lol just let all the gas out... mine was near empty! then just take out the hoses using wrenches etc.. take off bracket etc... done!

heater still works and i still get some "cooler" air... but i wouldn't suggest doing this on a car in a hot environment!

 

As an ASE/EPA Certified Technician for A/C Repair, (in truth its little more than proof I read the pamphlet and paid the money) the reason we switched to HFC-134, even though it truly is less efficient than CFC-12, is because of the damage CFC-12 does to the Ozone Mostly because guys like us and shops in the day liked to:
While HFC-134 is still harmful to the environment it's supposedly less so than CFC-12, thus the government required all auto manufacturers to find an alternative refrigerant. R-134a is not the only refrigerant used by Automotive manufacturers, its just the most commonly used right now.

As for further reading material and a more detailed explanation of why CFC-12 is no longer used and the proper procedure for retrofitting a system from CFC-12 to HFC-134, refer to this link here:
http://www.freeautomechanic.com/airconditioning4.html

 

The plastic box under the passenger side dash which contains the evaporator weighs 7.2 pounds according to my bathroom scale. AC water vent tube was clogged and I had to pull the box out to remove the leaves, chunks of pine needles and dirt from the previous owner's neglect. Seems like a prime opportunity to ditch my 134a conversion so I just ordered the es-12 kit from autorefrigerants.com and a new condenser and o-ring kit from rockauto.com. Looks like I have my weekend all planned.
I know I can buy the flush kit and use with my air compressor, but how do I pull a vacuum and check my system for leaks without buying a $200 specialty pump? I thought I read that Autozone has a loaner for them but not according to their site.