my 72 has a non factory ac system. It works some what, but not enough charge to be effective. But it still has some charge. Is there any thing compatible i can add to the old r-12? Can i convert it to 134a? If so what must be done?? I want my ac!! So any pointers to get it working?? later!!! chris
chris, what compressor do you have and did the A/C ever work correctly? i have the ...late model compressor w/stock controls. got a pic? Earl, has an aftermarket setup and it works great. ... ...
I'm also intersted it this. My 77 has factory air on it (R-12) and still has some charge in the lines just not enough to make the A/C cold.
I will have to look when I get home but I just day before yesterday seen a kit that does the conversion. Don't have to change compressor or anything but I cannot for the life of me remember where I seen the kit advertised. I thought it was a magazine I got at home but maybe it was a sales flier..I can't remember but when I find it I will share
R134 is not compatible with the mineral oil in the stock system and doesn't play well with the stock seals. Unless your system requires repairs such as a new compressor etc... Your might be better off with a drop in replacement. I would contact a local automotive AC service facility as they will be able to evacuate the system and check for leaks prior to refilling the system. I am sure some of the AC specialists will also respond soon and speak to some of the replacement refrigerants as some are good and some are bad.
...subject related... my trans man was telling me a story yesterday about an ...aftermarket A/C unit. he had a car come in on a rollback with a bad transmittion. when he pulled it out and took it apart it was full of water. after doing some checking he found the hole for the drain hose to the A/C was drilled through the floorpan into the top of the transmittion. note to self...go check the drain hose on A/C. ... ...
This is the kit I was looking at but I think I seen it in the local sales paper for True Value Hardware or something. None the less it is pretty much the same kit http://www.jcwhitney.com/webapp/wcs...D=231000000&productId=2005488&catalogId=10101
here's the kit I was referring to.. I knew it was in the sportsmansguide magazine http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=272824
You can still get R-12, so if your system has a marginal charge in it, just go to an a/c shop and have them recharge it. Its alot cheaper than a entirly new system, and will probably work better.
my A/C guy...pulled a 45 min. vac. on my system and charged it up for $40 i looked at the kit...don't understand how you can put the 134a in without taking the R12 out ...chilling in Ga. ...
I agree Frank. I would think to do a proper conversion one would have to evacuate the oil from the system and replace it with a compatible oil as well as replace the o rings and seals with compatible ones. It may work for a while without doing so but for how long and at what cost.
To do a "proper" conversion, you have to pull the compressor and flush it, might as well rebuild it if its the york, or if its a aftermarket like a sanden, just replace it, then replace all the soft lines with nylon barrier hose, replace the filter drier and expansion valve wit r-134a pieces, and flush every thing else. Put it all together, putting in the correct amount of either ester oil or pag (if it will work with the compressor). Then pull a vac. on the system to evacuate the air and moisture. Charge it up , and if it was originally an r-12 system, still not going to have great cooling because the old condenser doesn't have enough area, unless you changed that out with a bigger one. That's a lot of expense, but most of it is not needed. For instance, the hose will not leak r-134a if it was used with r-12 before because the mineral oil soaks into the "holes" in the rubber and seals it, this applys to o-rings too. If you can get most of the old oil out of the system, you can charge it up with a new oil, no problems at all. The mineral oil will collect in the condenser, drier, and evaporator and just sit there, no harm done. Since by this point, the system has been evacuated, charge it up and it will work. Without a recalibrated expansion valve, it will run the evaporator about 5* warmer than normal, which can mean 5-10* higher at the vent. It is even possible, although not recomended, and illegal, to charge an r-12 system with r-134a straight, as long as 20-25% of the charge remains r-12, to circulate the oil. But if your running R-12 right now, do you really need to convert? It sounds like you will need a pound at most to top off the system and get it blowing cold again, and a converted system will never work as well unless you do some major work to it, and your compressor life will be shorter (and it will take more hp to run) because r-134a runs with higher head pressures. There was a big scare in '95-'96 about how much r-12 was going to cost after they stoped making it, and everyone started pushing conversions. Today, you can still buy if for about $19 a pound bulk, and while thats almost 3 times more than r-134a, when your system only takes 2.5 pounds total, it hardly makes sense to change it with something that won't work as well. Just my $0.02
Listen to this last reply. It's exactly correct. To help the cooling a bit without replacing the condenser, put an electric fan in front of the condesnser to add cooling in place of a larger unit. My 02 F150 is R134 and has a condenser larger than the cooling radiator in order to get sufficient area. The A/C load on the motor is hardly noticable on or off. That's how good they work now.
Hi guys, I got a question for you. Does anybody know about a gasket set o repair kit for the old style (two pistons) York A/C compressor? If so, please let me know. That's urgent for me because we expect this summer temperatures around 120 degrees here at Mexicali, Mexico!!Thanks.
