I am following this thread with interest because the
new-to-us '87 Westy with A/C was diagnosed during the
pre-buy check with a working compressor that probably
only needed a charge (R-12, the original system is
unconverted).

After the purchase I took it to an A/C shop I'd done
business with and they were to charge and test.  Came
back saying that the compressor leaks, several
fittings leak and even some hoses leak.  No cool, and
an outrageous estimate for repair/conversion.  Now I'm
wondering how much I should trust them.

I'm tempted to try another shop for just an R-12
charge to see how long that lasts, but if that is
unsatisfactory will probably eventually convert.

As I understand it from this thread, I can use Freeze
12 to try to get cooling.  Can I actually do this or
must I change fittings?  Or must I rely solely on
paying shops to recharge periodically with R-12 until
the conversion?

Thanks!
Stephen

--- mad madeline <mac10wv@YAHOO.COM> wrote:

> Sorry Bob.. I missed the point that you had already
> converted it.  MM
>
> John Rodgers <inua@CHARTER.NET> wrote:  trooz wrote:
> > I was told that one cannot simply add 134-A to a
> cooling system that's only
> > blowing about 57 degrees. They said the system had
> to be totally evacuated
> > and then filled with a precise amount. Anyone know
> about that? I've always
> > had Freon added in the past (it's been R-12 until
> a few months ago when I
> > had the system converted to 134-A). Is this
> something peculiar to 134-A or
> > just peculiar to this shop? They're talking close
> to a couple hundred
> > dollars to do it.
> >
> > Bob Trousdale
> > '90 Westy
> >
> >
> >
> I think you are getting a snow job from the shop. If
> they have the
> proper guages they can determine exactly how much
> needs to be added
> without going through all that.
>
> Now that you have already converted to 134a, you can
> legally step up and
> convert to a blended refrigerant like Freeze-12,
> which will give you
> performance within a gnats whisker of the original
> R-12, and is a lot
> cheaper. The rules regarding all this are an
> abfuscation in my opinion,
> but if you really dig into it, you discover that
> legally you can't go
> directly from R-12 to a blended refrigerant like
> Freeze-12, but by
> regulation you must first convert - using all the
> proper steps - to
> 134a, then from there you may convert again - using
> all the proper steps
> - over to the blended refrigerant. I think the legal
> beagles were trying
> to avoid some kind of problems if they said it was
> OK to convert
> straight across. No mechanical reason you can't,
> just legal reasons -
> it's the rules.
>
> Good luck,
>
> John Rodgers
> 88 GL driver
>
>
>
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