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My 94 XJ uses R12 and I just bought the retrofit kit...

G

Ghetto2315

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Rumson, NJ
Here is the deal... My 94 XJ's A/C is getting a tad bit warmer so I am in need of a recharge. However, I have an R12 system and I just bought a retrofit kit for $40.00. My problem is that before I use the kit and proceed to use R134a, I have to evacuate the left over R12.

I would just like to find a place that will evac the R12 for me so I can recharge my system already.... Is it illegal for places to just evac and let me go on my way? Strauss Auto quoted me at $118 for just a evac and $170 for evac and recharge using R134a both with a system and leak check!!!

Anyone else have or had this dilemma??

Who wants to come over and help me evac and dispose properly so I can relax with some cold A/C?!?!?!?
 
Ghetto2315 said:
Here is the deal... My 94 XJ's A/C is getting a tad bit warmer so I am in need of a recharge. However, I have an R12 system and I just bought a retrofit kit for $40.00. My problem is that before I use the kit and proceed to use R134a, I have to evacuate the left over R12.

I would just like to find a place that will evac the R12 for me so I can recharge my system already.... Is it illegal for places to just evac and let me go on my way? Strauss Auto quoted me at $118 for just a evac and $170 for evac and recharge using R134a both with a system and leak check!!!

Anyone else have or had this dilemma??

Who wants to come over and help me evac and dispose properly so I can relax with some cold A/C?!?!?!?
Click to expand...

No it is not illegal for them to evac it and you walk out. Seems a little high considering what it actually sells for on the open market.

Unless someone has an evac machine you'll never get it all out.
 
try to talk to one of the tech or service writer's about doing it on the side for 50 bucks
 
langer1 said:
Lots of places will do it for free just to get the r12.
Click to expand...


Huh? As in evac from my XJ and re-use it??
 
Most times if you do the retrofit, you also need to change the "dryer". There is however a replacement coolant that is 100% compatible with R12. Nothing has to change. It even has a higher efficiency. I think the one I was looking at was R412 or something of the sort. You have to watch out for the ones that have butane/propane as they can be marginally dangerous.
 
Ghetto2315 said:
Huh? As in evac from my XJ and re-use it??
Click to expand...


hell ya. It's big money since it's not produced anymore, and AOLT of junk still uses it.

I forget how much a pound it is...but it's hellacious.
 
Yep thats what I thought too can be recycled, refined and resold for profit. I would find it amazing some shops would charge you $118 and still turn a buck on the freon. I think its in the neighborhood of $70/lb conservatively, thats what the shops retail it for anyway.
 
old_man said:
Most times if you do the retrofit, you also need to change the "dryer". There is however a replacement coolant that is 100% compatible with R12. Nothing has to change. It even has a higher efficiency. I think the one I was looking at was R412 or something of the sort. You have to watch out for the ones that have butane/propane as they can be marginally dangerous.
Click to expand...
The replacement stuff is called "Freeze 12" all you do it add it to your r12 system.
 
Is that stuff any good though? My sister put it in her Volvo and it works for like a year and then it doesnt work very well anymore. It could be a problem with her A/C system though, I really dont know. Its a '92 with almost 200K on it so that wouldnt surprise me one bit.
 
If it quits working and needs a recharge there is a leak somewhere...

I got a qoute on my r-12 system at $250. That is to evac the system, then recharge it with R-12 at $60/lb, then sniffer it for leaks so they can possibly fix it, then recharge again for additional cost of R-12. Since the pressure test went from 95 LB down to 0 LB in about 5 minutes, im doubtful its just an O-ring, could just be a bad connection somewhere, who knows.

Its a gamble, could be an o-ring, could be everything. Im just going to suffer for a couple more weeks till it cools off a bit. Could be a $10 o-ring job or a $1000 replace everything job...not a gamble im willing to take!

Just out of curiosity, if i was to just replace everything and do a retrofit to the R134, what kind of money am I looking at. I would hate to put the $250 into it and find out that it is leaking everywhere...

Cory
 
I have an evacuator pump, so to convert was around $50 for a dryer, $8x3 a can for R134, about $5 for new o-rings (R-134 eats the old ones), a can of oil stabilizer to allow the R134 to work with the old oil.

The shade tree way was to open the system carefully and put stoppers in the hoses while you change the o-rings. Replace the dryer. Buy an extra can, hook it up and start filling while holding the high pressure schrader valve open, thereby purging the air. Then continue to fill using R-134. This is definately illegal, but it is how we did it years ago if you didn't have a vacuum pump.
 
Thought I would chime in here and lay down my .02...


Back in 94 when I was in refrigeration school I was poor so I took an old refrigerator compressor and 2 sweat in line taps and made my own evac machine, even made a handle to carry it with. Worked really well for quite a while till I could afford a real one. It was slow on household A/C but worked real well on vehicles.

You technically still need a way to get it into a container of some sort and since I had a recovery bottle available at school I never had to fab one but this is the idea I had:

get an empty refrigerant bottle from any A/C comany they will give them away, go to wally world or wherever and buy the air tank conversion kit and then use that to hook to the high side port of your recovery machine and guages and pump the old stuff back into a refrigerant container...

This was just an idea, I never tried it so your on your own if you do....


Again, just my .02!


JC95
 
Oh, BTW:

if you got a buddy in refrigeration and has access to refrigerant I have successfully put MP39 into several vehicles and it works fabulous...just have to watch the pressures as the 39 uses less than the 12 but has more capacity and uses propane as part of the refrigerant (most blends do I think), this would be my choice of replacement and "drops right in".

I have also recently put R416 into a 74 road runner a mechanic freind has which he is restoring, we did change all the o-rings and pump the system into a good vaccum but he says it is working just fine...


GO FORTH AND REFRIGERATE!


JC95
 
My .o2 To do it right will cost more time and money to convert than it is worth rights now. I have gone the Freeze 12 route. I just put it in. I have been using it for several years and am very pleased. Of course, I was lucky and scored several cans of R-12 for free from a farmer friend who had them laying around his barn this Spring. NOw you all have me wondering if I should sell them to finance a good conversion to R-134? A thought.
BSD
 
Everything if seen about Freeze 12 says it's better than R-134a.
I don't know if it's been said yet but R-134 is not as good as the old R12 it's just that the EPA forced it's use.
At the time the law was but into effect there was no freeze 12, I don't think the 2005 models use R-134 anyway.
 
Last edited:
The problem in the older cars with the 134a is not necessarily the 134a...


134a needs a larger condenser for the expansion of the gas; it works great going down the road traditionally, but sucks in town driving, this is where the flex fans and electric fans come into the picture...

Never used the freeze 12 but looks good, what is the cost of that as opposed to the 134a? I would be interested in just a cost per pound comparison not a full retro of either.

thanks,

JC95
 
You might consider 12a refrigerant. It is claimed to be compatible with both R-12 and 134a. It's supposedly 9.4* F colder than Freon (R-12) and 15.4* F colder than 134a. I've never tried it, but I might use it to recharge mine when it becomes necessary.
 
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