Lately my A/C has not been working properly. The in winter time here (about 40-50 F outside) the air is not cold, and the Compressor is cycling every 15 seconds. Up front all is clean, and I can't see any leaks. However, the compressror up next to the pully is covered in oil. So much so that it has run down the block, and the pully has slung a bit over onto the pontoon. I've not disconnected and purged the system of R-12, so I don't know how accurate this is, but when I turn the compressor by hand per the workshop manual, I don't exactly feel any rough spots. While I notice no extra resistance turning the pully, it does make a "greasy" noise. Kinda like I'm spinning the shaft and it's pushing axel grease around (this could simply be the compressor moving oil thru the chambers, but sounded a bit thick to me). Now whatever glimmer of hope about replacing the shaft seal on the clutch pully I had is now gone due to the fact that I can't find the shaft seal listed anywhere on any vendor's online catalogues! Now comes the even more fun part! I got this car from a garage down in Southern California. This leak was obviously present before, but the mechanic said that he had already fixed the Shaft Seal on the Compressor. And the mechanic there also serviced the A/C without performing a pressure test first. Soooo, all the refrigerant leaked out of the sizeable hole in the highpressure line that was formed as the underbody in the engine compartment rubbed up against it over the years. A quick cut of the line, a small section of metal pipe, and two hose clamps later and the leak was "fixed". Moving on, after the vacuum test was able to hold a steady pressure, the system was refilled and tested. It failed to cool again, so the guy started fiddling with the pressure valve. When that didn't work he drained the system again, and replaced the orafice tube which was covered in crap! And to "flush" the system he disconnected the lines from the back of the compressor, and blew them out with compressed air. After this, all worked fine and the A/C was cold. Well, until last summer... A moment of self doubt in my own mechanical abilities has cost me dearly as it seems. So I am literally starting from scratch here. First off, is the High Pressure Switch something that is absolutely set by the factory, or should it be adjusted by individual car? In other words will a $25 investment in a new one that is pre-set save me a headache in the future? Alsoif there were any dirt in the system, would the accumulator catch and hold it like a filter? I'm hoping that this problem is being caused by a clog in this unit, and not a low pressure problem by a leak in the system. Although I won't get any better an idea until I atleast pressure test the system first. And of course I hope that the oil leak on the compressor is simply a coincidense. Otherwise this will end up being one seriously expensive repair. Even at this point, what I would probably pay out in labor alone to service my A/C will pay for an EPA cert, and the equipment to do the job myself. So in the end, does anyone else here have any experience with these kind of A/C problems? And at what point should I consider getting rid of the existing rubber A/C lines and replacing them? -Robert vin 6585 "X"