My car 1991 Honda accord is leaking freon, what is the best way to find the leak without refilling it with freon. How much will it cost to find the leak.

 

Anyone, I don't think that it has ever been recharged. I did what the manual said, it told me to jump two wired and the compressor kicked on, it says that if it kicks on when you do that that it is low on freon.

 

You have to take it to a shop. R-12 is not available. The only reliable way to find small leaks is to charge the system with dye/refrigerant mix. Which will only be available for your system at an a/c place.

 

Like chikin said, you'll have to recharge it to find the leak. Most freon recharge kits come with sealant in the can, so you can try that, but you'll have to COMPLETELY evacuate the R-12 before adding any R-134a. If it's a serious leak, you may end up losing alot of new freon in the process of looking for the leak. I would take it to the shop. (I know, I hate taking my '90 LX in, too.)

 

If you add R134a to an R12 system you will destroy the compressor. They use a different type of compressor oil and the two refrigerants ARE NOT compatible.

If you want to do it yourself you must retrofit the entire system to R134a. Not to mention that deliberately discharging refrigerant into the atmosphere is very illegal/irresponsible. Especially R12.

 

I took mine to a shop and it turned out that one of the valves was the culprit. Cost me about $140 including freon. Could also be your compressor or clutch. Good luck.

 

I use nitrogen and soapy water.

 

You can still buy R12 on eBay. You need to have an EPA 609 certificate which you can get easily by taking an online test.