I have a 1986 T/A whcih needs a recharge come the spring and I want to know if moving to the R134 (which seems like it is my only choice) what does that do to the originality of the car. My car is all original.

Any info is greatly appreciated, especially if you know anyone in NH or Mass. who does r12 recharges?

Thanks,

Rocco

 

No need to convert or search high and low for a serviceman. If you can use a can of fix-o-flat then you can recharge your a/c system (slightly oversimplified, but not by much).

I just did a quick ebay search and found numerous cans of r12 and recharging kits.

http://www.ebay.com/bhp/r12-refrigerant

 

EPA certification required for r12 purchases

 

Only for large cans. The smaller sets like this one require no certification:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Refrigerant-...-/321123610737

 

If the A/C hasn't been charged for a long time, you may want to get it cleaned or flushed and evacuated prior to putting in the R12 or R134 (also get the leak fixed, but that's an obvious one). There's no sense in wasting money by filling it with refrigerant AND non-condensable gases. It won't be that cold and probably won't last, especially if it's leaking.

 

My 84 was converted to r-134 by a a/c shop in NC several years back.
Except for a couple of "this system has been changed to r-134 etc etc."
warning/charging instruction stickers the system looks the exact same
as the day it left the factory.

As far as it effecting originality/resale/etc. IMO I think not !
Most folks would love driving their "classic" to the local cruise-in/show/ride
to grandmas house with the family in cool comfort on a hot steamy day!

 

R134 won't cool enough in the south. The condenser isn't large enough. As others have said, get the leak fixed first. It's more than likely the compressor that's leaking. It's common and usually not an inexpensive fix. If you look at the hood insulator just above the compressor, you'll probably see oil splattered all over it. The bearings are going and allowing the freon to leak out.

I don't have R12 in my car anymore, and I don't have any stickers or fittings any different from stock. You just need to inform any future buyers or service centers what's in the system as many shops won't service or evacuate the system if it's not something they can recapture without contamination. They don't like mixing the different gases in their recovery system.

 

SURE any r-134 conversion won't cool as low as a stock R-12 set up!
None of my factory r-134 brand new cooled as good or as cold as my other
new from the factory GM vehicles either......................

I lived in south Fla and NC so I KNOW HOT and muggy summer days!

 

Not sure what difference "originality" is going to make in the long run...

So: turn the question around and ask it this way:

Which car would you rather have; one with a working A/C, or one without?

Now that you have the answer to that question, which is better: a working A/C with R-134A, or a non-working one without R-12?

I'm kinda dumb, as everyone knows; still, I'm struggling with how this question even has to be asked.

 

Thanks for the response. The reason I ask is because my car is 100% original and I don't know if it will affect anything. Sure maybe it is a stupid question but I think it's a valid one in my case. It's not some car that I threw together . Nothing wrong with that and if the car had 100k miles on it I really wouldn't care. But since its rare and all original, I want to keep it that way. I don't know what's involved in a conversion... I don't know what they do... So I'll do more research after it becomes nicer out. Car is still in storage tip April. :-(

 

I have a 90 formula and the ac leaked. had it evacuated and had stop leak with the oil in it and then put r134 in it. all I had to do was screw a different fitting and that's it and it works fine. that was 10 years ago and I don't drive it a lot and I recharged it for the first time last spring. I would say if you wanted to keep it original is like keeping the same gas and oil in it. lol

 

OK, let's look at it from YET ANOTHER common-sense angle:

Is your car SO ORIGINAL that in some form of originality contest, they're going to chemically analyze the contents of your A/C system?

So, are you ALSO worried that they're going to check your gas tank for the original fuel, your tires for the original air, your battery for the original electrons, ... ???

I've heard ALOT of excuses in my day for being too lazy/cheeeeep to fix your car; but this one descends to unplumbed depths.

FIX YOUR CAR. A car THAT WORKS is better than one that doesn't.

 

As I stated, you can convert to another cooling option, just don't connect the fittings or apply the stickers.

 

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/cool...06a-video.html

 

Read what Scott posted. End of necessary discussion.