I'm going to recharge the A/C in my 86 GXL NA 5spd...

I was wondering what tips you all had for charging the AC system or what I should do...

Do I need a retrofit kit or not? Any good writeups on how to do this properly?

Thanks,

Brett

 

This seems to pop up pretty regularly.
See this from archive

https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showth...ighlight=vegas

If you are going to do a R134 conversion that lasts more than 3 months you must:
**PURGE ALL OLD OIL FRM THE SYSTEM**
*Put in a new drier
*Put in R134 compatible oil.
Good luck!

 

Hey VertinVegas...What are your thoughts on Freeze 12?

Rat

 

Yeah, I've read a little about Freeze 12, but don't really know much about it. Isn't it supposed to be a straight replacement for R-12, but it's cheaper because it's not bad for the environment.

 

i have used freeze12 for 2 years now. Can't tell the difference between it an R12. Good stuff. Cools much better than any R134 equipped a/c I have owned. You don't need to change or purge anything.

 

Here is what I know...Its supposed to be a "drop in" replacement for R12. However Federal law says that you have to evacuate all the R12 before you use Freeze 12 since it makes R12 recovery difficult (you have to have a dedicated machine for R12, nothing else can go into it). You have to have a license to purchase Freeze 12, and it costs approx $5.00 a can.

Rat

 

I think it cools better than R134.
You aren't "supposed" to mix with R12, but you can.
I think it is flammable, that may be a concern.

 

SO mixing it doesnt pose a problem?

 

I think freeze 12 is butane or propane based just like glacier-cold...

what i'm worried about is the highly compressed highly flammable hydrocarbon in the system. if it were to have a leak and ignite, the explosion and fire would make a pulsation dampener fire look like a a match stick.

 

NO problem mechanically.
Only a suggested procedure.

 

Also, my only concern.
A lot of people use it, and I have never heard of a problem.

 

just try to find R12, it is probably almost the same price as the whole retrofit job.

i wonder if it were possible to adapt another car's AC system for the FC... for example a smashed up civic or other new car that already uses the R134 system.

 

My concern with sticking with R12 is the fact that I haven't had this FC on the road in a couple years and the AC hasn't worked in as long...

So if I charge it with the expensive stuff I'm afraid it'll leak out..

 

I hear people say that R134a doesn't cool as well as R12 all the time. From my experience though, all the cars I have retro'ed to R134a have cooled to the exact same specified temperatures as they did with the R12.

My 88 T2 is no exception. I retrofitted it with 134a, 2 years ago and it still gets me nice an cool in minutes even down here in Florida in July. The same as it did with the R12 before it sprung a leak and forced me to switch it over.

Definetely have the system professionally evacuated. From there, like 'Vert in Vegas said, fully flush the old oil from the system, and replace the dryer before adding the new oil and R134a. EDIT: Oh yah, definetly replace them O-rings! Regardless of weather R134a truly attacks the old O-rings or not, they dry out, crack, and leak either way. So since you have the system open anyways its dumb not to replace all of them with the new blue ones.

I really feel that a lot of the people who have truly seen poor results from R134a did not have the system properly retrofitted, OR had something else wrong with the system (bad compressor, expansion valve, etc ) that needed to be corrected along with the retrofit.

Good Luck with the retrofit...

 

Tron,
before they pump the stuff back in, they will pressure test the AC system and find any and all leaks before they refill the system.