removing freon
 

i have a disabled car at home with r-12 in the ac system, there's no way to get to a repair shop, but i would like to remove the freon in the car so i can take out the engine along with the a/c compressor, how should i perform this task? any equipment that i can buy without breaking the bank?

Re: removing freon
 

You need a refrigerant recovery system to legally remove freon. Your best bet is to tow it somewhere to remove it and then tow it back.

Re: removing freon
 

Unbolt the compressor from the bracket and tie it back out of the way, that way you dont have to recharge the system when doing a swap. It makes it a little bit more difficult to maneuver around but its well worth it.


Unless you're just removing a/c all together, a few of my friends have done swaps and just cracked open a line on the compressor covered with tons of towels and let it leak out in a ventilated area until its gone, but thats up to you lol

Re: removing freon
 

^ please don't vent to the atmosphere. Take it to a shop to evacuate the lines properly. That stuff is really nasty on the ozone layer.

But, as the poster above said, you CAN do the swap with the compressor in there. If you do need to replace the compressor you can do this after you get your new motor in and drive to a shop (no need to tow).

Re: removing freon
 

x2!!! Please don't vent it to atmosphere. It doesn't matter if you put a towel over it, it's not going to capture the chlorine contained in the r12. One chlorine atom can destroy up to 100,000 ozone molecules. Read below for a little more background. I'm not making that number up.
http://www.epa.gov/ozone/science/sc_fact.html

Re: removing freon
 

Interesting. I never realized this!


Anyway, i disconnected mine to swap. (it was retrofited and r134a is legal to vent).

Honestly I wish I hadn't. Right now I can't get the system to hold a vacuum, as such charging would be useless.

Re: removing freon
 

Actually venting r134a or any refrigerant for that matter is illegal. Below is taken from the epa website. At least you'll know not to do it from now on.

It is illegal under Section 608 of the Clean Air Act to knowingly vent substitute refrigerants during any service, maintenance, repair or disposal of an appliance.

Re: removing freon
 

whoops, i thought i remember reading that they used a chemical that breaks down and becomes completely harmless when combines with oxygen. my bad.

Re: removing freon
 

well the car is going to the junkyard after i take out the engine, hence can't go to the repair shops and don't want to spend a fortune

Re: removing freon
 

Jacking up the environment = fail.
:ugh:

Re: removing freon
 

what you mean by fail? i'm asking how to do it without venting to the atmosphere, the car has major body damage just trying to salvage the engine and trans

Re: removing freon
 

This is what you just wrote ^^

How do you plan on recovering the refrigerant? If you vent it to atmosphere, it's illegal, and you're f#cking with the environment. Do the responsible thing, and take it to a garage to have it recovered. It will hardly cost a fortune. Or get the proper tools to recover yourself, which will cost a fortune. Or take it to the junkers with the A/C system intact, and they will recover it before junking it. There are three options for you. Now, it's a fail because you're being lazy or cheap and jacking the planet by doing so.

Make sense?

Re: removing freon
 

well sorry for the confusion, but please skip the profanity, anyhow i meant the car is going to the junk yard after the engine is taken out, hence i won't take the car to a repair shop to pay for a car that's getting junk. this is also the reason i asked; if there's a way to take freon out without paying a repair shop ( would rather spend the same amount of money for tools to myself) or damaging the enviroment