I need to recharge my a/c system and am strongly considering changing to 134a. I know there are cheap retrofit kits available and from searching other posts a few have used them. But aren't the oils in r-12 and r-134 incompatible? I thought you needed to evacuate out all the r-12, replace the receiver/drier with a 134 compatible version and then recharge with 134.

I would be interested in hearing everyone's experiences as I plan to do this within a couple weeks. Those that didn't replace the receiver/drier have any problems? Thanks.

 

well for sure you need to evacuate all the r-12 out, then the kit comes with new oil and refrigerent.

But about changing out other parts, I don't know. Shops have told me you have to change out this and this and this, blah blah blah. Mazda wanted to charge me over $400 just to do the retrofit.

But then again, I work at autozone and my bosses and other guys that I've talked to at other stores have all told me I don't have to change anything out, just get the old stuff evacuated and dump the new stuff in.
All the guys I tlak to just did it like that and it has been working fine. Granted none of them drive FDs, but I would assume the a/c systems are pretty muhc the same form car to car, even an FDs.

 

Try this:

http://www.refimax.com/products/fr12.htm

 

but what place is gonna carry it since it takes a whole other licence.

 

man o man this is cool. i work at an autozone too, and i own an FD. its cool. i get so many people asking what the hell it is then the occasional idiot. is that a miata!!!!! what dumbasses. after they say that i tell them that they get the back of the line, and not to argue or they can go to kragens and pay more. nice to know that we cant get anything for our cars there. first time i hit the computers after i got the car i noticed that i couldnt get ****. then realized that i didnt want autozone crap on my car. okay, back to the story. just bleed the system to the atmosphere(yes its illegal) and pump in the new stuff. properly it should be sucked down, but when i got my new motor put in they decided not to refill it(flippin mazda). what good are they for.
kris

 

Make the change. There is no difference in the systems on our cars that used the R-12 compared to the R-134. I live in the Dallas area also and that is what RP told me. They put on the new fittings so the new R-134 can be put in. Just evacuate the old stuff first. I can not tell the difference. The system runs very cold. It will also save you a lot of money.

 

how do you evacuate the system by yourself?

 

I've done several conversions, but I always change the receiver/dryer....just for good measure. Usually they are fairly inexpensive, about $40, so why not? As for the rest, just follow the instructions. The deal is....most people have no reason to just change refrigerants....and if you have a leak, you are just pouring money down the drain. This is where the benefit of the a/c shop comes in, or you can do the same thing with a vacuum pump. The system needs to show that it can hold vacuum ( and thus pressure). Most shops will run your system down and then hold vacuum for at least 2 - 4 hours, to make sure you have no leaks.
I had retrofitted my B2000 pickup several years ago after hitting a dog and wiping out my condenser. But I developed a leak late last year, I just fixed it by first buying some of the dye that flouresces under black light and then replacing the bad hose. Saved myself at least $400 bucks!

 

Thanks for your comments guys. I guess I will go ahead and replace the drier and evacuate the system. I have manifold gauges so checking the vac and charging the system will be no problem.