Refrigerant Oils
NOTE:
Use ONLY the specified oil for the appropriate system or A/C compressor. Always check the underhood A/C specification label or A/C compressor label before adding refrigerant oil to A/C compressor/system. See Figure
. If A/C specification label and the specifications in this article differ, always use label specifications.
Refrigerant R-12 based systems use mineral oil, while R-134a systems use synthetic/Polyalkylene Glycol (PAG) oils. Using a mineral oil based lubricant with R-134a will result in A/C compressor failure due to lack of proper lubrication. The following R-134a refrigerant oils are currently available:
Use DENSO/ND-Oil 8 refrigerant oil on Nippondenso compressors. Use SUN PAG 56 refrigerant oil on Sanden compressors.
NOTE:
Synthetic/PAG oils absorb moisture very rapidly, 2.3-5.6 percent by weight, as compared to a mineral oil absorption rate of .005 percent by weight.