I just returned from a week at the Outer Banks with the family. We rode the
Vanagon for almost 900 miles total. I had replaced the ailing wheel bearing
before leaving and a week or so prior had replaced fuel pump and filter. So,
the machine was running well.

On the way down, the AC showed that it had lost its refrigerant charge over
the winter. No matter, it was a delightfully cool week of weather. I do like
to be able to roll up windows on noisy superhighways so I chraged the system
yesterday before leaving OBX. I discerned that the system had been changed
to R134a so I bought a can of that +oil+leak seal. It was 12oz of
refrigerant. It took it all easily and I wondered if it needed more. The
system got very cool (on a 77F day) and was probably about 50F at the front
outlets. Very satisfactory. This experience has made me wonder:

   1. I've read that R134a operates at a higher pressure. Is it essential
   that this pressure be achieved in order for it to work well? What pressure
   is this in  the Vanagon system?
   2. If the AC was converted from R12 to R134a and the R134a operates at
   higher pressure, what parts are replaced in the conversion? Seals and what
   else?
   3. Can I assume that RedTek or Freeze12 will work better in a system
   that was converted to R134a? If I use Freeze12 or the like, will I need to
   un-convert anything?

All and all the driving was a joy. The engine is running very well and since
I've gotten the sludge out of the fuel tank and all, I'm getting better
mileage than I've ever noticed. I think with the AC on today I still managed
17-18 mpg at 65-70 mph. The only drag about today's travels was the major
delays in traffic - 2.5 hours to travel from OBX to the VA/NC border. This
usually takes 45 minutes. Too much volume, too many traffic lights, everyone
checking out of thier rentals at 10am. Then on 460W in VA, there was a
double fatality accident that shut the road completely. That backtrack and
reroute cost 52 miles and over an hour. So, my typical 6.5 hour trip became
almost nine hours. Boo. At least the dog is finally able to settle down and
sleep in the van. Wish I could say the same of the 11 year old boy.

--
mordo
1990 Carat