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2008 Civic new compressor oil procedure

Posted: Fri Mar 24, 2023 1:22 pm
by somedude01
Hi all,

Just discovered my 2008 Civic is leaking specifically from the body of the compressor. I've washed it off a few times and it turns green with the UV dye around the compressor seams, but only when running.

The service manual contradicts itself here on compressor replacement oil:
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Compressor1.PNG (105.66 KiB) Viewed 894 times
Compressor2.PNG
Compressor2.PNG (115.31 KiB) Viewed 894 times
I'm going to replace the compressor and receiver drier soon. What oil replacement procedure would you recommend following for this specific car? I'm likely down on an unknown amount of oil from this leak.

Re: 2008 Civic new compressor oil procedure

Posted: Sun Mar 26, 2023 8:08 pm
by tbirdtbird
I would empty the oil out of the old compressor being sure to turn the shaft by hand to get all the oil out, Drain it into a paint cup or similar that has graduations so that you can measure how much you got out. Once the R/D has been removed, also dump the oil from that and measure.
Dump out all the oil in the new comp again being sure to turn the shaft to get it all out. Put back in the amount you got out of the old comp.
You should have some new oil leftover from the new comp at this point, use that to put back into the R/D what you drained out. And Then add one more oz to the comp to compensate for the unknown amount that was lost.

Unless you totally flush out a system, (which is very hard to do), and start with a new comp with the known OEM amount of oil which will ultimately distribute itself throughout the system, you really have no way of knowing exactly how much oil is in the system. But it doesn't matter. The approximation process works amazingly well,

Be sure to turn the shaft on the new comp about 12 times to distribute the oil you put back internally

Re: 2008 Civic new compressor oil procedure

Posted: Tue Mar 28, 2023 11:07 pm
by JohnHere
The specifications that I have for your Civic call for 15 ounces net weight of R-134a and 5.5 fluid ounces of PAG-46.

Re: 2008 Civic new compressor oil procedure

Posted: Tue May 02, 2023 9:09 am
by somedude01
Thank you all for the prompt responses. Had to put this on hold for a bit for the birth of my son but now I'm ready to get back into it.

I discovered an additional leak at the condenser line so this is perfect timing to do all of the o-rings and go over the system while it's apart. I'll try to grab a genuine Denso compressor and receiver dryer and knock this out soon.