I am looking to getting my A/C going again in my 92 Accord, and am wondering about these retrofit kits that they claim will work on all vehicles ( http://www.id-usa.com/ ). Has anyone here done this? If so, how were the results? Is there any reason that it won't work on my car?

My car is currently at a Firestone Service Center where they want $1300 to do a retrofit, which includes replacing the compressor (they claim mandatory on these Accords, despite it's current condition). The car isn't worth that, but Texas does get hot... They said some vehicles don't require much for the retrofit, but the Accord does...

Any other creative soultions you guys have tried?

 

$1300?? Ouch. Take the car somewhere else. There are places here in Houston that do it for $400 or less. We had my friend's Civic converted for around that...

 

dude you're getting RIPPED. you can get an R134A conversion kit at good ol' auto zone for $40 and DIY. I used to do them all the time in the parking lot of my work for $10 + parts.

 

Yea, I'm leaning toward the kit myself. I just want to make sure I'm not opening myself up to problems, since someone somewhere decided it isn't a good idea to do it to 90-92 Accords. Any tips?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by gotdurt &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Yea, I'm leaning toward the kit myself. I just want to make sure I'm not opening myself up to problems, since someone somewhere decided it isn't a good idea to do it to 90-92 Accords. Any tips?</TD></TR></TABLE>

all you need to do is have certified a/c repair place to drain out all the unused R12.

install the kit and fitting, oil in the system and 134 and you are good to go.

your compressor probably won't need to be replace, 1300 is insane, consider the whole a/c package for non-a/c honda accord dx runs about 1000-1500, that's brand new, with compressor, all hardline, condensor, climate control, etc with honda's warranty and installed by certified tech.

 

Just buy the Autozone Kit. It won't be as Ice cold as the R-12 was but it will still do a good job.

 

there are alternatives to R12, there is one called ES12 that is supposed to be good.

 

if your current AC is not working, your problem is your Condensor. Like mine, it probably has a leak. Replace that and get some R12 or R134 and your golden.

 

i thought you couldn't get R12 anymore??!? (from the guy who needs an R12 recharge too)

 

R12 isn't made in the US anymore,but you can get it with a license or if you are creative...

ES12? Never heard of it, where do you get that?

 

Just an update -
Got the retro kit, put the adapters on, opened the valve, put the system would only take about a 1/3lb; compressor wouldn't cycle. Checked the fuse, relay, jumped the clutch, everything good, so it had to be a blockage (not likely), or a bad leak on the hi side before the switch. Put the gauge back on, which showed the pressure had dropped. I topped it back off and shut it down. I thought I heard hissing from the pressure switch, unplugged the wire connector, and viola! The pressure bled off within a minute! Luckily Van's had one in stock; put it on, charged it up compressor came on and now our 7 mo old kiddo has cold air... $65 total. $1300 my a$$!

Thanks to everyone for your input!



Modified by gotdurt at 6:41 PM 4/2/2005

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by iakona &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i thought you couldn't get R12 anymore??!? (from the guy who needs an R12 recharge too)</TD></TR></TABLE>

they don't sell it off the counter anymore, you can still get it fairy easy if you have a liscense but the price is getting more and more higher in comparsion to r134.

but you never know, i got two cans of r12 off kragen half year ago, i finished on for my 89 acura. the thing is like 7 buck for 6oz, great deal if you ask me.

1300 is a joke

 

dont retro fit unless you got a lot of things wrong with your a/c system. Freeze12 works great and is cheap. its completely compatible with r12 as far as i know too.

i had a blown compresosr and bad expansion valve...so i retrofitted. I pulled every single line in the car, cleaned them and repalced the o-rings, and used a selant paste on them as well. i put a new parallel flow condenser in, new receiver and rebuild compressor, new expansion valve, and had 2 custom lines made. it gets to 45 degrees on the r134. My wifes 99 lude with factory r134 gets to 42 degrees so i think i did it right

 

1. The ac units on the pre 98 accords have very little reserve cooling capacity (I have a '94 accord with r134a) and I would not recommend retrofitting if you can make the following repairs:

1. replace all hoses with barrier hoses (this will precent the R-12 from excaping through the hoses over time).
2. replace all of the o-rings with the newer type that can handle R-134a (in case you want to change it over).
3. Replace acumulator/dryer.
4. pressure test system for leaks (IE put on a vaccume pump for 12 hours).
5. Fill with proper amount of R12.

If you are going to fill it with R-134a you will need to:

1. Take the compressor off and drain all of the oil out of it
2. Chemically flush the compressor to remove all traces of the R-12 based oil refill with proper pag oil suitable for use with r-134a. (I'd just buy a new compressor that will work with R-134a)
3. Chemically flush the rest of the system to remove any traces of R-12 and compressor oil
4. replace the Acumulator/Dryer with one that is suitable for use with R-134a
5. replace all o-rings with ones compatable with r-134a
6. pressure test reassembled system by holding it on a vaccume for at least 12hrs
7. refill with the proper amount of r-134a

Although most ac parts can handle the higher pressures used by r34a, some older parts may fail.

R134a is a weak coolant and require a higher working pressure to get the same colling effect as R-12 and it's reserve cooling capacaty really sucks.