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Ok I just purchased this 96 geo tracker as a second car to save gas. Unfortunately the ac had a leak. The previous owner had it charged with leak detector but couldn’t find the leak. I found the leak in the evaporator this weekend. I have ordered a evaporator, drier, and expansion valve. My question is after I vacuum it down, what is the correct r134a to add? Should I get some with pag oil already in it. Does the oil get added with the refrigerant or to the compressor or both? The factory service manual calls for 1.32 lbs of r134 and 3.4 oz of pag oil. Is the pag oil amount the amount to add to the compressor directly or thru the low side charging port? Also does it matter what type of pag oil to use? I am not too concerned about damaging etc…this is a second car and I am looking at this as a learning experience. Any help would be appreciated. Btw I am using ac gauges an vacuum pump.
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Factory service manuals contain the information you are looking for. You don’t want to add the full volume of oil to the system. The service info should tell you approximately how much to add when you replace a part. Add up the suggested amounts for the parts you are replacing, and put it into the system somewhere, like maybe the evaporator. Just dump it in before you install the part. I have access to straight R134A thru my old man, because he does HVAC for a living. I prefer to add just the refrigerant, and stay away from the crap that has leak sealers and what not, because when you go to pull the vacuum, that crap will clog your vacuum pump. I recently repaired two leaks on my Toyota Rav4, as both o-rings were leaking at the receiver/dryer, and added a little pag oil because there was some lost during my leak search/find/repair. When I went to Advance Auto Parts (I’m not name dropping, just telling the story) I was surprised to find that they offered 3 different grades of pag oil, with varied viscosity. I asked which one was suggested for my car, and got the (supposedly) correct one, pulled the system down, and fully recharged it. I had my old man’s digital scale, because he had the 30 pound tank of refrigerant. I got the vacuum to pull most of the refrigerant in, but had to start the car and let the A/C run to get the last half pound in. I imagine you won’t have this equipment, so try and buy the small cans that will get you as close as you can to the required refrigerant amount. If anything, undercharge the system a hair, don’t overcharge it.
You answered your own question 1.32lbs of refrigerant. Just get refrigerant with oil in it or don’t add any, if you add too much you can actually damage the system, there’s not much oil in the parts you mentioned anyway but there should be a chart in the FSM that shows the amount to add should you replace a particular component in the system. Just be sure you vacuum it down for at least 30min and make sure it holds that vacuum for 30 min before you fill the system, if it can’t hold vacuum it can’t hold a charge.
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