Re: Will Ester destroy my R-12 A/C system? (archive)

Probably the only thing that will happen is that the Ester oil will 'park' itself in the bottom of the evaporator. Ester oil and R-12 do NOT mix just as mineral oil and R-134a do not mix. The proplem might be that the Ester oil attacks the compressor shaft seal (if original 88 compressor). Hopefully, the mineral oil will provide enough protection to prevent this scenario. Keep in mind that the Ester oil added is NOT lubricating anything in a R-12 system.

The A/C shop should be avoided in the future...what idiots! However, with that said, are you sure they did not convert the sytem to R-134a when you were not looking!? Did they put 'special' service port fittings on? If they recharged with R-134a and added Ester, then that will work and the mineral oil will 'park' in the bottom of the evaporator. However, I would be concerned about the compressor seal. '88 compressor seals are NOT compatible with Ester or PAG oils.

Greetings

I brought my 1988 735i in to what I believed was a reputable local A/C shop to have them replace the condenser which was leaking. They added about 1.5 or so ounces of ESTER to the new condenser to replace the oil in the condenser that was removed. I did not know enough about A/C at the time and only after the job was finished did I question what they did. Can anyone give me an opinion as to whether or not my R-12 system will be damaged/destroyed because of this action?

Thanks!

Mike Roemhildt
1988 735i 117k

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