRODUCTION and SERVICE.

Just because it's Chinese-manufactured doesn't, by itself, make it bad.

[Domenic T.]

Re: A6 seal leaks!!

Gary,
thinking of removing some of the over packed grease. Just found another problem that is similar with a over tightened belt.
I put a real true (run out) hub clutch on a compressor. when measuring the gap between the hub and the pulley it just made minimum to maximum gap. Dialed the shaft, OK, dialed the pulley face and it was a .010 wobble. Removed the pulley and put it in the lathe with the pulley face dialed in. Then measured the surface where the bearing is pressed in. It was terrible. should have been 0. Took a used pulley off the shelf and same thing AND full of grease that came out of bearing packed behind it. It was screwad up also. Took another off the shelf and it was .0015 which was about .008 better than the other 2 and usable. This will cause a shaft to move back & forth which will do the same to the 2 part seal causing a leak.
This is why I stress the correct tightness of the belt. The pulley as you are aware of only has 1 bearing, where the alt has 2 and the water pump having a 2 bearing unit to stabilize. So now another check to be made.
At this point I think a better bearing would always be good, but not solve the problem of bad production.

Dom

[Domenic T.]

Re: A6 seal leaks!!

Joe Lucia & Gary Jaynes,

Took another look at removed bearings and I did find KOYO Japanese bearings. Santec have green shields and KOYO have black. Now, to get the order desk to get the one that fills orders is a different story. Then maybe Santech is a replacement for the koyo.

dom

[Joe L.]

Re: A6 seal leaks!!

Joe Lucia & Gary Jaynes,

Took another look at removed bearings and I did find KOYO Japanese bearings. Santec have green shields and KOYO have black. Now, to get the order desk to get the one that fills orders is a different story. Then maybe Santech is a replacement for the koyo.

dom

Dom------


I'd have GREAT confidence in the Koyo bearings. I'd actually prefer them to most others.

[Domenic T.]

Re: A6 seal leaks!!

Michael,
Will not stand behind that compressor. There was enough about that on the forum about that. Old way was to just turn off air when evap was iced. Now someone is trying to automate a old system!

Dom

[Gary J.]

Re: A6 seal leaks!!

Dom, any updates....

[Domenic T.]

Re: A6 seal leaks!!

Joe,
You are right. All the pulley bearings are good that I replace. Good meaning they are smooth turning without a binding or rough spots.


Dom

[Gary J.]

Re: A6 seal leaks!!

So did you go with the Koyo bearing?

[Domenic T.]

Re: A6 seal leaks!!

So did you go with the Koyo bearing?

Gary,
That's the plan. The bearings I remove are actually in good shape. I'm going to request the KOYO.

Dom