Guess it didn't go through. How hard is to convert the a/c to the new legal kind. My car is running the illegal freon. My cars a/c does not come out cold at all. It blows air while the a/c is on but the air is just as cold as the vent. Do you guys think it needs charging? I have only owned this car for 2 months and the a/c hasn't worked since I owned it. How do you check for leaks? Any ideas

The system is probably dry, push the sharder valve , either one and see if theres a strong rush of freon/air comming out. Just dont tell anyone in So Cal you did that. Freon can still be used but you either need to go to a shop to have them charge the system or hop the border Its very easy to convert your system they sell the kits for $35 but you will need an extra can of R134 for most kits and I would reccomend adding a can of R134 stop leak just to make sure.


Lucky SOB it just got done snowing here!

WOW! It's freakin' February! I didn't expect to see one of these posts for at least another three months. This guy is really planning ahead.

Trans,

The refrigerant you may have left in your system isn't "illegal", just more regulated than some of the other refrigerants available. Personally, I think you'll be disappointed with the performance of the R134A in your system. The coil sizes and expansion control were not designed to use it, and the smaller coils will not be as effective since the refigerant doesn't have as good a latent heat capacity as R12.

Another alternative would be to use an R12 substitute, or a tertiary blend such as R404. These are directly compatible with any remaining R12 and don't require a system flush and re-oil with anything special. They operate at a lot lower pressures than R134A and have latent heat capacities better than the original R12 in some cases. I've got HotShot in my '86 T/A to top off the system and I can just about make ice cubes on a 100° day. I know R134A doesn't perform as well in an older system with smaller coils.

If you really want to do it yourself, have a shop reclaim the R12 and evacuate the system. Tell them they can keep the R12 if they'll do the evacuation for free. Some places are doing that now just for the extra refrigerant. You'll have to follow the conversion directions explicitly to get any kind of life out of the system after you convert.

I'm not sure the blends are available to automotive A/C shops, but they are to the industrial markets. I keep an extra "30" around just for grins, and I'll guess you can find someone in your area with a similar supply.

( Oops! - The "404" should have been "406")

Where can I get an R-12 substitute? Is this at Pep Boys? Any name brands you recommend? Thanks for the help. It's February but in So. Cal it's always warm. Just hit upper 70s few days ago.

DAMN,

I just had my system converted over to the 134A and I cna assure you it is not the same as an R-12 system.

now I'm thinking it may be worth the expense to switch back to the R-12 or maybe try to get the R-404 like Vader said.

Don't you have to be EPA certified to buy refrigerant. That is what I read while reading about it on some pages for alternative freon. How do I go about getting the substitute R-12 or R-12 itself? Any ideas?

RedBird,

The 406 can work, but R414-B is better for automotive systems. That's what I'm using in the old T/A and Fiero, and have had no problems with it whatsoever. I've topped a couple of the neighbors' vehicles with nothing but success as well (except that there were a couple of Hondas in there).

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Trans,

You would have to have EPA-609 (mobile) or universal certification to purchase refrigerants for your own use, so you can either get certification or pay someone else to repair and recharge your system. Since R-12 can be prohibitively expensive, you could look for a shop that will use an alternate. They are widely available. You can get a few ideas at http://www.icorinternational.com/ - and look at the "Hot Shot" tab. The specifications should show why it works so well in auto systems, and the last time I bought a "30" it was about $6.00/lb. I quit checking the price or R-12 when it hit $28.00/lb (wholesale).

i got yer r-12 at the shop 134 is fairly disapointing in our cars-its just not as efficient as 12. and with the smaller systems that were originally designed for r-12 heat transfer can take some time to happen. fellas-please dont mix all those crazy refrigerants like that you dont know what a pita it is having to buy all kinds of refrigerant i.d. tools at a arm and a leg per epa rule change or guideline enhancement. im getting to dislike taking on ac jobs cuz every aspect is getting so f'ed up and expensive to do correctly. the customer has to live long enough for the check to clear-and with some of these ac jobs the bill can induce a seizure in some people and they fall right over right there in the office- ded - nah, but you get the picture or or then again and :lala: is cool too




no stop leak in any ac system either i almost forgot to rant on about that too nonononononono