Contact Seal Maintenance (Open-Drive Machines) (Refer to Figure 36)
During machine opera ti on, a few drops of oil per minu te normally seeps through the space
between the contact sleeve (Item 16) and t he shaft locknut (It em 8). This oil slowly a ccumulates
in an atmospheric oil chamber and is automatically returned to the system by a seal oil return
pump.
Oil should never leak bet ween the contact sleev e and the packing gland (Ite m 14) . If oil is
found in this area, the O- r ing (Item 12) should be checke d and replaced.
The oil passing throug h th e shaft seal carries with it some absorbed refrigera nt. As the oil
reaches the atmospher e, the absorbed refrigera nt flashes to gas because of the reduction in
pressure. For this rea s on, a detector will indica te the presence of a slight amo unt of refrigerant
around the compressor s ha ft whenever the machin e is running.
During machine s hutdown, howe ver, no refrigera nt should be de tected nor sho uld there be
any oil seepage. If oil fl ow or t he presence of refriger an t is noted while the mach ine is shut
down, a seal defect is indicated. Arrange for a seal-assembly inspection by a qualified
serviceman to determi ne the cause of the leaka ge an d make the necessary rep airs.

Click here fo r Figure 35 — Electronic Va ne Actuator Link age