A/C refrigerant and oil requirements

So I'll start by apologizing for this long winded post.

I'm trying to clarify the requirements for replacing the r134a refrigerant and oil levels when working on the A/C for a 2006 Tacoma.

For the refrigerant level the Toyota service manual indicates 20.10 to 22.02 oz capacity. But I've seen in various web site searches where people have said you need 24 oz. I'm tending to believe the service manual but wanted to see what other peoples experience has been.

Also, I've read that the +/- accuracy needs to be 0.5 oz. If this is the case why does the service manual have such a large range?

This also assumes that the system capacity has been completely evacuated of all refrigerant. But there are a number of articles that indicate that most evacs only take out 60 - 90 % of refrigerant. The higher percentage being reached only if you do a minimum of 3 consecutive evacs. I'm not sure what most A/C shops actually do.

Again does anyone have any real experience with this?

So now on to the A/C system oil level.

The only thing I found in the service manual is (oil in new compressor - oil in old compressor = amount of oil to removed from the new compressor. That's fine as your compensating for any oil in the rest of the components like the evaporator, condenser etc).

And if replacing just specific components the service manual states;
- compressor & clutch = 5.1 oz & 0.5 oz
- condenser = 1.4 oz
- evaporator = 1.4 oz

So that's a total of 8.45 oz (I assume you don't need to bother worrying about what's in the lines even though there's quite a bit of footage where oil could sit).

I also, found some generic info which was not Toyota specific that indicated that for the overall A/C system the distribution of the oil is;

- compressor = 2 oz
- evaporator = 3 oz
- accumulator/dryer = 1 oz
- condenser = 2 oz

That's a total of 8 oz. This doesn't add up to the Toyota math but is somewhat close.

So my questions are;

Q1 - If you get an evac, which from what I can tell doesn't pull the oil (or at least not a lot) out of the system does it make sense to just follow the Toyota capacity specs and add whatever it says for any components you replace? And in this case not worry about what was pulled out during an evac or what you might have lost due to a leak.

Q2 - Toyota specifies using RL-897 oil which seems to have a viscosity of around 61. Most if not all of the aftermarket compressors you buy come filled with PAG46 oil. So do you just go ahead a use this or pour it out and try to get some RL-897 which is apparently not so easy to get ahold of.

Q3 - Also, assuming you were just to replace one component such as the compressor. Then you would be mixing both types of oil. Is this going to be a problem?

Thanks all for any insight you may have,

 

This is easier. Pay an ac shop to evacuate the unit properly. You do the the repair and then pay them to vacuum/charge up the unit per Toyota. I say this because if you screw it up it’s gonna cost a whole lot more to fix.

 

If you evacuate long enough you could boil the oil out but best way to remove all oil is a flush
Refill with correct amount
Do not mix oils
Flush n refill with PAG 46
Your math of somewhat close is close enough

 

Get a gauge/manifold/line set and vacuum pump from HF and do it yourself. It's about $120 for both and pays for itself on the first use. The amount of refrigerant you will need is based on the gauge readings when charging - not a hard and fast number.

 

I had to replace my condenser, I added 1.4 oz of pag oil RL897 directly to the condenser, vacuumed the air out for an hour.
I bought 2 - 12oz cans of plane DuPont R134a, digital scale, and added per sticker under hood by weight.
I also had a good set of manifold gauge and a vacuum pump.

 

A/C machines have a bottle that catches dirty PAG oil if any is sucked out during a vacuum.
You can mark that level of change with masking tape to measure what quantity came out, to put the same amount back in during a recharge.

 

Did a recharge
Put 600g

accidentally put 10ml oil instead of 5ml
Hard to see the gauge machine took out 5-10 maybe closer to 5

so I may have put up to 5ml extra

when will the truck burn down?

 

Bump. I'm in a situation and need some help.

Took my 2014 into a shop bc my AC took awhile to get cold. When the shop was doing a diagnostic they were able to retrieve the right amount of refrigerant, but he pulled 22 oz. of oil out of the system. He's saying the system calls for only 5 oz of oil and that what he put back in. now the system doesnt blow cold. I told him to put the same amount in that he took out and he's refusing to do so. What's going on, how did he pull 22 oz of oil? is that the right amount?

 

I think the terminology is being misunderstood. How much r134a did they remove? If I remember right it takes 21 or 22 oz of r134a.

 

He removed 3 pound, which approx 18 pounds i beleive, and 22 oz of oil

 

Someone has the numbers all messed up. The system doesn’t hold 18 lbs of r134a . It holds 21 or 22 oz.

the sticker under your hood tells you the exact amount.

 

Yeah I'm fed up with this guy. I'm going to take it to the dealership. It's just crazy to me that he pulled 22 oz of oil out of the system.

 

you're claiming 650 mL of PAG oil was pulled out

No

 

That's what I said. He showed me 12 oz and then he said the pulled another 10 out. I'm getting my truck and taking it to the dealer but i dont even know where to tell them to start.

 

You don’t tell them anything. If you go a shop, you tell them to fix it. That, or you do it yourself.

That said, I would always urge to take it somewhere they will properly and legally discharge the old refrigerant. For the planet and all…

 

Yeah the shop I took it to was the highest rated shop near me with over 250 5-star reviews. I do all my own work and I'm new to this city so I knew i was taking a shot in the dark. I'm livid.

 

It happens. Online reviews can’t be trusted, they’re easy to fake, and even if they’re real, think about who TF writes reviews any, especially positive ones. Since you already have paid him (assuming) you have a case on either money back or have him fix it properly like what you paid for. Dealer might not be any better honestly. They’re only good for warranty work or for selling you a new truck.

 

any competent shop can do a recharge for cheap. I don’t think you can or should inject a soda bottles worth of oil. You’d probably hydrolock the compressor.

this isn’t very DIYable because a proper machine is like $5k

what do online reviews for mechanic work mean when the average person doesn’t know anything about mechanics

easier to talk to the person

AC machine is not exclusive to dealer. High labor rate is.

maybe you can get a refund. And it’s goods or services not delivered. If I went in for a recharge and a person talked about putting in a soda bottles worth of oil
It would be $0

so what the “tech” is gonna suddenly grow a brain overnight? Make the mistake again take it to the same idiot a second time?