i need to charge my a/c and i have to convert it to do so. i know that they sell a kit to change it but where do i put in the new valve's.

 

You'll need new O rings thoughout the entire AC system as well. This is a pretty labor intensive job...

Look under DamonB's posts, I think he did this last year.

 

I changed my system in my convertible from R12 to R134 last year. I installed a reman compressor, a new drier and that was all. The retro kit I purchased said it was compatible with the old oil.

So far it is still running cold.

 

Find a place that has R-12 available. I've heard that the systems that have been converted to R-134 just do not do an adequate enough job cooling.

 

no, no, no my friends. Get some duracool. its a new refrigerant that you can add to r12 and r134a and it works . I put it in my car and its been working for a year.
ozone friendly too. ph. 250 751 3013 eves

 

where do you get duracool from? any auto parts store or online special?

 

Is there any chain automotive service shop that specialized in evacuating an AC system and checking for leaks?

 

can r12 and r134 be mixed together??? r134 is $5.99 for 12oz in autozone... some mechanic place was telling me $50 a lb. for a r134 what a crack... anyways, can someone post a step by step procedure and some diagrams... my a/c blows hot air... and summer again is here..

 

word

 

About $200 to recharge the R12. About $200 to convert to R134. This was a quote I got from Goodyear.
For the same price, I'd just recharge the R12. It cools better than R134.
Damn tree huggers!!

 

I switched last year without any problems. All you need is a retrofit kit. It has new service ports that screw on top of your existing ones then you just get your system evacuated. and put in the 134a. I didn't mess with o-rings or any such stuff.

Although it wasn't as cool after changing over, If I had to do it again i would go the route of a r-12 substitute.

 

You can do the conversion yourself for $35 and about 15 minutes.

 

I have a tank and gauge set and a vaccum. I drain the old stuff out into a tank. Hook up my vaccum to it for a good 30 minutes to get all the moisture out and then put in the R-134a. This is were the kit comes in handy if you don't already have the nozzle to hook up R-134a. Just put in the required amount of R-134a and you are set. I believe you are supposed to put 85% R-134a of what is called for R-12. DO NOT OVER FILL IT, I can't stress that enough. Make sure you look at your A/C glass eye and make sure all the bubbles are gone, that's when it's full.

The difference between R-12 and R-134a is minimal. It will still cool good and I live in southern Texas, I should know. =)

 

I believe that is for charging the 134a into your AC.

I also am having a problem, I believe I have a leak somewhere, hopefully it is just the o-ring getting old. Anyway I heard the oil from the old R12 need to be vacuum out before putting the 134a in it. I heard it caused a chemcial reaction to where it actually become acidic or toxic to your AC compressor.

I have someone around town quoted me $150.00 for the conversion and all you need is a new dryer and to vacuum all the old r12 oil out.

Anyway I was curious what is the average price for letting a place to do the conversion from R12 to 134a?

Also anyone know of a website or anywhere where you can do it yourself converison. I just have heard a lot of stories on how to do the conversion. I just need some hard evidence and also the materials needed. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

Opps also forgot to add.

I heard different stories about Freeze 12 being good and also bad things about adding it to the AC. I heard that the gas could cause it to explode? Just curious if that is true and also if anybody had experience with this Freeze 12 on their Rx7. Also any links or hard evidence would be great. Also did a search, not much help.

 

 

ditto. more detail pls...

 

I converted mine last year. For myself I was not able to get completely clear answers and knew of at least a few evacuate and recharge conversions that failed after a couple years. There's a lot of misinformation out there apparently so I was very conservative and maybe went overboard, but here's what I did.

My system had an obvious leak at the evaporator firewall connection, I could see the oil traces. I figured if I was going to open the system there to replace that o-ring I would replace all of them in the system, which actually isn't hard. Off the top of my head there are the ones at the evaporator, one in the hard pipe splice under the stock airbox two at the condensor, the ones at the comrpessor, two at the drier and I think there was one in the hard pipe under the battery tray where the pressure switches are. I verified with an auto a/c parts supplier that the o-rings in r-12 cars and 134a cars are of different materials. How big a problem that is I don't know but we're talking only a few bucks here so I replaced every one of them with the 134a type. Mine happen to be green, don't know if all of them are.

