R12 or change to r134?

[Grizzly]

I am getting one of those lights above the buttons on the heater/ac flashing on my 92. Book says the air needs gas or servicing. My question is do I take a beating and stick with R12 (if it is even available) or get it converted?

I never thought the new gas cooled as well as the old. Had a pickup converted just to save on the cost and I never thought it cooled as well in traffic. I haven't really used the AC in the 92 all that much yet to make a judgement, too much fun putting the top down.

Any suggestions/comments?

 

[hAZcAT]

R134 doesn't do as good of a job as R12. but in the case of a convertable I think I would change over to the R134. the convert does not have the big glass rear window, so less heat gain, and a smaller inside space to cool.

 

[Randy Eads]

what is involved in the conversion?? ... and what is the probable cost??? anyone?

 

[Grizzly]

what is involved in the conversion?? ... and what is the probable cost??? anyone?

When I did the pickup, a Chev, it was only about $50 plus the gas. A couple of fittings is all I saw. Now we all know that things cost 4 times as much for a Corvette so I don't expect to get away that cheap.

 

[jsinga]

There are some drop in replacements. They have about the same cooling capacity as R-12. They are blends.

To convert to R-134a the oil MUST be changed. R-134a won't circulate the mineral oil. The system will cool fine until the oil ends up at the bottom of the system out of the compressor and it siezes up!

JS

 

[Bill75]

Stick with the R12, it's still available just a little expensive, but I think it's better in the long run than changing to R134. R134 has only 80% of the cooling ability as compared to R12. If it were me I would have someone check your system for leaks and proper operation and recharge it with R12.


BIll

 

[OLDCHEV]

Just my 2 cents.

I converted the middle of this summer to R-134. I did rent a vac. pump from Autozone, to make sure I got rid of all the R-12. Make sure you use the R-134 conversion kit, it has a compatable oil in the recharge kit that is not the normal 134 oil.

I did not really notice a big difference in cooling capacity from the old system. A black ragtop is hard to cool in Phoenix in the summer while in town! On the freeway is is great (higher pump rpm's).

 

[Vettelt193]

I am getting one of those lights above the buttons on the heater/ac flashing on my 92. Book says the air needs gas or servicing. My question is do I take a beating and stick with R12 (if it is even available) or get it converted?

I never thought the new gas cooled as well as the old. Had a pickup converted just to save on the cost and I never thought it cooled as well in traffic. I haven't really used the AC in the 92 all that much yet to make a judgement, too much fun putting the top down.

Any suggestions/comments?

what light is flashing that tells you the system is low?

I would stick with R-12. 134 ins't as good.

 

[Grizzly]

what light is flashing that tells you the system is low?

Each button on the climate control unit has light above it to tell what mode is engaged, normal, defrost, heat, etc. The light flashes for a few seconds when you start up and then stops.

 

[Craig -1965]

Grizzly,
If you check out E-Bay, you can get R-12 in 1 lb cans or 30 lb cans. The 30 Lb cans usally want to see a resale number, but the 1 lb cans can be purchased by anyone, and they are selling for a few bucks............

ps. The conversions are a pain, you need compressor, filters, evaporator, and don't forget new hoses. The molcules of R-134 are smaller than R-12 so it will leak if you use the old hoses.

 

[wilezcoyote]

Stick with R-12

Switched mine over to 134 in July. 134 just doesn't cut it in a black coupe in the South Georgia summertime. ad

 

[SR94]

If you lost you R12, you have a leak which should be repaired before you add any type of refregerant. Unless you plan to do nothing about the leak, convert to R-134 and continuously add refrigerant, your main expense will be the repair.

IMHO, Get the leak(s) fixed and stick with R-12.

 

[92BamaVette]

I recently converted my 1992 vette from R-12 over to R-134. Cost about $70.00 for the kit to convert. Vacuumed out remaining R-12, changed o-rings over to the green R-134 type seals. Install fitting adapter for R-134. Changed oil in compressor and re-charged with R-134. As far as I am concerned it cools just as well as the R-12 did. I really didn't see any dramatic difference. I looked at both options for R-12 VS R-134. R-134 was definetely the best way to go, and a whole lot cheaper. Plus if there is some leakage in the future, always easy to pick up a can of R-134 at the parts store with minimal expense and top of the system. I also have a 1980 vette that I converted to R-134. For the last 3 years I add about a can right before summer and I am good to go till the next year.