Title says it, I bought the kit, now what?

 

How much did the kit run you and where did you get it. My a/c isn't holding freon too well and I would like to get some of the work done myself insted of taking it to a shop. Sorry I can help.

 

My system isn't holding freon either. =(

I got my kit from autozone. The kit was about $35. Then I bought an extra can of r134a stop leak for about $5.

 

Let me know if that stop leak stuff helps.. I might try it.

 

At a minimum, you must remove the oil in the compressor and flush the sytem. Replace the o-rings with new ones that are compatible with the new coolant. Replace the dryer unit. Have the system vacuum tested and evacuated, then fill with the new coolant. If you do not do this stuff, you are wasting your money. The old oil is not compatible with the new fluid, the o-rings are already bad enough that your R-12 leaked out somewhere anyway and will further leak in the future. Dryers must be changed to a new one for R-134a.

I did a 1985 conversion and it worked about 4 hours before leaking down. I thought I needed to add a little more and it blew out due to the excess pressure.

It's up to you. R-12 is not any more expensive to have done here than R-134a. I had an Acura Legend recharged and it would have cost me $150 either way with two pounds of refrigerant at Jiffy Lube. They did a vacuum test, pressure test, evacuated the system and filled it up. It is still holding right now and it has been about a year.

Tim

 

Tim is right on the money. I did 2 conversions last year and what he's describing is right. Except that on some cases you don't have to change out the dryer/accumulator(the little bottle w/ sight glass near your evaporator). But it only cost $30-$50 so you might as well do it.

 

You guys should try this stuff called HOT SHOT. Its compatable with R-12 and Its not as expensive...But fix your leaks first....

 

Thanks for all the help guys.

 

If your replacing the drier, hope
that you have the dealer installed a/c . That drier costs $75.
The factory installed drier which looks identical costs $150.
One's a Mana, ones a Denso, but can't
recall which is which.

 

The Denso is the expensive one. I just had my dealer convert my car to R-134a. They charged me $125 bucks to do the conversion parts and labor. Unfortunately my compressor is bad. The new one (mine is a MANA) is $399. Supposed to be in today. I got lucky, at first they thought I had the Denso system and the compressor for it is $1150!!! Anyway, I did the change because here in Florida its about $175 bucks to recharge with R-12 and about $65 to recharge with R-134a.

Shawn

 

Thanks for the info guys.

Is that difficult?

I think I'm gonna call around and see what kind fo prices people give me. I'm kinda scared of freon anyway.

 

I've done several R134a conversions. I did my B2000 truck, my VW Cabrio, and an older Chevy. First of all, yes, if you have a leak, you are just pissing away your money. On both of my cars I did, I was either replacing a bad compressor or fixing damage from an animal strike. Regardless, anytime you open the system up, you have to replace the receiver/drier. As for getting the old oil out of the compressor, unless you have the equipment, I would just take the compressor off, and turn it over by hand to evacuate all the old oil out.....this takes a LOT of time, by the way! My new compressor I got from O'Reilly's had a sticker on it that said it was compatable with either R12 or R134a, but you had to get all the "shipping" oil out of it. I don't know about the rest of the world, but around here, you can buy R134a at anyplace, while R12 is as hard to get as cocaine, and about as expensive! $30 a pound on the street. And the a/c shops just RAPE you these days....when I took my Audi in to have it's problems diagnosed, two different shops quoted a $800 price to fix it......without even knowing what the problem was!
I have a friend that services farm vehicles' a/c, so he has helped me out a lot on learning about a/c systems....it is NOT an easy, run-of-the-mill deal.......

 

so what options does a poor college student have if he wants a/c (I currently don't have any.)?

 

HOLY ****!! The local dealership wants ~$450 to do the conversion, that doesn't include finding and repairing my leak. So, it looks like I'll be doing it my self. Is this gonna be a hard job? I can't find the a/c system in the service manual either. Can someone point me too it?

 

The dealer converted mine back in August and it has already leaked out. The problem was a leaking valve at where you put it in so check yours. I'm gonna have to take it back.

 

The basic conversion is very simple. Just get the kit from Wally World or an automotive parts store. You will get new adapters to install on the ports of the a/c lines.
USE THE LOW PRESSURE SIDE!!!!! It is always the bigger hose. When you look at the system, you will see two lines, the high pressure side is smaller diameter than the low pressure (or vacuum) side.
If you are not concerned with changing the oil in the compressor (and there is debate about whether this IS necessary) then you simply discharge the old R12....uh, I mean OF COURSE you get a friend with a recovery system to evacuate your old R12 and then you put the new adapter on the low pressure line, and then using the kit you hook up a can of R134a and will put that into the system. Then you can start the car, turn on the a/c (if the compressor doesn't come on, it is because the low pressure cut-off is engaged, which just means you need to add another can of R134a) anyways you just add refrigerant until the sight glass on your receiver/dryer runs clear.

This is a VERY basic way to do it.....you can buy the manifold with the gauges to monitor exactly what is going on with the system if you are so inclined.

By the way, the ports are on the lines that run alongside the passenger side of the car, they have little black screw-on caps.

 

Would it be ok to trust a regualr shop to do this a/c work, or am I still better off gogin tot he dealer.

How do I evecuate system?

 

BTW, just to let you know, changing to R-134a will reduce the power of your a/c quite a bit. Just something to consider.

 

It will be expensive regardless where you take it, but most of the a/c shops around will probably charge quite a bit less than the dealership, simply because their shop rate is lower than the $65 per hour that the dealer charges, for labor.

The good thing about taking it somewhere rather than doing it yourself, is that you have someone to fall back on if it doesn't work, meaning most shops will stand by their work, and keep working on it until they get it right.
An individual is just fucked if he makes a mistake......

To totally and completely evacutate the system, you need the recovery equipment, and then you need to put the system under vacuum for about an hour or so minimum to make sure there are no leaks. Without the equipment, the only way to evacuate the system is to remove the valve core (it is just like a tire valve core, usually) in the filler port on the low, then high pressure side. Wear safety glasses!

 

Anyone know how to check the A/C compressor (bypass relay)? I know my system is low on freon, but I want to check the comp. first b4 I waste $$ on charging the system.