Old Car Question: Re-Charging or Re-Vamping A/C

My own self ^ | 9/20/02 | Self

[MoralSense]

I have an '89 Cadillac Fleetwood, and the a/c needs re-charging. Unfortunately, it uses old-style R12 Freon, which isn't legal to manufacture any more. My old service station attendant used to have some, but he's out now. Anybody know any sources? Also, I'm informed that converting the a/c to the more modern 134 coolant can be done by a radiator shop at a cost of about $300. Anybody have any experience with such a conversion? Thanks.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

If you live near the Mexican border you can get the old stuff cheap. Any border patrol agent will have a garage full of the stuff.

[peteram]

Conversion for my 1990 Firebird (when I had it) cost more like $700.00. There are places that will re-charge R-12 systems. Because of the scarcity of R-12 refrigerant though, it can cost more than an R-134a re-charge.

Here's a helpful link: AirCondition.com

There are a lot of useful message boards and resources there. Also, it's possible for you to study and obtain an IMACA 609 permit to purchase R-12 and other alternatives. This can be done on line for around $20.00.

Go to: IMACA

Good Luck!

[Truth29]

I don't know where you are located, but in Virginia, Merchant Tire and Auto stores still sell recharges with R-12. It costs about $75 plus $50 per pound of R-12. The cost has been going up steadily.

Regarding conversion, I don't have any first hand experience but the R-134a molecules are smaller so leaks are more common in older system and it also does not cool as effectively as R-12

[TommyDale]

Since they now know that the ozone hole over Antarctica is closing, R-12 will now be required, but at a much higher price, of course!

Seriously, converting should not cost that much. Shop around -- I had my '85 Porsche converted for less than $50 here in Raleigh, NC.

[#1CTYankee]

I have no problem loacting the old stuff.My brother in-law works in HVAC. He has tanks full of recycled stuff. Ask around, someone you know should have a contact.

[N. Theknow]

It is only illegal to manufacture it in the U.S., but any turd world country can make it. Don't you just love Kyoto? This is the same way it would work.

Just about any garage has it and will do the recharging. Oh. By the way, when Congress tried to ban it altogether they were going to exempt themselves from the law but then decided they would not be able to get their cars recharged since the House has a bank and a post office but no garage, thus who would do the work. So, instead of banning it, they just made it illegal to manufacture in the US.

Our tax dollars at work.

[Piquaboy]

Mexico it the place to get R-12 and Canada is the place to get full flush toilet bowls in case your building a new house. We can thank our great politicans for these stupid laws.

[Guna]

Hey CTYankee!

What are you doing on this thread? Aren't you and your wife having a baby on the other thread right now?

Good Luck!

[yarddog]

I bought a kit at Wal-Mart for $29 which included everything including the refrigerant. I converted my old 83 van and it worked perfectly.

[billbears]

Where in Raleigh did you get it done for $50? Lowest I've ever heard of

[epow]

If I were you I would convert to R-134 if you plan to keep the car for any length of time. Reclaimed R-12 Freon is not only scarce now, it costs an arm and a leg if you do find some. I switched an old car over to the new refrigerant a few years ago. I had to replace a bad compressor anyway, so it seemed like a good time to switch over. The total cost including a rebuilt compressor and labor was around $400, and it worked great as long as I had the car.

There is a conversion kit you can buy at Walmart for about $35 that claims to convert an old system from Freon to R-134 by just changing some fittings and refilling the system with the new stuff. I have no idea how well it works, if it works at all. Of course if you live near the Mexican border you might try what #2 suggested. When I lived in FL a few years ago there was some bootleg R-12 coming into there from somewhere in the Carribean, but I heard that some of it was contaminated and would ruin your AC system. Mexican Freon might be OK though, I don't know anything about it.

[babyface00]

I have an '89 Allante. I converted it myself with a kit. However, after doing so, I learned a lot more about it from a GM engineer on our Allante club board.

The poster is correct that the molecules of R-134a are smaller than that of R-12. Consequently, it is more likely to leak, but more importantly, it is able to penetrate the hoses of an R-12 system (albeit slowly, and over time). You can use it, but you'll likely need to recharge periodically to compensate for the porosity (unless you have all the hoses replaced with materials designed for R-134a.)

