funkgab

R134a.. i heard only bad things.. but its turning into summer soon here in cali, and my ac doesn't want to blow cold anymore :/ nobody has any r-12, and i can't even find freeze 12 anywhere.. what are my options?

edcarls

Looks like 134a conversion is your best option. It's better than no cold air at all.

ocpanther

I converted to R134 in my 89 300 a couple of years ago, and aside from not fixing the original leak first time around I have had no issues with it. The auto climate control works and lowers the blower motor speed when it reaches temp and usually cools off the car pretty well (my windows are tinted pretty dark though). I will say, do it the right way and replace the dryer and seals and vacuum it down for the 24 hours if you do switch cuz you can grenade the compressor if you run it the wrong way (as my poor brother inlaw did)

neanderthal

Tinting the windows makes a huge difference.

spetz

I have R134 (the car came with it) and I got it filled up the other week and it is COLD!

pifcat2

Keep looking, some shops perfer to convert (so they can get more business from you) but there are others that will find some R12. You can find it on Craigslist but you need a permit to buy it. R12 is more efficient in the older cars and should last longer in your system than the cheaper 134a. The good thing about 134a if the conversion was done properly is you can buy DIY refill kits. There are DIY conversion kits but I wouldn't risk damaging the system or handling the oil/gas.

ps2cho

Stick with r-12 Hands down. Keep calling shops until someone has a source.
I 'hear' you can take an open book online test in a few hours for $15 for the permit.

funkgab

i did find a couple people selling some r12 on craigs, and i went to my friends shop today.. he did give me a couple cans of this "johnsen's Freeze12" it says its an replacement for r12.. i looked it up but i hear its not as good as r12.. but he recommended that if i do want to keep going r12, i evacuate the whole system then refill it rather than just adding in more.. so i found the freon.. but the evacuation machine is necessary if i want to refill the r12 than right?

also ps2cho im in socal, so if you do know any shops shoot me a pm

edcarls

If you are willing to use Freeze12 as substitute to R12, which is not as good, why not just convert to 134a? I think, the extra cost of maintaining/servicing R12 system and difficulty of locating shops to work on it, does not justify R12's few degrees advantage over 134a.

Kestas

Agreed. Freeze 12 is 80% R-134a and 20% HCFC-142b. So you're basically using r134 with Freeze 12 in the system. The HCFC-142b is added simply to carry the mineral oil through the system for those that don't want to do a proper conversion. For starters, a proper conversion would flush out the old lubricant and use a r134-compatible lubricant.