OK Gang-
I bought a 1992 EX Coupe with 153K on it. It was a one-owner from California, and the guy moved here in Mass 4 yours ago. He "had" the AC converted and charged with R134 by his normal shop(I got a million receipts with the car) on June 14th. The price was somewhere near $125.

I bought the car end of July, and he clained AC quit just days before I looked at it.

I just heard from my shop- as these rainy mornings were killing me not being able to keep the W/S from fogging. Anyway- they said the High side fitting(or switch) was changed, but not the low side. None of the O-rings were changed, nor was the receiver drier. They are 99% sure that the shop just added R134 to the already existing R12 that was in there.

Before I have them go any further- I want them to tell me what is in there for a charge. Obviously if nothing- then I have a leak somewhere and I call it a day(for now). If no leak- I can have them do the full conversion of O-Rings, Low side, receiver drier and desicant bag. Oh- they want between $330 and $350 for all that including the machine and refridgerant.

And then he went on to say that even though there may not be a leak- my compressor might still be junk from having R12 and R134 mixed.

What say You All????

Thanks,
Chris

 

Pull the compressor, who needs a/c!!!

 

if the compressor is still operating properly then it is okay all you got to do is change the fittings/drier/expansion valve and flush the system

 

OK-
The shop told me there was no charge left in the unit at all. So I think I can play a little bit here.

I got a guy at work who charges his with 134 each spring, and has his guages. If I buy the kit from WallyWorld or whereever- he will help me.

He said get the kit with glasses and leak detector built into the R134. I saw a kit over the weekend that also had a SEALER- is this a good idea???? What else gets blocked with this Sealer

Also- where is the receiver/drier or the Expansion valve that was mentioned inlast post. I think at this point I should just change it- only $50 bux.

Thanks
Chris

 

In the beginning, techs were told to basically change the whole system, if they were to do a R134A conversion. Now, it's down to leak testing the system, evacuating the old refrigerant and pulling a vacuum; and then adding 8 ounces of conversion oil and the refrigerant. That's it! No new seals, unless they are leaking, and no new receiver-dryer, unless the system had a huge leak.

In your case, it sounds like your condensor has a slow leak (like every other 4th generation Accord ever made). You can either pull vacuum/add oil/add R134A and enjoy the cold air until it leaks out again in a year or two. Or you can replace the condensor and be leak-free. In either case, be sure to use the conversion oil; it makes all of the difference in the world because it keeps the old system oil from converting to an acid (and eating your internals).

 

Go to this site. There are other forum selections, one is specifically for conversions, thats the one you will need to go over. I rebuilt my R134a 1994 system completely using only the original Evap and hoses for $650 total. The conversion for an earlier R12 car is very simple and is explained on that site.

http://ackits.com/forum/categories.cfm?catid=2

 

One hot summer day, I turned on the AC while on the highway doing about 90 (high RPMs). This was after not using AC for 6 months. Lo and behold, smoke started coming out from under the hood, that eventually turned into terrible loud grinding. What happened is, the AC compressor apparently didn't like the sudden high RPMs after 6 months of inactivity, and seized up. Somehow this ruined the pulley that powers it, and ended up causing it to emit the smoke and grinding noises. I suppose the pulley bearing overheated, causing grease to evaporate as smoke, and then started grinding the metal down.

Solution? Get a shorter belt and bypass the AC compressor. One day when I don't see red looking at that damn compressor I'll take it out and see if maybe by some stroke of luck only the clutch and pulley are bad.

Anyway it's not so bad without AC. Open windows usually take care of the fogging up problem, and what's a little water here and there

 

Thanks Hondaman-

I will check it out. Just when you think you are learning a few things- you start learning more...

Chris

 

Hey accorian-

This was a helluva weekend to be without AC up here eh!

Saturday morning- I took out my Pathfinder cause it HAS working AC.

 

i had the same problem but all i needed to get was the refill kit and it worked perfect but it had a leak ... but the cans said that it would seal it wicth it did ... and now the a/c is working fine ...... it says that it should last up to 5 years .....