AC smell like grease.

[mike690003]

Hello Board, My A/C air has been smelling like grease for 2 years now and I am now fed up. It smelled like grease withe the R12 and still smells like grease with R134a. Does anyone know what could be causing this to happen?The air blows cold,but it is embarrassing when I have passengers in the car.

[haasman]

Possible long-shot but does the engine use oil? Are there any leaks that drip onto the exhaust manifold? This could be the source of the smell. Do you smell it when the AC is off and you are only using outside air?

Keep us posted,

Haasman

[mike690003]

It smells the most heavy, when I first turn the A/C on. My car uses about a quart of oil every 500 miles(its 10w-30). But the funny thing is that my car does not put out any white smoke. The grease smell is really getting to me.I cant take anyone out in a car that has an A/C that smells like old grease. Any suggestions?

[haasman]

I presume that you are speaking about the 300E?

White smoke is normally associated with water/coolant being lost through the exhaust system.

Look at the engine, on the right side by the exhaust manifold, especially the forward section. Do you see any signs of oil leaking or old leaks?

Another area to check is the transmission. Do you loose ATF regulary? ATF, a type of oil, dripping on a hot exhaust smells awful as well.

My guess is there is oil or ATF leaking onto the exhaust manifold, it is being burned and sucked into the cabin of the car via the interior fan. If it gets too bad it can saturate the ventillation sytem is then a nightmare to get rid of.

Keep us posted,

Haasman

[mike690003]

I dont see or smell any smoke while the car is hot, and the AT does not leak a drop?

[haasman]

Check the site glass window on the top of the receive dryer bottle and with the AC running see if you see any bubbles.

It makes me wonder if you have a leak in your AC unit under the dash..... the AC has oil in the lines.

Haasman

[mike690003]

ok I will check it out.

Thanks

An order is something difficult to describe with words. The most common odor to come from an a/c is mildew or fungus from the evaporator. Any of the auto a/c supply houses have a deodorant that will kill most odors that develop in the a/c.

If someone worked on the unit and got a little oil on the evaporator it may take a long time to get it out without spraying it down with something.

Good luck,

[Benzmac]

When the evap core fails, it gives off this odor. I clean the case and apply Frigi Fresh from BG products when replacing the cores.