Convert your automotive air conditioner from R-12 to R-134 Refrigerant.
Posted: Friday, August 26, 2005
by Cooper
Red Hill Supply - Online Air Tools
If you have an older car it may have R12 refrigerant in the air conditioner system. You can still buy R12, but it is very expensive. If you are ready to convert your system to R134, here is a brief explanation of the procedure with a few insider tips to help you. To begin you will need a conversion kit with all the necessary materials. It will include: 2 new adapter fittings, 2 -3 cans of R-134, and a hose with adapter. Once you have all the materials, you can begin the process.
Now that the adapter valves are connected, it is time to start the car and put the air conditioner on high. Turn the blower fan to its highest setting as well and open the windows. Grab a can of R134 and hook up the hose and T valve that came with your kit. With the hose hooked up to the can begin to twist the T valve until it punctures the can. Then open the valve to let some freon out and purge the air in the line. Turn the can upside down and hook it up to the low side adapter valve. Now slowly open the valve and let the Freon flow into the system.
At this point the compressor will begin to cycle on and off. Don’t panic, this is normal. Keep adding Freon until the system begins to cool. You can feel the low pressure line begin to get cool and condensation will accumulate on it. (Do not grab the high pressure line. It can burn you.) You probably will not need all 3 cans and be careful not to overfill the system. If the air conditioner is still not cooling after the second can, something is wrong. You may have a leak in the system or some other difficulty. Do not be tempted to keep pumping Freon in the lines. If the low side line is cold and dripping with moisture you are done. If you have a air conditioning manifold gauge set, the low side should have a pressure of 40 – 50 psi. Good luck and stay cool!
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More commentsThis is one of the most amazingly uninformative blogs I have ever read. I especially liked the post on how Obama caused the A/C problems. After over 40 years working on A/C's I can honestly say that most of all this is wrong. The thing one should have most concern about, however, is that some of these answers are coming from your local A/C techs. My answer to the problem is, take your car to a dealer or instead read a book, certify yourself and do it yourself. You will need to shell out some cash for tools and equipment to do the job properly but you can use them for your lifetime. Taking advise here will certainly leave you either more broke with more problems or physically maimed in the process. Get started on the right track at epatest.com.
Yeah..I just open the window and step on the gas. Instant cool.
this is very helpful not everyone has the cash to get certified and there are some pple that would rather just do it themselves. we appreciate the men and women that post these helpful hints on how to do these types of jobs and for those of u that just want to talk shtuff on here. GET A LIFE!!!!!! some pple do have enough money to drive fancy cars. so be it, not a problem i love my 1990 f250. its pd for, if u only want to critisize in the comment box why do u even get on here. quit wasting other ppls time we read the comment boxes to see what works for u nd what didnt, not to read ur lame comments.
extremly helpful I was going to be charged $250.00+ to get this done all I had to do was go to my local D.I.Y. auto store and borrow a recovery machine. I bought the conversion kit and the freon and all together cost me about $75.00 with the down payment for the machine thanks a bunch especally for the tip about the recovery machine
If you follow this advice you will ruin the compressor in short order! R12 uses mineral oil and r134 uses a synthetic oil. The only way to do this conversion is to remove the compressor, drain all the mineral oil, you also need to replace the receiver-drier as it will have mineral oil in it and can't be cleaned out. now that the compressor and receiver-drier off spray brake clean cleaner in the evaporator and condenser tubing to clean out the oil, finish by spray compressed air th rough it to dry it. Now add a new receiver-drier add several ounces of PAG oil, add proper amount of oil to compressor, evacuate system and add the proper r134.If you follow this guys instruction here is what happens: the oils will pool and not migrate properly then turn black and ruin the system. The experts call this "Black Death" it's a shame so many so0many so-called experts post misleading posts like this. .I
Yes, very helpful indeed.
it does ruin the compressor ,it happen to si i use the 409 for r 12 it works good but make sure the are proper because its high pressure gas
This is very bad advice:
First, there are no conditions set. Example: "If you have an old car and the AC doesn't work, And you want to convert it..." Lots of cars in this category.
If this were the case, and you didn't want to pollute the environment, you would want to have a professional shop leak check the system and restore it before pumping more refrigerant into the atmosphere.
There could be moisture in the system, there could be a lack of sufficient refrigeration oil in the system, a myriad of other problems that people who put food on the table doing this kind of work can find and fix. They use dye to find leaks, vacuum pumps to evacuate and dehydrate systems, they use manifold gages to check pressures so they don't blow out your system from overcharging.
They go to school for this and there is more to it than an auto store charge kit.
HVAC is not in the same league as "how to fix a flat on your bicycle"...which by the way, would confuse most people today.
47 ford conv. converted from ri2 to r134 new ac compressor. new at the charge please e mail info to me . had r12 in system all gone.
I bought a 1986 Mercury Grand Marque back in 2005 and all the Freon had leaked out so I just converted it over to the new stuff. It did NOT ruin my compressor. I developed a leak in 2010 that I could not find and it was costing me too much in repair and Freon so I just old the car.
It is likely that a car that is 20 years old does not have much oil left in the system, so which is cheaper, up R134 and hope it does not ruin the compressor, or take it to a shop to replace the dyer and drain the system and will charge you the cost of the compressor to begin with?
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