does anyone know of a good a/c shop down here in phx that recharges the old r12 stuff. that's all i need to finally have a/c in the bird again after three years.

 

pretty much any shop will recharge your ac with x12 a ****ty r12 replacement but you better make sure you change the oil in it and the seals are prolly crap, my roomate got his ac recharged with it and 3 weeks later the ****ing thing froze up

 

the compressor is brand new and it has never really been used becuz i havent put the freon in it yet. but yeah i ll look into the seals and everythign.

 

You can get all the seals you need at Checker in a kit they keep in the aisle (the green seals). The only ones not in the kit are the ones that go on the compressor itself. If it's a brand new compressor and you haven't put oil in it, I'd replace the accumulator and orifice tube as well and just convert to 134a. I flushed my system myself and switched all the seals to use 134a and it works just fine. You can get the gauge set at Harbor Freight for 50 bucks or so. I ordered the Haynes A/C service manual from Checker to get the capacities and pressures required. I recharged and leak checked (UV dye type) my truck also.

Then if you're comfortable charging systems, you can do it for friends for some cash and get your money back on the tools. Just don't discharge refrigerant into the atmosphere, that's illegal. (Mine was empty when I started.)

 

yeah i always saw those kits at checkers all the time but i never could figure out if they were legit or not. but yeah i'll most likely do that this weekend once i fix the driver side window. it wont roll down becuz the motor fell apart.

 

Synapsis, how do you find the R134a conversion to be with Arizona's summers? I would think you guys would be using R12 or R406a.

 

Both of my conversions are less than optimal. I still have the stock orifice tube in both. It's a lot better than nothing, and R12 is just about impossible to find here. As long as I'm not sweating in the car I'm happy.

 

Dude....shoulda called me....R12 isn't hard to find, just expensive. Try an AAOT (Automatic Adjusting Orifice Tube)-
it will drop a good 10 degrees off your vent temp, and is a lot easier on your compressor. Your radiator fans have
to be damn good to shed the higher head pressures temp from your condensor, since we've got the less-efficient
fin design.

 

Is an AAOT the same thing as a TXV

 

Yeah, and I wasn't willing to pay that much. The system was already open so I just converted it. I'll have to look into a AAOT next year. Thanks.

 

No, but it works by the same principal.