Correct a/c refrigerant oil - Pag 100 ??

What is the correct oil for the a/c system? AutoZone's computer said Pag 100 but through further Google research I'm finding articles saying Pag 46. Thought I'd ask here before I put the wrong stuff in.

Thanks in advance!

 

Short answer is, PAG 46 is going to be the easiest to find.

The correct oil is RL-897.
And finding it is hard.
You aren’t the the first to have this problem.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/rl-897-a-c-compressor-oil-my-pain-your-gain.240794/

 

What about that Pag-100 that AutoZone sold me? Is that a no-no?

 

People have, but you shouldn’t.
100 is thicker.

I’d feel better letting @Dm93 advise you here.

 

Not sure what they looked up but it takes PAG46 as does almost every vehicle that uses 134a refrigerant.
I don't think I've ever even seen a vehicle that called for PAG100, the old 90s GM trucks with the pancake compressors took PAG150.

 

They “looked up” on the shelf, seen some pag oil, and sold it.

 

I saw your other thread, those UAC compressors usually come with 3 oz of oil in them(should have a tag on it), if your just replacing the compressor and not flushing/replacing anything else that's probably more than enough oil already.

 

The clerk at AutoZone that sold me this was working at the 7-11 down the street a couple of months ago so that says a lot!

 

Are the UAC's bad quality? A guy in the other thread said his gave out in a year.

 

I would say they are probably on the lower end of the aftermarket Chineeseum compressors, probably still better than the bargain basement ones found on Amazon and ebay though.

We had quite a few of them fail within a few years when we used them at work, we've been using the Murray ones from Orileys which I believe are made by 4 seasons (still made in china) and so far haven't had as many issues.

Our heat here is hell on compressors though, even alot of OE ones fail on vehicles with low miles.

 

Okay first of all. You should probably not be taking the advice of people at Autozone. On anything.

Second, I used SuperCool synthetic PAG 46. Syn oils are usually better than mineral. Newer technology.

and fresh new oil in your system is better than old dirty oil.

It's pretty universal. Are there specs in manuals sometimes that give different PN's of oil to use, based on which brand compressor is installed? Yes.
Did I do that for my truck? No. First, it's a Tacoma.
Second, the last shop I worked at that used it as shop supply on everything, including high end shit, had that oil. If it's good enough for them (and they put thought into things they choose), then it's good enough for me.

I don't know what viscosity the system prefers, or what viscosity the various PAG oils actually are. Despite the above (and my A/C still works) I will tell you this.
Amazon has more sales and reviews of the 100. The number is similar.
If I had to guess, I'd say that would probably work fine as well.
And, anyone buying it on Amazon is probably gonna be a professional. Shops that need some oil, they order it.
vs amateurs, amateurs do not know what PAG oil is, therefore they do not order it.