Air Conditioner RE-Charge Kit f/ Autozone?

On my '96 the AC works, but it's not working like I think it's capable. I've done a lot of reading and checking and I think the system is a bit low on R-134a since my compressor is cycling off and on while on Max AC. The air gets cold, but not that cold.

I'm a bit hesistant to mess w/the AC as I know the can be tempermental... but I was thinking about picking up a can of the Sub Zero AC Booster that has the built in guage that shows the pressure.

Has anyone tried these? What were your results? Any recommendations to STAY away f/this?

Appreciated the constructive criticism here. Thx.

that should serve you well if you dont plan on any long-term a/c work.. otherwise i'd suggest getting the hose kit with the valve on it to use the 13 oz cans. because once you have the hose the cans are $6 rather than the 10 or 12 for the big cans with the hose and guage. really depends if you would have a long term use for it.

We tried to use those on my girlfriends Sunfire...My mechanic said it the best....my pressure reader is 300 dollars, the one on your can is about 30 cents. Needless to say her ac only worked for 3 days. Also, I don't know about Jeeps but her sunfire had to be reved above 2000 rpm to actually kick the compressor on while refilling. (we wasted 2 cans figuring that out)

Redsnake said:

On my '96 the AC works, but it's not working like I think it's capable. I've done a lot of reading and checking and I think the system is a bit low on R-134a since my compressor is cycling off and on while on Max AC. The air gets cold, but not that cold.

I'm a bit hesistant to mess w/the AC as I know the can be tempermental... but I was thinking about picking up a can of the Sub Zero AC Booster that has the built in guage that shows the pressure.

Has anyone tried these? What were your results? Any recommendations to STAY away f/this?

Appreciated the constructive criticism here. Thx.

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Put that stuff in my 2 years ago. It's still going strong and I haven't touched it since then.


Might take a look at your condenser. Mine got plugged up with weed seed while driving through a field of set-aside one time. I noticed a considerable improvement after I cleaned it out.

My AC worked last year, although not too well. This year nothing, i bought one of those cans as a last ditch "whatever it might work" type thing, and it works just like its supposed to. If I leave the fan on "3" it'll get down to 41 at the vent

Is there anyway to know for sure if your system has been switched to 134a? When I bought it the owner said it was switched but the mechanic didn't leave the adaptors on and what not just converted it and went on..Anyways it needs to be charged a bit but I was hoping for a method of telling for sure..

I refill mine with one of those cheapo big cans with the gauge about every 3 months and I've never had a problem(except the leak)

The really sad thing is I have a nice set of AC gauges but it's so much easier to slap one hose on and squeeze the trigger. One of these days I'll track down and fix the leak but I'm almost positive it's the evaporator and I don't want to take the time to fix it.

Thanks all...

I had to run by Azone yesterday to pick up a couple things and got one of those cans. I put my temp gauge in my air vent and turned the AC on high and let it get as cool as possible (sitting at idle, in near 100 degree temps) and the temp gauge registered about 51 degrees (not that cold)....

So put on my 'trusty' bottle of R-134a and the guage read at about 30 psi (low) on the bottle... so I punctured and attached to the low-side fitting. Then I unscrewed to allow refridgerant it... and I couldn't get it to take any. Then I recalled w/was posted here about reving the engine up to around 2K rpms... and when I did that it SUCKED the R-134a in like a kid sucking up a soda thru a straw on a hot afternoon... Put in about 8-10 oz and the guage was reading around 55-60psi so I know that should be good (if the gauge is correct).

This am on the way in to work w/the AC on low the thermometer dropped to 40-41 degrees and it was considerably colder/quicker to cool in the Jeepster. OF course it was shady and only about 80 degrees outside... so we'll see how she feels after sitting at my office parking lot all day and then I get in it today. I think it's helped and I'll report back later... hopefully w/no problems. Thanks all

I just used a couple cans to fix the AC in a jeep I bought (had just went out the week before)

Assuming the gauge is right you over filled it. Over 45psi and you are reducing the cooling so would have worked better with less.

Intersting thread. My A/C just stopped blowing cold a few weeks ago, I'd love to be able to recharge it cheaply. In a '91, which refrigerant do I need?

The problem w/the cheapo gauge... it was actually bouncing around all over the place when I was working. I'm going to hook up my nice set of gauges this week and see what they tell me and go f/there.

According to the charts I have, when measuring ambient air temps around the Compressor (which were near 106 degrees F) the low side pressure should be around 55psi. I could be wrong, but it seems that 45psi would be a bit on the low side still. However, I'm NO AC expert so I'm here to learn.

fubar XJ said:

Intersting thread. My A/C just stopped blowing cold a few weeks ago, I'd love to be able to recharge it cheaply. In a '91, which refrigerant do I need?

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You need R-12 which people might tell you is not available....which is a lie. There are thousands of factories that run R-12 for refridgeration. I really don't recommend the R-134a conversion kits as they do not blow nearly as cool as what your system was built for. I dont know that you can recharge it as cheaply as someone who has a 134a setup, but it can be charged.

jeepman121 said:

You need R-12 which people might tell you is not available....which is a lie. There are thousands of factories that run R-12 for refridgeration. I really don't recommend the R-134a conversion kits as they do not blow nearly as cool as what your system was built for. I dont know that you can recharge it as cheaply as someone who has a 134a setup, but it can be charged.

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So does Auto Zone or some other store sell a R-12 recharge kit, or is it a shop service only item? The last time I took a rig in for A/C service they replaced a hose they said leaked, charged the system, charged me $400, and the system "drained" and blew warm within a month. I took it back, they said that they'd have to start all over again with leak-check, replacement of whatever's bad, and re-charge. I didn't feel like forking over another $400 or so, so I lived without A/C on my occasionally driven truck.


On the XJ, I'd love to have A/C back working, but don't want to screw with the hassle and expense of a shop screwing me around again.

Can I use the Autozone kits to recharge after I replaced my a/c compressor? I had a shop recover the 134a, but I would like to have my a/c back again..They tested the system before they recovered and said it was fine...no leaks, etc,..

Do-able?

fubar XJ said:

So does Auto Zone or some other store sell a R-12 recharge kit, or is it a shop service only item? The last time I took a rig in for A/C service they replaced a hose they said leaked, charged the system, charged me $400, and the system "drained" and blew warm within a month. I took it back, they said that they'd have to start all over again with leak-check, replacement of whatever's bad, and re-charge. I didn't feel like forking over another $400 or so, so I lived without A/C on my occasionally driven truck.


On the XJ, I'd love to have A/C back working, but don't want to screw with the hassle and expense of a shop screwing me around again.

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R-12 is still around, however YOU cannot get your hands on it unless you are specifically licensed to handle it. an R-134a conversion is fine. may not be as cold as originally but your other choices are to have it charged by a qualified shop like before, or go without a/c..

copper_blue said:

Can I use the Autozone kits to recharge after I replaced my a/c compressor? I had a shop recover the 134a, but I would like to have my a/c back again..They tested the system before they recovered and said it was fine...no leaks, etc,..

Do-able?

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absolutley do-able.. find out what the full charge is for the XJ, i did it last month and cant remember. did you add oil to your new compressor already? instructons should have told you to. i'd make one of your new charge cans one with leak sealer/detector in it just for a saftey measure.