For those of you that have the R134a conversion to your AC system, are you glad you did it?
I have converted a few past cars I always found the 134 to only be a bit cold. I liked the r12 much better.

Do the FD's get cool enough for those 95 deg days with r 134a?

 

Ah, 95 must be nice .

In all seriousness though, my conversion is underway as I write this, although it looks as if I'll need a new compressor (boo, hiss).

Once it's in, I'll let you know. It's 95 here today, so I'm sure by the time all is done this weekend it won't be any cooler.

-E

 

I've heard that 134 isn't quite as efficient as R12, so the 134 might not get as cold at its maximum setting on an extremely hot day. My car is a 95, so it came with 134. I don't have any complaints about the way it works. It seems to get cool enough, although it never reaches the "freezer" levels I've seen on the A/C systems of some American cars.

Because 134 isn't as efficient as R12, I've heard that original 134 systems (not just a freon and shraeder valve conversion) had to have some parts of their systems enlarged to compensate...I think it was the condenser. Ask an A/C specialist about that. And maybe ask him if he thinks it's worth it to do the conversion and if there are any drawbacks in terms of decreased cooling.

 

there are 2 drawbacks to converting.

134 is not as cold when compressed so cars that came with 134 from the factory typically have larger evapirators to compensate. Another thing I learned 134 runs at a higher pressure then 12. so when you convert the old 12 system you loose effecency in both the lower pressure and then later in the evaporator.

ENUTTAGE let us know how they compare if you remember how well the r12 system worked.



anyone else have their system on the 7 converted?
does it still do OK?

 

i just did this two weeks ago and the A/C is cold enough. Costed me $160 for the conversion (oil, freon, labor). I can't say how it compared to the R12 cuz the freon was low.

Reason why I converted? I don't know. I basically did a search and everyone else did it. I didn't know anything about AC...all I wanted was the newer stuff.

 

I converted mine recently and what others above have said it true. In converting the system to 134 you end up with an evaporator that is too small and you have to run lower than optimal pressures to keep from blowing up your compressor.

Mine cools, but not as cold or as quickly as R12. Waiting to see what happens when it's 100 degrees and the car has been parked outside a few hours.

 

That's what I noticed with other conversion cars. Some cars though if the evaporator is large to start with you don't notice as much. Sounds like the FD has a smaller evaporator.

 

Exactly my experience when I converted my T2 AC system to R134a. It cools, but not cooler than my old R12.

However, my buddy who's in the AC business told me the same thing the others mentioned which is the evaporator is not made for R134 and therefore too small.

Anything helps in the hot texas sun though.

I used Pep Boys conversion kit and my buddy's tools (test the AC system and pull the old stuff out).

J

 

OK. I just found out my 94 FD has a freon leak. It is empty now.

Should I fix and continue with r12, or convert over?

I figure that the cost of R12 can only go up, so I might as well bite the bullet and convert. Yes, another TX car

It sounds like I need to order the 95 compressor/evaporator...

 

Even though the price of R12 has gone up, from what I've heard it isn't cost prohibitive and supplies are still available. Obviously, you can do a price comparison between the two, but it'll probably be cheaper and easier to repair and refill the existing R12 system. Remember, once the system is empty like that it needs to be evacuated. I'd take it to an A/C professional.

 

As the owner of a 95 FD and a previous owner of a 98 SE-R and 85 626, I can tell you that the old R12 systems blew MUCH cooler air than the R-134. Even on a very hot day, my old 626 was too cold to leave on the max cold setting. However, my 95 FD and 98 SE-R both need to be set at max with the fan at 2 or 3 to do anything at all for town driving. Long highway drives are much better.

 

We just did a retro to R134a on an F250 at my shop and it was pumpin 29F at the vents, I don't know about the RX-7. My guess is an inefficient A/C system, much like the cooling system..

 

sure. AC and heat on teh 7 are in efficent. saves space and weight. Having good HVAC wasn't on the priority plate. as for that F250 im sure it has a hell of a evaporator so it can make cold air.

local proce on 134 ~7$
local price on R12 96$ that's per pound. Getting near drug prices.

I'd say for a car like the 7s R12 is the only way to go if you drive in the heat much at all.

anyone know how much freon an empty system takes?

 

1.75 pounds. I just had mine pulled & refilled to install an intercooler. He could only recover 6 ounzes out of the system, though.. my o-rings were pretty beat. And the price I got to fill it was $60 a pound.

 

good price by what I have run into.

 

Mine is retrofitted to r-134. I must say that I have quite the wussy A/C system now. I would guess that it is about 2/3 as effective as the r-12 was. It is ok for 115 hegree heat if I have been parked in the shade, but if the car was left in the sun then forget about it because the A/C will never catch up. It is ok for up to about 100 though, just takes a couple minutes to cool down.

 

I won't be converting, but it is a lot worse. The compressor is shot, it has been dumping oil on the clutch for a while. The evaporate is also shot.

F me.

The estimate I have is 355 for the evaporator, 350 for the compressor, 79 for drier (???), 12 for o-ring kit and 396 for labor.

Now I have a friend, who works on cars (and is building a Cobra), and says we can take it to his garage and do it. I also have a fluidyne on order, and was wondering if in either case, the radiator swap should be done at the same time...

How hard is it to do this work???

 

keep R12 all the way

 

The R134a conversion will not be as cool as the R12 since the AC system was designed with R12 in mind.

R134a requires a bigger evaporator and perhaps a bigger condenser to be as cool as R12.

J

 

has anyone tried Freeze12??? It's supposed to perform more like R-12.

http://www.freeze12.com/

drew
-----------
smackfu.net

 

PV,
Check out Mazdaformance for better prices. $355 for an evaporator? I don't think so. If you're lucky, this one will work:
http://www.mazdaformance.com/Merchan...egory_Code=470

Good luck.