1998 gmc Sonoma 4 cyl 2.2 manual transmission
im replacing parts on my air conditioner (while watching one of your videos)
condenser, compressor, all the things.
when I was relieving the pressure the left over refrigerant was coming out green.
while I was removing the lines off of all the air conditioner parts like the compressor, the left over refrigerant in the lines was coming out orange. Is that normal?
if not what should I do?
when I was relieving the pressure the left over refrigerant was coming out green.
You shouldn't be deliberately releasing refrigerant into the atmosphere at all; it's against Federal law and punishable with jailtime.
That's PAG oil that you're seeing.
@justin-shepherd Clean PAG oil is clear. Sounds like he's got some contamination going on there.
When I got PAG oil from AutoZone, it was greenish in color. If you say it's clear, that's definitely weird!
You're right, I guess, I wonder if the PAG oil I used had "expired", for lack of a better term. I just Googled it.
@justin-shepherd Green usually means it has UV dye in it. The new PAG-100 oil I put in recently was clear. For that matter, when the o-ring seal in my AC blew out this summer the many-years-old PAG oil that let loose was still clear. Never seen it orange.
Maybe, I don't recall. Google What color is PAG oil, and it will come up with images showing an amber tinge. One said it's not warrantied if it does that.
@justin-shepherd PAG oil is extremely hygroscopic. Only fresh PAG oil from a sealed container should ever be used and it should be added just before closing up the system, right after installing the drier, to minimize exposure to atmospheric moisture. It wouldn't surprise me if the oil darkens after absorbing moisture for a while. The stuff I've bought has always been clear unless it contained UV dye.
I knew part of that, but I didn't know it was hygroscopic as well, that's interesting, is it some kind of alcohol-based fluid as well?
@justin-shepherd Not sure what's in it but I recall when R12 was phased out it was said that PAG oil is 100 times more hygroscopic than the old mineral oil. It absorbs moisture quickly and does not release much of it when pulling vacuum. That moisture can form acids in R134a systems which over time eats small holes in metal parts.
I Googled what is in PAG oil, and its full name is Polyalkylene Glycol. It is apparently a kind of alcohol. I know some stuff about chemistry, and I worked in chemicals for a living for 6 years. This kind of thing is interesting to me. Haha.
Thanks!