recharging A/C

[rmousir]

Hey All,

It is starting to get warm out and although I have a sunroof and windows I would still like to charge my a/c. Can I buy that stuff from the local parts store to do the charge with or do I have to take my car in? Let me know if there is any special that I have to do. Never done this before.

Thanks very much.
It is appreciated.
Richard.

[DSP74]

best way to recharge the a/c is to take it off and 'charge' the buyer for it and shipping when you get rid of it....

[CorvallisBMW]

Our cars run R12, which is no longer made. You will have to get it done at a shop, and it's pretty expensive. These cars take ~2.5 lbs of R12 at around $75-100 per lb, plus labor and any repairs needed for leaks. I wouldn't expect to walk out for less than $300, probably more like $500.

[briz]

Before you go looking for a place to a recharge with R12, you may want to look into doing a R134 conversion. My car came with the conversion done so I'm not 100% on what needs to be done. I have been told that most of the stock parts work just fine. The R134 is much cheaper and far easier to come by.

[rmousir]

anyway I can just put r134 into my car?

[briz]

No you can't just drop r134 into the r12 system. There is a conversion that needs to be done. Pelican has a tech article on it here.

It will save you money if/when you need to recharge again. Just my 2 cents..

[emi325i]

R134A conversion is trivial. 2 fittings, and pag oil. The more expensive part is fixing any leaks. you may need to replace some parts, new o-rings, etc.. if you need a compressor, you can find used ones for <$100.

[alane]

i just put the conversion adaptors for the r134 in my car and the thing works great. although not everyone has the same pleasent outcome.