Cost of replacing R-12 AC to R-134 AC System

I was thinking of Changing over my 86 XJ's old R-12 warm air blowing AC system to the newer R-134 System.


Any ideas on what a shop would charge me for replacing the old R 12 with a new AC System.

I dont plan on doing it myself as I know knowing about AC's.


T.I. A.

If a shop does it, I'd guess $150 to $250.

Actually, you probably can do it yourself. Wal-Mart, Pep Boys and all those places sell kits to make the change. You'll have to go to a shop to have any remaining R-12 pulled out of the system ("evacuated"), and at the same time they can check for leaks. Then you should replace the dryer -- that's the cylindrical canister down below the compressor. Once that has been replaced, just follow the instructions on the kit to recharge with the new stuff. The kit should cost about $30 and I think I paid $65 for a new dryer.

The a/c on my '88 just went south so I'll be taking a shot at it very soon.

Forget the swap and just use the compressor as OBA. I just came across this tid bit of info and it can be done for about 100-150 bucks.

well... one benefit of XJ's over other jeeps is that we got a full cab and we can have a nice working AC inside while wheeling

There are ways to do OBA while retaining AC (had 2 links but I lost them ) so if you want to do OBA that might be a better thing to consider...

Kejtar