Re charging A/C

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superdave

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Location
Ponoka,Alberta
I am doing an engine swap ind need to remove the air conditioning to do so.
I will have a shop empty the system,but when I go to recharge the system will the new style freon work with my old system?
I understand the old freon is not available anymore.
thanks!
dave
 
R12 is still available. Your local A/C guy who will evacuate your system should have it. My local dealer has a big 30 pound bottle of the stuff sitting in parts and 30 pounds will go a looong way.
 
If there's R12 in your system, have the shop that takes it out put it back in when you're done with the engine swap. I've had that done locally. They suck it into a tank on their machine & then when you bring the car back they pull a vacuum on the system & put it back in for you. Little family run shop here charged me $20 to take it out & $20 to put it back.

If you can find a set of R12 gauges it might be possible to isolate the compressor from the system & remove it then just move the lines out of the way to pull the engine. That's what I finally did for my DD. My shop manual tells how to do it but my DD is an AMC.

If you do open up the system I'd advise replacing the receiver-drier. You'll be happier because the AC will probably work better. Or, maybe not. Don't know how warm it really gets where you live. :-D
 
You can still get R-12 but it`s very expensive, about 30-40 dollars per pound here in Va.. If the people evacuating the system do not isolate your refrigerant when they store it I wouldn`t reuse it. Most places will simply reclaim your R-12 and store it in a tank with all the other systems they`ve evacuated. If one of those A/C units were to have a burnt compressor, it can introduce acid into the system which could be mixed with the refrigerant and then reintroduced into your system. Try not to use recollected R-12 if possible, even if it`s run through a drier before entering the system. Like 64cuda said, invest in a new drier/accumulator/receiver, it will improve the efficiency of the system. Most are filled with debris, especially after 40 years. You can buy a kit which includes seals, oil, and refrigerant to convert the system over to the cheaper and readily available R-134. It would probably be a good idea since the system will be completely apart.
 
He is from Canada. R-12 is not legal to use in Canada. Just have the A/C shop replace the mineral oil with PAG oil, replace the drier, evacuate and recharge the system. It would be a good idea to make sure there are no leakes before taking the system apart, and fix any while the system is empty. Ingeneral it is not neccesary to replace any seals, or "O" rings that have not been disturbed. You don't say what year car. If you have the V-2 compressor, it may start leaking with R-134a, it is hard to find a R-134a compatable seal kit for these compressors. With this compressor I would use Ester oil, and try it.
 
The A/C works awesome for the 3 days per year its warm enough to use it....
Just got a blizzard thru here with 3-4 ft drifts!
Thanks for all the help!
Dave
 
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