AC Recharge Oil

[willbur]

Greetings-
Its that time of year again and my AC is blowing warm air. I need to add some Freon. My question concerns adding PAG compressor oil along with the Freon. Is this necessary if only a small(?) quantity of Freon will be added, and I did not notice any oil staining around the compressor? The compressor mag. clutch does not engage. Electrical control components check out.

 

[NHGUY]

If its a small leak,you wont need oil.If a hose ruptures and it all comes out in a gusher,you probably would need to put some back in.

 

[Dave Sherman]

Agreed, if it leaked rapidly you may have lost oil. Other potential problem is if it leaked to the point where it has no positive pressure, air may have come in and it won't perform well just by putting Freon in from a DIY kit.

That said, my Traverse is in the same boat, though as recently as a month ago the defroster still engaged the compressor. Hoping to pick up a DIY kit with a gauge to see if it's all gone or if I can add enough until I feel like dropping a wad on fixing it properly. Seems the hoses are problematic and may spring leaks.

 

[HerrStig]

Freon is, in fact, a Dupont name for the phased out R 12 and not R 134a. Phased out or not the Russians still make tons of it and sell it all over the world. It is in all respects better than 134 but for the claim it "destroys the ozone".

 

[zach1900]

I was tempted to use enviro safe Freon 134a replacement years ago (it's actually propane), cheap, efficient, low head pressure, and you use 1/2 as much.

 

[TTK]

Find the leak and fix that first if you plan to keep the vehicle for a few years. Cars should not lose the AC working fluid. My 14 yer old Prism has never had any AC work, ever, and it still works fine.

 

[zach1900]

My 2001 Camry ac has never been touched, it still blows ice cold.

 

[super20dan]

i am willing to bet he has a gm car and not [censored] desighn. my pos silverado needs a recharge every 2 years. shop can not find a leak. my 2003 toyota has yet to need a recharge

 

[willbur]

Funny you should say that, Superdan. It's a Toyota Matrix and needs periodic AC recharge. My previous GM cars gave me problems, but not from the AC! When I lived in Houston, you found out quick which company made the coldest and most durable AC, and it was not the Japanese cars, at the time.

 

[zzyzzx]

I put the PAG oil into my recharge hose (using a slightly modified r143a dye/oil syringe):

Then chase it with a can of plain R134a. That way you get correct PAG oil.

 

[super20dan]

true [censored] cars ac dosnt seem to get as cold as american . when properly charged my silverado out ac,s my tundra. just the tundra has never need a recharge in 12 years neither has wifes 04 highlander. for shure living in houston will seperate the men from the boys in ac terms. i am orig from galveston tx

 

[super20dan]

evidently the short from of Japanese is a no no here-funny

 

[Donald]

Most DIY should not need to add any oil if all they are adding is a can of R134a. But an AC is 100% sealed and should not loose any R134a unless there is a leak. The best thing is to get the leak fixed. It can be as simple as an O-ring that is no longer sealing properly. Or corrosion in the evaporator or condenser. Some people can find it with dye and a UV light. The better way is a freon detector.

The thing you should NEVER do is to add anything with a leak-stop, and half the stuff at Walmart has leak-stop. The repair shops may not work on your vehicle if there is leak-stop as it clogs their machine as they are pulling the R134a out.

 

[artificialist]

Originally Posted By: super20dan
true [censored] cars ac dosnt seem to get as cold as american . when properly charged my silverado out ac,s my tundra. just the tundra has never need a recharge in 12 years neither has wifes 04 highlander. for shure living in houston will seperate the men from the boys in ac terms. i am orig from galveston tx

Depends on the car.

My mom's 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee wasn't as cold as Dad's 1995 Honda Accord, mom's 1999 CRV (when it actually worked), 2002 Toyota Solara, and her 2011 CRV. Also, dad's 2007 Pontiac G6, my 2003 ION, and my 2002 VW Jetta weren't any colder or warmer than the other cars on the list.

 

[1 FMF]

Originally Posted By: willbur
Greetings-
Its that time of year again and my AC is blowing warm air. I need to add some Freon. My question concerns adding PAG compressor oil along with the Freon. Is this necessary if only a small(?) quantity of Freon will be added, and I did not notice any oil staining around the compressor? The compressor mag. clutch does not engage. Electrical control components check out.


if the compressor clutch never engages when you turn the ac on, then it sounds like you had a massive leak and you are below 30psi in the system which is where the low pressure cut off switch disengages the compressor clutch. normally you should have over 70 psi in the system, depending on temperature. Once you start reading a static pressure below 70 psi with the car off and ambient temperature above 60°F you have lost a lot of refrigerant. you're options are (a) as long as no oil staining found anywhere keep recharging it with plain r134a refrigerant only no additives no oil and live with the leak, or (b) find and fix the leak. the leak can be at the high/low service schraeder valves, at a connection where there's an o-ring or where a pipe turns into a rubber flex hose at that crimp, or through the compressor shaft seal. ask some ac shops if they have a ac leak detector they can use to pinpoint where r134a is escaping for a few bucks, and decide on service.

you mention freon and pag oil...
like was mentioned freon is R-12 which uses mineral oil not PAG oil.
R134-a uses PAG oil, not mineral. I assume you have an r134a system.

 

[willbur]

1 FMF-
Thank you for your informative and useful info. It's what I was hoping to learn.