I finally found an R12 recovery machine so I didn't have to waste the 60 ounces of Freon in order to replace the oil-spraying compressor. I found this Rotunda Ford machine on Craigslist 30 miles from my home for $80. It actually works!
It came without any instructions so I hunted and all I could initially find was the EPA reference listing the R12 recovery units approved by the EPA for 1992. So I pulled the side panels off and found that there was a Murray part number, which ended up being a Sun part number originally sold by Snap-On, which lead me to the Snap-On Tech Assistance hotline. I called them and the tech guy was actually quite surprised when he found the 24-page instruction manual on file. He emailed it to me and I was back in business.
The good news was that the contraption was able to fully download all the R12. The bad news was that until the tank gets filled with 5 pounds of R12, it won't allow you to refill from the tank. You can manually route the tank to your car's system but I decided against that and ended up using some spare cans of R12 given to me from one of the guys on the board here. (Thanks again!)
BTW, I went to Advanceautoparts.com and ordered a remanufactured A6 compressor. Before hitting the check out button, I always google the phrase "advanceautoparts coupons". I lucked out this time and found a $50 off a $125 purchase coupon. The compressor was $139 minus the $50, which brought it to $89 with free shipping!
Despite the spewing oil, the system never lost any R12 and was putting out 39 degree air right before we drained it. I installed the new compressor and we vacuumed down the system, installed the R12 and the car is pumping out 37 degree air now.
The compressor that was in the car was a new compressor (25 years ago) when the car was put into storage. It turned out that the front bearing had too much play (you could rock the clutch hub side to side about 1/32"
. So the wobbling probably took out the seal.
Now I am just waiting for the new compressor decal to arrive and she will be looking good as old.
An added bonus now is that the belts no longer squeal under acceleration from the oil that was getting sprayed on them. Ah, the little pleasures in life...