A/C mystery.

[Eric Hope]

    It would be great if someone could shed some light on this for me.
Back in October I found where some type of fluid is leaking from the a/c
compressor. It's very thick like old syrup but the color of new oil. I
know, from research, that there is a lubricant in the system with the
R12 refrigerant, but if this lubricant is leaking, there should no
longer be any refrigerant left in the system. Since it has been like
this since October and now that it's getting hot again, I would like to
run the a/c again. The funny thing is when I found the leak in Oct. I
quit using the a/c, but today I tried it for a minute and it still cools
down! So now I don't think it is the lubricant that's leaking. So what
could it be?

Eric Hope
1993 Sentra SE-R
Tampa, FL