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AC system maintenance / repair / recharge

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by prmp945, Jun 27, 2023.

  1. prmp945

    prmp945 Member

    Joined:
    Oct 10, 2014
    79
    59
    1
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    Excellent, detailed post, Lech.

    @Mendel Leisk: leaving it up to the pros would be great, but I think true professionals like @lech auto air conditionin are extremely rare. If I had a guy like Lech that was local, I'd just bring it to him and pay up. But I don't and nobody has more interest in maintaining my car than me. I think there is a greater risk leaving this job to the local "pros" than learning how to properly do it myself.

    Moving on to the next step: I ended up purchasing a Testo 550i Digital Manifold Gauge kit.

    The seller sent me a manifold that is "nearly new" instead of new/unused. I don't want to contaminate my hybrid system with incompatible oils (PAG etc.), so I want to clean the manifold before using it on my Prius. Am I correct that even trace amounts of incompatible oil in the manifold is a legitimate concern, or am I going overboard?

    I watched @lech auto air conditionin video on how to clean a manifold gauge:



    I do have 99% alcohol on hand, but I don't have nitrogen. Can I blow out the manifold with compressed air and then pull a vacuum to remove any moisture, or is the nitrogen essential for cleaning the manifold?
     
  2. goodMXguy

    goodMXguy Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 5, 2015
    44
    6
    0
    Location:
    Philadelphia
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    One
    So, can you share your results? Where you able to keep the car ac happy? What else did you do? Or did you fail? Please share your experience! Thanks