Has anyone converted from R12 on their own? How difficult and what to purchase?

 

You are going to get answers that range from "you need to replace lots of parts because the oils are incompatible" to "I bought a conversion kit from Pep Boys 20 years ago an it worked great".

I went the Pep Boys route as it was what I could afford at the time.

-Mike

 

I converted an old system to the newer system on a 1993 Silverado I bought to use on my mail route. It was simple. Drain the old stuff out, try and drain as much of the old style oil out of the compressor, put the correct amount of oil for the new style juice, do a good suck job to make sure you don't have any leaks, then juice it up with the new stuff. Be careful and do not over juice it. Better to be a little short than overfill. I did this on my 1993 Silverado, which I bought with only 35,000 miles, but 17 years old, and it cooled like a champ until I retired. I think I ran it 4 years and never had a problem.

 

Is it really as simple as getting these adapters and pumping it full of 134?

 

I have done it on a few Cars and my C4 Corvette. It is not bad provided you have some mechanical abilities and a few tools. Get ALL the needed parts ahead of time and it is much easier. Frequently you replace the "Drier" (on the A/C system) and other inexpensive components whenever you open an Operating AC system up. The R134 was cheap and the kit was cheap but after checking amazon today the price has gone down on the Swap kits.

You need to be rid of your leftover R-12 first. Most states require that you have it pumped into a machine while you are working on the system. That works out very nicely for the mechanics...

My R-12 was virtually gone and I just flushed the system and then put new parts on and then I pulled a Vacuum with my trusty Harbor Freight 2-Stage Vacuum pump. I then left it for 24 hours the first time I did it but that might have been overkill. The pressure "Held" and that is all that really mattered.

As I recall the kit had you drain the system, flush out old oil and then install the new adapters and some O-rings on the High pressure Line and the Low pressure Lines and then install the drier and whatever else you want to change then close the system up and pull the Vacuum. One the vacuum is secure and checked you can add the oil and then add the Freon. On the Freon I would suggest a small scale to weigh how much R-134 you put in.

A set of A/C Gauges are necessary to do this job (with R-134 connectors) as well as the Vacuum pump and some wrenches are all you need. I am possibly missing something so always follow the instructions on the Kit you buy to do the conversion. Once you have done it it will be simple to do again if necessary! The R-134 makes the Corvette nice and cold and that is what really matters to me...

 

Not quite THAT simple. There are a couple of other considerations -- including the current state of your system. If you do a thread search (titles only), you'll find several threads on the conversion. I even started one this past week. (Still on page 1 of this C4 Tech forum). Mine is tending to center around the merits of R12 vs R12a vs134a. In your search use "R12" and "134a".

I will add that one local (KC) mechanic cracks system to release any remaining R12, fills with ("ester"?) oil, vacuums, and charges with 134a. They claim results about 5-degree higher than prior temps -- with no longterm issues! Posts here seem to support that!

Note: Not sure about the TYPE of oil (ester?)...though you'll find it listed in threads retrievable using SEARCH. A/C systems MUST have some oil and the oil suggested for conversion is compatible with both types of freon (R12/134a). Some suggest changing the accumulator/dryer though it's not considered mandatory.

One question [in my thread] is how much refrigerant oil to add and if too much is bad. (I am looking for how much "tolerance" on fill level there may be.) No answer on that. The "trick" to this question is an owner's inability to know how much oil might have leaked out with the freon.

Anyway, the conversion connections you linked isn't what I'd considered all you need. The poster saying to expect a wide range of replies is correct. That's why I posted what my local mechanic's feedback too. I was actually surprised on how LITTLE my local mechanic does for conversion(s). That said, their reputation is providing ONLY necessary services (versus your typical "bilker-mechanic"). Sounds like they've migrated to this "less-is-more" approach with A/C systems. Some of that may be a product of how few R12 systems remain and/or how much money customers may (not) be willing to spend on them. Some of it is just their way of helping people save money.

 

I bought the Walmart one. It still blows cold after 20yrs