# Green Liquid Drip



## CruzeBy (Apr 29, 2015)

2012 Cruze LT - 36,600 miles (over 36 months old)

My A/C just quit while driving to a meeting tonight where the car was parked on gravel for a few hours so I did not see anything under the car. After arriving home, I looked under the front drivers side of the car and see a drop of green liquid. The liquid looks almost florescent green with the flashlight but more yellow on my finger. It seems to be almost odorless. It also looks wet as if more liquid leaked out and was blown under the car. I also notice when I turn on the A/C, I do not hear the compressor kick in.

What is bad and what's it going to cost me?


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

I'm assuming you coolant is orange like it should be. 

My guess is something in your A/C system sprung a leak and let our the refrigerant and the oil. Expect to have to replace whatever is leaking. Some people have reported problems with small rocks hitting the condenser (the first radiator) and puncturing a hole in it. Later models got a stone guard to prevent that. It would be a good idea to order it for your car to avoid it happening again.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Green is the A/C refrigerant. Our engines use an orange colored coolant.


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

Have you refilled the washer fluid recently? Sometimes mine can leak down later if I spilled and then drove a short distance. I use green rainx summer and orange winter.


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## CruzeBy (Apr 29, 2015)

ChevyGuy said:


> I'm assuming you coolant is orange like it should be.
> 
> My guess is something in your A/C system sprung a leak and let our the refrigerant and the oil. Expect to have to replace whatever is leaking. Some people have reported problems with small rocks hitting the condenser (the first radiator) and puncturing a hole in it. Later models got a stone guard to prevent that. It would be a good idea to order it for your car to avoid it happening again.


Regarding the guard; what am I looking for? Can you or someone show me a picture or diagram of this guard and where it goes? When I looked under the car from the front, I couldn't really see anything except guards. Maybe a previous owner already installed it?


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## Robby (Mar 1, 2013)

The shield was added to the 2012s rather late in the build…..so you may not have it.

It only shielded the lower part of the condenser…..the area directly behind your lower grill and was not used on the ECO.
It is black plastic….easy to not see, and it only covers the horizontal tubes without obstructing the fins between the tubes.
It is full width and snaps on at the left and right ends of the condenser.

As long as I've been in the biz, stone damage to condensers (and radiators) has been a fact of automotive life but in the case of the Cruze there likely were more stone damage failures than the norm…..hence the development of the shield.

Anyways, your question about green fluid……PAG oil, the lubricant used in your r-134a A/C is indeed green….also not water soluble……coolant can be rinsed with water, PAG oil just sheds it.
Since you indicate a loss of A/C with a corresponding development of leakage……rocket science not required on this one….there's a hole in the bucket.

Although the thought usually revolves around stones thrown by traffic ahead of you I contend that these punctures are often the result of oncoming traffic lifting and throwing stones into the oncoming side……the stone now has some real damage potential since the closing speeds are going to be rather high…..just a thought.

Anyways, unless a hose failed, the odds are you have a ventilated condenser…..if so, and your insurance deductible is low enough, you can make a insurance claim through your carrier.
I have found that most extended warranty outfits will cover this, even though it is not a mechanical failure….

Good luck,
Rob


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## CruzeBy (Apr 29, 2015)

Robby said:


> Anyways, unless a hose failed, the odds are you have a ventilated condenser…..if so, and your insurance deductible is low enough, you can make a insurance claim through your carrier.
> I have found that most extended warranty outfits will cover this, even though it is not a mechanical failure….
> 
> Good luck,
> Rob


I figured it was probably a hole in the bucket but I wondered which bucket and how much the bucket costs! 

Thanks for the idea about insurance; I had not even thought about that.


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

2nd insurance if this is the issue and you didn't select $1000 deductible. 

GM guys, this still the part # for the shield?

Part #95927464


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## CruzeBy (Apr 29, 2015)

Which shield are we looking for? On page 5 of this thread: http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/25-service-issues/5151-ac-condenser-shield-5.html I see this shield:









On page 8, I see this shield:


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

1st with the tabby is GM part # posted in my post. 2nd one is an eBay overlay


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## CruzeBy (Apr 29, 2015)

I have an appointment with local indy shop tomorrow so we'll see.....


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

CruzeBy said:


> I have an appointment with local indy shop tomorrow so we'll see.....


They may not know about the grill to prevent problems. But otherwise that sounds like a good plan.


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## KENSTV123 (Sep 21, 2014)

Most good commercial AC guys could solder it right up, there is a special low melt alloy that is even available at harbor freight that works fine, I soldered my Kubota tractor radiator that I ran a branch through and it holds fine, not easy to get a good looking flow without practice but it does fuse with the aluminum, tons of posts on utube
and if your not comfortable soldering it take it to a commercial appliance-restaurant equipment repair guy, they solder aluminum coils all the time, the condenser coil is not cheep and at the dealer this will be an expensive repair, solder it yourself, buy a vacuum pump and scale 134a Freon and the solder-all available at HF


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## CruzeBy (Apr 29, 2015)

ChevyGuy said:


> They may not know about the grill to prevent problems. But otherwise that sounds like a good plan.


Am I correct that the grill is just a snap on part that anyone could DIY?


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Take a look at http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/25-service-issues/7703-looking-link-part-number-c-condenser-shield.html for the part information. Apparently it's relatively easy to install if you're under the car - one member's dealership installed it while cutting away the under-engine shield.


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

CruzeBy said:


> Am I correct that the grill is just a snap on part that anyone could DIY?


The install itself sounds easy enough, but you might have to take off a few covers to get there.


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## CruzeBy (Apr 29, 2015)

My local indy shop replaced the condenser, evacuated and recharged for $474. Now I have cold air blowing from the vents!

Has anyone on this forum personally added the condenser shield who could give me how to advice?


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