Just wondering where to buy a AC Conversion kit that would allow me to refill my AC?

 

There are alternatives that are 'drop in' , that do not require any conversion. HOT SHOT R-414B, made by ICOR International is one. R-406A is another.
Check with your local HVAC supply houses in the phone book.

 

The dealer has a r134 conversion kit
Yeah and that would be the correct way to convert it

 

Attched is some data on R-414B

 

Ok
Just talked to a master tech a few minutes ago - never heard of the above captioned refrigerant so I would not recommend using it - his conversion is
a home made "dirty" conversion consisting of the appropriate fittings
along with evacuate and recharge.

 

When I first got my 2nd gen, the R-12 had leaked out, so i asked the dealer how much it would cost to retrofit. He looked at me and asked, with a straight face even, "How long do you plan on keeping the car?' I inferered the cost of the conversion would include my first born.

Took the car car to the local garage, found out it had been converted already.

On the most basic conversion, you pump the system dry, including the oil, change the schrader valves and refill with matched oil and refridgerant. This works fine for a while, but the system really needs flushed, the o-rings and the reciever/dryer tank replaced.

I found an o-ring set and the reciever/dryer on eBay, have yet to install either. Once that's done, it will be another trip to the garage to have the system sucked down and refilled again. After I replace the noisy compressor.

 

Uhh, yeah, well I'm pretty lazy so I just bought the R134A conversion kit from AutoZone for 25buck. Drained the system and put the new valve on, took about 30 seconds with a wrench and then filled up with the new stuff. It works really well, but without replacing all the o-rings with the new ones, it will leak about 50% of the freon out in about a year. But for 5 bucks a bottle, who cares. just my 2c

 

What type of refrigerant did he use in his 'dirty' conversion?

Many people not in the AC industry have not heard of R-414B or R-416 which is another alternative 'drop in'. Both of these sell for about $10/lb if buying a 25 lb. container, and both need the buyer to be 'certified'. But they are available and you have to ask at the automotive AC shops.

There is more profit in the 'conversion', and they might like to sell that in lieu of simply adding new refrigerant. And handling a new refrig is also a burden to some so they like to stay away from those. But if you ask around you might find threse alternatives a less expensive way to get AC back in these classic cars without a big $$ investment.

 

dirty conversion uses the r-134
Just the fittings and the evac. and recharge - they have been doing it for about
10 yrs. with no problem - i asked about the other refrigerant and no one has
heard of it - therefor in fear of contaminating the system it is not recommended
for use. U want to use it knock yourself out - I trust the techs I work with
and a Mazda rotary expert whom informed me of the "dirty conversion"

 

You can rent the vac pump and the valves from Autozone. You get all your money back when you bring them back in. Thats the method I used on my CRX. Worked great! I might do my 7 in the next few weeks.

 

I've done the "dirty conversion" which uses 134a on my 93 exploder and my neighbors Ford Festiva with no problems. The systems still leak but its cheap to refill now. On the 7 my biggest problem is adding a pulley to the dual pulley I already have on the eshaft so I can add the belt back on to drive the compressor. Plus its been dry for so long it may be worthless, we'll see.

 

Don't mean to divert your thread, but how can I tell if my cars has already been converted?

I bought it in November and the AC blows slightly cool , but definitely needs a recharge. Any good place to get general info on AC ? I've always viewed the AC as somewhat magical, outside the realm of the backyard mechanic and under the complete control of the forces of evil, who can charge you (no pun intended) whatever they wish. That's why when you go to look at a car and the owner says, "the AC needs a recharge", you know he means, "the shop told me it needs $1500 worth of work, that's why I'm selling the car".

 

If there is refrigerant pressure in the system, you would measure the pressure and ambient temperature and then refer to a temp/pressure chart to look for a match.

On an empty system, assuming there are no labels, it would be difficult to tell.

The crimping patterns on the lines might be a clue . I don't recall the details, but I think that on American cars, crimps with 3 rings are an indicator that barrier hose was used, which is the type of hose used with R-134a. However, on American cars again, some manufacturers used barrier hose even with R-12 in the 1980's.

I am not sure what the 7's have...I must look at mine.

 

Most of the time you can just look at the valves. R12 and R134 uses different types of valves.