I think that I might have accidently gotten vacuum pump oil in my 2005 Prius AC system when I was pumping it down before recharging it with R-134a. I realize that this could be a big problem. Is it possible to completely flush the system? If so, how? Background Info... After installing a new condenser and pumping down the system for about 45 minutes, I am fairly certain that I completely turned off both of the valves on my manifold gauges before turning off the vacuum pump. I do wonder if I did not turn the valves completely off? Shortly thereafter, I noticed what I think was oil in the manifold gauge's sight glass. I immediately disconnected the yellow hose going into the manifold set from the vacuum pump. I would estimate that 1-2 oz of oil came out of the disconnected end of the yellow hose. I am fairly certian this oil is from the vacuum pump. Let me know if you think it was something else... The vacuum did NOT hold on the system. I think this is because I either did not have the hoses connected to the system well or that I did not connect the condenser right--maybe one of the o-rings is not seated correctly or is damaged? I realize that I will need to work this out before recharging the system. I am prepared to troubleshoot this issue. When I inspected the fittings on the blue and red hoses I did not detect any oil. Nor did I see any oil come out of the blue or red hoses connected to the manifold. I am not sure that the vacuum pump oil went into the system, but I want to know how I can be assured of a clean system before I recharge it. Any help/guidance would be greatly appreciated.
Goto the dealer or a shop that truly specializes and is competent w/ hybrid AC systems, vs just advertising that they are hybrid specialists. 1) Have the system evacuated, flushed, tested for leaks, then recharge. 2) You should have a dedicated Toyota Hybrid AC manifold gauge. You probably used your existing AC gauge set or rented one from a chain store that has been use don conventional AC systems.
drysider-- Thanks for your help. Is it common for refrigerant oil to come out after pumping down a system? If so, should I also notice oil in the low and high side hoses that were connected to the system?
Thanks again for all of your help. Based on the feedback from this thread and from a similar question I posted on the car talk website, I am going to assume that I don't have vacuum pump oil in my system, find the leak and recharge the system. I will let you all know how it goes... --Dan.
I wanted to give an update. About a year after the repair, the ac is working fine. Last October, I found that I had a leak in one of the connections on my gauges by using dye. Once I tightened that down, I charged up the system and it has been working great for a year now. Thanks again for all of the help.