The most important consideration, however, is the oil. R12 oil is not compatible with R134a. You must have the sytem completely evacuated to remove all R12 and all the residual oil. Then, new R134a compatible oil must be used.

I believe the dryer (accumulator) should be replaced as well.

On Allantes, there is a refrigerant pressure switch that monitors the status of the charge. It is sometimes more sensitive with R134a. Some Allante owners have experienced the slight inconvenience of having periodic low refrigerant messages after converting. Often, just adding a little more 134a makes these go away. Don't know if this is applicable to your Cadillac or not.

Cadillac A/C systems are typically overdesigned, so the slightly diminished capacity of R134a is typically not an issue (unless you live in Death Valley). Bigger issues would be a worn-out compressor, or missing/bent/clogged fins on the condensor.

[Darnright]

I've got a 1984 diesel van that has a converted system. It was expensive, but by the time you factor in the cost of the coolant, imho it makes sense to update the system. Although I have heard converted systems don't cool as well, I've been more than satisfied with the A/C's ability to keep the vehicle comfortable.

I'm glad I went this route, as one of the A/C lines busted a couple of months ago, and I had to totally recharge the system, yet again.

Old cars, gotta love 'em. < /sarcasm>

[epow]

Yarddog, did you do the work yourself? I have an '88 Mitsubishi pickup that has a very slow leak in the system but the old truck isn't worth spending a lot of money on. A local shade tree mechanic told me he had used the Walmart kit to convert several systems and he didn't do anything except vent the old R-12 from the system and then change over the fittings and install the R-134 and new lubricant.

The instructions on the kit say to completely evacuate the old system, but that would require a vacuum pump which I don't want to buy just for one job. I know it isn't legal to vent the R-12 into the atmosphere, but I think it's done quite a bit anyway.

[ghostrider]

A local shade tree mechanic told me he had used the Walmart kit to convert several systems and he didn't do anything except vent the old R-12 from the system and then change over the fittings and install the R-134 and new lubricant.

Those of us with redneck friends have been converting like this for years. Southern rednecks have more yankee ingenuity than most folks.

[epow]

Canada is the place to get full flush toilet bowls in case your building a new house.

I discovered a way to make the new PC toilets flush OK. Our new house had, of course, a couple of the PC toilets and neither of them would flush completely on one flush. One of them soon developed a leak around the flapper valve. I bought a repair kit at Ace hardware that replaces the flapper valve with a ring which glues onto the big hole in the bottom of the tank and a swinging arm gadget, a type of flapper, which seals the hole.

The gadget is adjustable for length of time it holds the valve open, and I found that by adjusting it to maximum amount of open time almost the entire tank will empty into the bowl. Since the new tanks hold almost as much water as the old ones, my toilets now flush as well as the old ones. I can't remember the name of the kit, but it comes in a tall green and white box.

[epow]

Those of us with redneck friends have been converting like this for years.

Well, I live in the north GA mountains, so that describes most of the people I know. After my last can of R-12 is gone next summer I think I'll let that ole boy do his Walmart conversion thing on the old sled.

That is, if it's still running by then. What I really need is a "new" old pickup.

[yarddog]

I can't remember what I did with the old refrigerant. All I did was unscrew the old fittings and put in the new ones. I then refilled using the lubricant and new refrigerant. Has worked fine so far.

I am a little nervous after reading an earlier post regarding the new stuff attacking the hoses.

[Brytani]

My husband drives (and loves) his 1992 Jeep Wrangler, when we first got the truck it used freon in it's aftermarket A/C system. The A/C was in pretty bad shape and needed replacing. We were able to purchase a retro-fit kit for the Jeep on-line for just over $200 and had it installed at a local shop for just over $150. I don't know if it was cheaper because of the Jeeps design and popularity.

We had the switch done over 2 years ago and have had no problems at all. The A/C runs very cold with the R-134 and considering we are in S. Florida it's pretty impressive.