Repairing the A/C on my '93 Mazda 626 and I need to flush the mineral oil out of the system. I'm finding out the hard way that nobody stocks the A/C flushing solvent here in Canada and that US suppliers can't ship it.
Is there a substitute that I can use to flush the oil from my A/C system?
Anyone know where I could pick up a quart of flush solvent here in Calgary, or order online here in Canada?
I believe you can use paint thinner. Just be sure to blow it all out with a lot of compressed air.
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I've heard the same... Still doesn't sound like a great thing to do.
Will do.
Thanks!
I had to flush an R12 system years ago with the same problem.. IIRC, after doing a bit of research, I decided to use denatured alcohol available relatively cheap at most home stores by the gallon. It has been used for many years to safely clean brake parts where you do not want to introduce petroleum based sovents that may be destructive to rubber components. The alcohol is easily removed from the system after flushing. I can only assume I will shortly be chastised and flamed for making this suggestion.
Lugnut
Damn you, Lugnut! You are wrong on all counts! Burn in hell!
Sorry,
Toyota MDT in MO
Ya... I'm hearing "paint thinner" (which comes in several varieties... WHICH ONE), or denatured alcohol.
I'm sure that the alcohol would evaporate fastest, so that's what I'm probably going to go with.
It works. Mineral spirits to remove mineral oil, and then most of the mineral spirits evaporate when you blow out with compressed air.
Alcohol can be really rough on the rubber hoses- I wouldn't use it personally. The hoses are already meant to withstand oil, so mineral-spirit thinner won't hurt them.
It's that "most" part that I don't like... I want it ALL gone after blowing it out.
:)
I never knew how it worked. I don't even remember why I decided to go with it. I didn't have ready access to the "right stuff" - what that may have been at the time. After I put the system back together, it lasted the last 170K miles of the Taurus' life with no further problems. It had a bad case of "black death". At least with alcohol, I'll burn clean in Hell.
Lugnut
You'll never get there, and that's fine. The reason R-134a conversions are working so well these days is that the oil manufacturers have figured out how to make R-134a oils that don't mind chlorine residues like the first ones did. Even the AC system flush stuff leaves a
*little* of itself behind. Its just a blend of particularly light and volatile solvents.MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.