My car is supposed to use R-12 refrigerant, but my brother who is currently studing HVAC told me it's now banned and you need a liceanse to buy it. So, apparently im supposed to use R-134a?

Is there a process im supposed to do to do this?

 

To do it right you will have to convert your system by changing the orings, receiver dryer and oil in the compressor.

 

most places sell kits to convert everything over, but still make sure you check the system for leaks and replace all the mentioned parts

 

alright, thanks

 

you are not gonna be happy with R134a in the system if you live somewhere extremly hot. i would like the others have suggested, replace/repair leaking parts but instead recharge with R12

There is a reason that the a/c unit is larger in the 96-97 accords compared to the 94/95 models that use R134a (they have systems orginally designed for r12 and have very poor cooling performace)

in my 94 the charge had to be within 2 oz otherwise you did not get as much cold air and it was noticable on very hot days.

r134a does not have the reserve capacity that R12 does
r134a pound for pound only offers 90% of the cooling ability of R12
r134a is very sensitive to charge levels

 

r134a is also at least a quarter of the price, if you can even come across r12

 

But don't you need a liceanse to buy a R12 now days?

 

I have an idea... You can use freeze 12 which is cheaper than r134 and it will work alot better

 

Yes you are supposed to have EPA cert 609 to buy and use R-12 refrigerant.
Here is a link to the EPA snap list. PDF file

http://www.epa.gov/ozone/snap/...4.pdf

 

Hmm, my brother becomes gets certified as 608 this week and says he can take the next test right after to become certified 609. So I maybe able to get R-12 sometime soon.

 

You do realize how much R12 is going to cost right? As far as I know R12 isn't manufactured anymore and hasn't been since the EPA found out what it was doing to the atmosphere.

Also, Yeu is right. A R12 system charged with R134a does not perform very well at all. In order to properly use R134a in a R12 system you need to convert a few things, such as the fittings, oil, and usually the reciever/dryer or accumulator. Also, on some vehicles they require the replacement of the condensor also.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RHD_BB4T &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You can use freeze 12 which is cheaper than r134 and it will work alot better</TD></TR></TABLE>

Totally agree with RHD. I used Freeze 12 to replace the Freon that was initially in my '66 T-Bird, and it worked as advertised. Here's a link to a site that explains the advantages of using Freeze 12 over R-134 and Freon:

http://autorefrigerants.com/co00030.htm

It cools much better than R-134, and is less expensive and readily available (unlike R-12).