I was told the oils used in r12 and r134a were not compatible (hence the o-ring changes). I tried to remove as much of the old oil as possible by removing the a/c compressor and dumping it out. I added the new oil and then the standard r134a retrofit kit that has the new fittings. I evacuated the system by rigging a fitting to the intake of an air compressor and then verified the integrity of the vacuum with manifold gauges. I then charged the system with 134a until the pressures read as they would with r12. This in fact means there is less 134a in the system as it runs hotter and at higher pressure compared to r12. This is why most conversions fail after a time, they overcharge the system by adding the same amount of 134a and eventually kill the compressor.

My a/c system may have issues I am not aware of, but the performance with 134a is certainly less than r12. In the very hot summer I have to run it on recirculate to even hope to maintain the same level of cool the car could do on r12 without having to recirculate. If the car has been in the hot sun parked all day it takes quite a few minutes to finally cool it again. If the car was parked in the garage it will of course cool right away no matter how hot it is outside. If the car is motionless the level of cool also drops substantially compared to r12.

If you can stick with r12, do so. My problem is that any slight leak in the future is $$$ with r12 and with 134a I can go spend $5 and add more if I need to. As for the r12 replacements (such as Freeze 12) I have not found enough info to get me to try it, but I am researching other substitutes to see if there are better choices. Right now I at least know my system functions and is not damaging itself.

 

I went with the $20 kit--simply add the R134 through the new fitting, check the pressure and go. I did it last summer and the AC is still going strong. I didn't notice any temperature change, but then again, I don't live in TX.

I didn't replace the drier or have the R12 oil evacuated.

Check out the EPA's guidance on whether the o-rings need to be changed:

http://www.epa.gov/ozone/title6/609/...uid.html#hoses

 

I went to a local ac shop and they did it for me for $150...they pumped all the old stuff out, change the oil (?), rings, ....etc

 

There are definitely problems with the oils when changing between the two refrigerants. The mineral oil used in R12 systems doesn't dissolve in R134a, and so oil is not returned properly to the compressor, causing it to fail. That is why R134a systems use POE or PAG oils. PAG oils are nasty in the presence of chlorine. If any chlorine is left over from the R12 and you put in R134a with PAG oil the result will be a sticky mess that will kill your compressor and god only knows what else. POE oil is not so unfriendly, but is quite sensitive to moisture and is not as good a lubricant as the others. If you're doing the conversion, make sure you use POE oil in the R134a! Otherwise you're asking for trouble.

Usually a different dessicant is used in the dryer for R12 vs. R134a systems as well, although I think they make some that can work for either. In any case, if your system is opened up for very long at all you should change the dessicant (or the whole dryer...I'm actually not sure how to do just the dessicant).

I had my system changed to R134a when I got tired of having problems and having to recharge R12. However, my compressor didn't last too long after the change. The hotter temps and higher pressures can kill the compressor if its already close to the edge, and that seems to be what happened to me. When I got the new one, I changed back to R12...sort of. I am now using R406a, or Autofrost, which is an R12/mineral oil compatible blend, which actually is supposed to have superior cooling properties even to R12. I don't know, because here in S. Florida it still takes a while to cool down after sitting in the sun, but what doesn't? I'm on my second summer so far, and so far so good.

jds

 

Get a retrofit kit from an auto parts store, then goto any a/c shop or a jiffy lube and have them evacuate the system for you. Then jsut screw on the new service ports and fill the system. the kits will have freon with oil charge already mixed into it, or a seperate oil charge can. Thats if you want to convert. but it jsuts eems liek here when it gets arond 105 degrees in the summer, it jsut doens't cut it. Like I said If I had to do it again I'd go with an R12 substitute or jsut r12 if you can find it. I like my a/c as cold as possible.

 

check this

http://members.aol.com/ellsworthc/cfc/cfc.html

this thing is sort of stating both good and bad about r134 conversion... saying that you need stronger compressor and new hoses and stuff...

 

Sorry to bring up an old thread....but I need to recharge my AC. I was wondering if anyone's tried one of the Interdynamics retrofit kits. http://www.id-usa.com/catalog.asp?CID=28
It's pretty much plug and play. You just need to have the R12 sucked out.

 

It's not recommended to convert an R-12 car to R-134A. It drastically shortens the life of the compressor. It's cheaper long-term to make sure there are no leaks and charge the system with R-12

Joe