annual fluid flushes

[qship96]

the q is in the process of getting new 10-30 redline< every 90 days>,and annual mobil 1 trans flush,redline diff. flush,brake& power steering flushes,one question,can i use the remaining 3 quarts of havoline af that have been in an opened but tightly capped bottle for aprox 2 years stored in the laundry room,does this go bad over time sitting on a shelf?I plan on flushing the system with distilled water,and have been using this havoline af brand for years in all our vehicles.

[PalmerWMD]

Antifreeze?

yes it will be fine if it was unopened and no evidence of precipitaion in the bottle exists.

Fred...

[qship96]

Antifreeze?

yes it will be fine if unopened was unopened and no evidence of precipitaion in the bottle exists.

Fred...

Fred,the container of longlife AF was opened 2 years ago and partially used,about 3 quarts are left,it has been sitting on a shelf tightly capped since then,still ok to use today?

[PalmerWMD]

Yes.

Fred..

[AZhitman]

Sealed vs. unsealed is irrelevant. Even if water got into it, you're mixing it with......... WATER!

[qship96]

Sealed vs. unsealed is irrelevant. Even if water got into it, you're mixing it with......... WATER!

Thanks for the quick replys,as I will be completing this flush tomorrow,I was more concerned about the breakdown of the AF being exposed to AIR,as I read many problems with Dexcool breakdown and they all seem to state that it is due to reaction of air in the cooling systems.It does look like new though,so I will proceed!

[Q45tech]

What about checking the compressor oil. When the machine vacuums down the R 134a, it also separates out a few ounces of the oil. [for inspection].

If this oil is black, not pristine yellowish clear, the acids in it have been attacking the compressor seals and all the o rings.

When any fluid changes color, it is a warning that it should be changed.

[elwesso]

<sorry to hijack your thread, sorta>

Dennis, is there an interval for having your AC system vacuumed, and recharged.. I think Im going to have this done next service (this week) and im sure its never been done before.....

[qship96]

What about checking the compressor oil. When the machine vacuums down the R 134a, it also separates out a few ounces of the oil. [for inspection].

If this oil is black, not pristine yellowish clear, the acids in it have been attacking the compressor seals and all the o rings.

When any fluid changes color, it is a warning that it should be changed.

I would like to do this IF i could find a shop i trust doing it correctly and not take shortcuts,until then,i will not let anyone touch the AC system unless it fails,it still blows 46 degree cold air in 90 degree plus Baltimore humid summers! Q45 tech,if you would kindly outline the entire procedure for us,we would be better educated on "interviewing" potential shops and technicians that would do the job correctly,unfortunatly,i have lost all faith in my local infiniti dealer.

[atlanta_shooter]

With all due respect to each of your opinions, why in the world would you do a Mobil 1 Synthetic ATF exchange annually, unless you drive 30K plus annually?? The main reason I did the switch on my '97 J30 was so that I could "extend" the flush/exchange time/mileage requirements. I also think changing a good quality synthetic oil (assuming you do a high efficiency filter change halfway throught the time/mileage cycle) is a waste. This is one area I must disagree with the pundits on the board. Darkened motor oil, esp a synthetic, is not necessarily indicitive of diminished performance.

[qship96]

With all due respect to each of your opinions, why in the world would you do a Mobil 1 Synthetic ATF exchange annually, unless you drive 30K plus annually?? The main reason I did the switch on my '97 J30 was so that I could "extend" the flush/exchange time/mileage requirements. I also think changing a good quality synthetic oil (assuming you do a high efficiency filter change halfway throught the time/mileage cycle) is a waste. This is one area I must disagree with the pundits on the board. Darkened motor oil, esp a synthetic, is not necessarily indicitive of diminished performance.

As a realtor,I put about 25-28k miles per year on the Q.Being that a Q is harder on a transmission than many cars,I feel it is worth the expense.As far as oil,yes a premium synthetic such as Mobil ! or even better,Redline can go many miles longer than dino juice,it still collects dirt from the air and byproducts of combustion.If I was using dino oil,Iwould be changing it every 3000 miles,which for me would be about every 6 weeks!,I feel comfortable using top quality synthetics and changing every 90 days,which works out to be about 5000-6500 miles usually.

[elwesso]

Why change the fluid...? Because yearly flushes are cheaper than a new transmission!!

[Q45tech]

The easiest way to change the compressor oil is to do a machine vacuum down and replace the oil that came out into the separator [on the machine]........1.5 to 2 ounces out of the 8-10 ounces in the system...........as you can seee that would take 4 seperate vacuum down and recharge proceedures.

If the receiver dryer hasn't been changed in 3-4 years it is probably not working as well a brand new and partially clogged from rubber o ring parts and compressor seal parts.

Just changing the receiver dyer will be a good thing without the oil the oil can be worked out slowly or all at one time.......as any new oil will help neutralize/dilute the formed acids.

Other than the seals [where each removable part joins] 10 o rings and a seal in each cylinder of the compressor, everything else is aluminum except the dessicant in the receiver dryer.

[qship96]

Thanks q45tech,If I ask for the receiver/dryer to be replaced,would they automatically evacuate and recharge the system using new oil? is it ok to recycle the 134a,so do you insist on NEW? Now,if you could shed some light on my transmission/idle dilemma in another thread,all will be good in my world tonight! Thanks in advance.

[Q45tech]

I flushed my transmission last MAY [246k] and noticed a color shift in Dec [259k].........in 13,000 miles............I did a pan drain and added 3 quarts of new ATF [The Lexus method] to tide me over till Spring...........the reman only has 40,000 miles total but after all it is a factory reman so it need a little lovin.

Got to do a pan drop and filter change in the spring.

[DAEDALUS]

If I ask for the receiver/dryer to be replaced,would they automatically evacuate and recharge the system using new oil? is it ok to recycle the 134a,so do you insist on NEW?

By law they will have to evacuate the system, and they have no choice but to take any oil that comes with it. They *should* measure the recovered oil and replace it with the same amount (or more, if they compensate based on any refrigerant missing). Recycled R134a is fine as long as it is pure. Smart shops run purity checks on all cars before recovery so as not to damage any of their machines and to minimize come-backs.

[qship96]

it is the "should" measure any oil taken out and replace,and the"check" the purity of the 134a that make me hesitant to have this system touched! I guess as i learn more,and feel more comfortable with the procedure,i will find someone to do this preventative maintenance,until then,i feel it is to easy to get a halfa** job done somewhere and make a good working system problematic.

[DAEDALUS]

Most places will replace the oil at least, since it's easy and lessens the risk you'll be back for rework within a year. The purity test has the same reasons behind it, but the equipment does cost a bit.