$40 for a can of Freon? I think /not/.

The 134a conversion is pretty simple, and blow's cool enough for government work, the process as follows:



A: Grab new nipples for the 134a conversion from auto part's house, install them.

B. Take note of the charge amount in Oz. sticker should be on core support, fender, or hood.

C. Get some nice thick leather gloves, and a few cans of r134a from big lots (enter your discount housewares store here) should be $6-12 a can.

D. Turn a/c on full blast, let it warm up, wait for the compressor to cycle on. Then quickly...

*E: Evacuate the R12 while recharging it simultaneously with 134a and refill until 75-80% with a gauge, or until your canister dryer is cool on both top and bottom without a gauge...


The instructions are on the back of the 134a nipple conversion package if you get lost...


Your done, easy.


* The evacuation should be pretty close to free whether you do it redneck style and just let it fly, or take it to a shop and have them do it the 'green' way. They get paid handsomely for recovered R12, so don't let them fool you... Also gotta love the fact 134a is way more toxic than R12. Ahh, politics.



As a bonus, You could have some one put a sniffer on it to make sure there aren't any leaks that could be trouble later on before you do the conversion... And you could also install a new drier, hoses, o-ring's and get fancy, but if it's kept r-12 this long, you don't have to replace anything, run it.