I've been looking for information on the upgrade and haven't really found anything out there. I know a guy that did it and has no problems with it. I was wondering if anyone knew anything about it or had any ideas where you get the upgrade kit from. If I remember correctly it was just fittings that fit on our existing ones. My other questions is if you put in the R134 stuff will our compressor handle it or will it go BLAAAA? Pork

You can upgrade to R134A without any mods to your compressor. Be sure your existing system has been drained of all R12 refrigerant. AutoZone actually carries a conversion kit, which comes with all the fittings you need (which is basically all there is to it), and refrigerant. It costs around $100 (I think, don't quote me on that), and works just as good as R12, plus you can buy more refrigerant from most parts stores without having to have a special license to use it. May want to have your system checked for leaks while you are at it. Good luck.

PP,

R-134 is actually more of a downgrade from R-12, not an upgrade. R-134A has poorer thermal performance by about 15-18%. If you don't increase the size of the heat exchanging coils (condenser and evaporator) and increase the expansion control flow rate, the system performance will be downgraded by about 20-25% if you're lucky, more in severe cases.

Check out the data on "Hot-Shot" drop-in R-12 replacement at www.icorinternational.com

Interesting... I had no idea it lost thermal efficiency. We installed it in a car that belongs to a friend of mine without modding the condenser, evaporator, etc.. I couldn't tell a bit of difference with the 134A refrigerant. Vader, where do you get your extensive knowledge?

:hail:

Thanks alot guys....Looks like I got some juicy reading to do.

When the temperature reaches about 100°F outside, you'll probably notice. The latent heat capacity of R-134 is about 15-20% lower than R-12 per pound of refrigerant. What's worse is that fewer pounds of R-134 refrigerant can be charged to a system than R-12, and the R-134 operates at a higher pressure, straining the aging system components even more. R-414 is about 8-10% more efficient than R-12, and 20-25% more efficient than R-134, and doesn't require an oil change nor even an evacuation unless the system is completely lost.

Papa - Juicy reading?

Let me ask a few questions....

Where to get R414? Is it commercially available to those of use without a refrigeration license?

If going with 134A, Vader mentions using a larger condensor and evaporator....any ideas were to obtain? Or maybe look for something off a later modeled R134a auto? and breed into our cars?

How to increase the expansion control rate? Use of valve from 134A system?


As you can tell, I gotta do the "change" too

my dad ( a HVAC guy) said that converting to r134a will make the compressor have a shorter life than if u stayed r12. You can get enough freon to charge the system for about $100, just as u can get the conversion kit. I think r12 cools better than r134 but thats just my opinion

Papa - Juicy reading? [/b][/quote]

Vader,
Your [img] is killing me! How do you expect a guy to concentrate on the refrigertation properties of .....uh...er...what were you talking about, again?

Vader-

I went to the site for HOT Shot and did some reading. My only question is whut kid to you need to buy or what equipment do you need to put that junk in? I know with the upgrade you can get at autozone it comes with the fittings and pipes and guages and a chart. Any idea where I can obtain that info??

Pork

I don't know if a kit is offered. I use the 25# cylinders and regular R-12/22/502 manifold with the adapter fitting.

I bought an R134a conversion kit for about $40 at Wal-Mart.

-Anthony Helton

Here's another alternate to R134 instead of the expensive R12.

http://www.autorefrigerants.us/

It's legal to but over the counter and is even said to cool much better then even R12.

It's a drop in replacement for R134.

If you are changing from R-12 to R-134, do not use the same amount. R-134 is a higher pressure and only requires about 80-85% of the original amount that the car asks for.