ianbell

Does anyone have the straight poop on changing over to R134 - just took my rex into the shop and they tell me me I've got two leaking o rings and a dead a/c. They quoted me $490C to fix the leaking o rings and re-charge the system with R134. They claimed that all they had to do with oil was replace the dryer with a new unit, add oil and replace the bad o rings (condenser and firewall) - checked with Parts-source and they said had to replace all the rubber in the system including all o rings and compressor seals - looks like can get a complete conversion kit from J C Penney for about $60 including oil and R134 but will this destroy the existing o rings or what - seems to be many opinions as to what the actual conversion requires?
Ian

ianbell

Come on people! some one must have the answers on this one.
Ian

gvink

Probably nobody replied to your post because a/c was all over this forum at the BEGINNING of summer, when it first got hot! So if you do a search on this forum, you'll find a lot. However:

--I had a/c converted on another car last summer, which works well, and I'm going to have it done on my '87 next summer (my old system is still working in half-*** fashion -- enough to get me through this summer). A reputable chain charged me around $360 for everything, including a new drier.

--several people on this forum have reported good success doing it themselves; others have reported problems. It seems that it's really easy to overfill with the new R134, which then usually makes the old compressor fail because the pressure gets too high. Also, it's important to get as much of the old oil out as possible. So if you're going to do it yourself, I'd do a lot of research on the Web -- not just rely on some four-paragraph instructino sheet with a kit.

--although I do a lot of my own work on my car, I'm going to have the shop do my conversaion because a) I'm more confident in their abilities than mine, b) they know the right pressures, c) they know how to get out the old bad oil and put in the new compatible oil, and d) they have the right gauges, etc., and d) last, but not least, if they screw it up, I can take it back and make them do it right. Also, everybody says to make sure they replace a cardboard gasket on the a/c compressor with a metal one to handle the higher pressures.

--but once it's converted, then I'll buy a pressure gauge and top it off myself once a year or so, because it seems like the new stuff leaks out of the old hoses.

akageals

I converted mine myself...cost:$40.00 + a dryer $25.00 if you need one. I went to autozone and bought a retrofit kit and a package (actually 2) of multisize R134 (green) 0-rings. I opened every joint in the system (9 of them) and replaced all the o rings with ones from the kit. I used "Next Generation Brake and Parts Cleaner" to flush each component in the system and blew out the cleaner with the air from my wet/dry vac. Then I tightened all the connections and pulled a vac. through the service port with an old Refrigerator compressor for about 2 hours. Then I put in 8 oz. of oil and 2 12 oz. cans of R134 per the instructions that came with the kit. I have had Ice Cold air ever since (3 months now).

Todd