My '93 accord has not had an AC recharge in the 8 years I've owned it, and doesn't cool much anymore. I know it still has pressure in it so shouldn't have any leaks, but I need to get it working again. Cold air isn't as important to me as just being able to dry the air. Any time I have multiple people in my car, especially after things like snowboarding, or swimming, etc where everyone is moist, it is impossible to keep the windows unfogged.

In any case I'm short on cash, and also don't want to put much $ into this car since its already got 250K miles on it. The shops want to charge over $100 per pound of r12, plus a big fee to put it in. So I've been looking into converting to r134.

Autozone was selling a kit with valves and stuff and r134 for about $25, and I found a shop that will evacuate the old stuff for $40. But after much reading, there are still some questions I couldn't find the answer to.

1. Can the '93 accord handle the conversion without replacing any parts? I heard some cars stock systems don't handle the new stuff well.
2. I've heard you have to drain the oil out of the compressor, and refill it with different oil. Is there a simple drain plug on the compressor, and is it easy, or do you have to go through a big hassle of taking the compressor off, disconnecting fittings, or stuff like that?
3. I heard that you must have the system under vaccum after being evacuated, for the refill to work right, and also because I heard things get messed up after a short time of being exposed to regular air. But if thats the case, how do you drain the oil from the compressor? Won't that let the vaccum escape, and screw things up?

Thanks.

 

http://autoacrepairs.com/134aConversion.htm

This link will help you get cool...
WheelBrokerAng

 

Most every thing is avaiable from Advance or AUTO ZONE to do the job..even the testing equipment..it you can rent with money back on the tools...

 

Its hard to say exactly how to proceed. You may waste money on a R134a conversion and still have the same underlying problem with the a/c system.

There are some simple initial tests you should do on the system. Do both fans turn on when you turn on the a/c with the engine running?

Also the clutch plate that sits to the right of the a/c compressor pulley not spin when the engine is running and the a/c is turned off? Does the clutch plate spin with the compressor when the engine is running and the a/c is turned on?

 

Don't convert, 134 is a smaller molecule and will leak where ever the r-12 leaked out.
Add some flourescent dye and oil....... find and fix the leak.
Then recharge with 'freeze-12' it is S N A P approved and will work well in the R-12 system. Also Freeze-12 is only about $10 a can on Ebay

EDIT: pull off the pressure switch connector and look for oil in the switch leads area; common problem

 

Hondadude - to revisit this old post (I'm a searchin' newbie) - is the Freeze12 "complete kit", typically available on EBay for ~$80-100, the right product to restore the cooling capacity of my just-acquired '91 Accord?

The AC has always worked (brother bought car new), but it's not very cool now that it's approaching 100 in Atlanta . . . It blows cool-ish air, so I feel it's just low on refrigerant.

Thanks -

Forrest

 

Freeze 12 is what I ended up using, and it worked fantastic. I think the whole kit with hose, 2 cans of coolant and a can of oil was only around $40 on ebay.

Instructions weren't the greatest, at first I was holding the can upright and discovered that hardly any was actually entering the system, after holding it upside down, the can got sucked into the system correctly. Monitored that little glass window and it went from bubbly and foamy before, to nice steady liquid flowing through and the AC worked great.

I heard that freeze12 "officially" states not to mix with freon that's already in there, simply for legal reasons, but that many people do and it works just fine.

I'm so glad someone pointed this out to me, saved me a lot of headache and worked great.

 

Hey thanks, that's great to hear. Any other success stories out there? Mixing with what's there seemed okay, or do "some" people just vent it?

Forrest

 

You really shouldn't vent the R12. I think that a/c shops will remove it from your system. I don't know what they will charge, but let us know.

If your a/c system lost a lot of R12, then there is likely a leak somewhere. You should repair any leaks then recharge. The o-rings are the usual source for a leak along with the compressor shaft seal.

 

I know there are a couple local shops here that will take it for free because they get a little bonus for the amount of it that they collect and dispose of properly. I'd make some calls to see if there's anywhere around there that will do that. But even the ones that don't will do it for fairly cheaply. Don't vent it. Think of the polar bears