Civic Forumz - Honda Civic Forum - Reviving an old R-12 A/C on a budget.

It's getting warm out there isn't it? So here's the story:

I bought my car a year and a half ago, a 1993 Civic Si Coupe. It has an old R-12 air conditioner that didn't work, and most people were under the impression that all I needed to do was charge the thing and it would be fine.

And so began my quest...

R-12 is difficult to come by due to its legal restrictions. I wasn't able to find any easily, and decided it might be better off in the long run to see what it would take to get the thing to run off of R-134a, which is much easier to find.

PLEASE BE WARNED, DOING THIS MAY CAUSE YOUR OLD R-12 COMPRESSOR SEALS OR THE COMPRESSOR ITSELF TO FAIL. I was warned many times by different people about this. The system was not designed for R-134a and the refridgerant has different properties which may cause things to break.

I am on my second season using R-134a, and haven't had problems yet, but fully expect to have to replace my compressor in the near future.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Step 1:

Find some freaking R-134a refridgerant! I purchased a bottle of InterDynamics "Measure and Charge" (http://www.id-usa.com/product.asp?CID=27&PID=92) while on a trip to Michigan. It's got oil already mixed in to help keep your compressor from getting destroyed, and has sealant additives which may be both good and bad. Good if you suspect you have a SMALL leak (which is why you might be recharging in the first place), but bad because it adds trash to the system. I've heard horror stories of the sealants trashing up AC service equipment at shops, and some shops may refuse to service an AC with sealant additive in it. The integrated pressure gauge was really handy in determining the right amount of charge to put in.

I've also heard Duracool refridgerant is very good. It is specially formulated as a replacement for R-12 and more closely resembles its properties than R-134a does. I suppose this stuff is a little less likely to harm your compressor seals, etc. You can find the stuff at a local distributor of which there are plenty in Toronto. Check out http://www.deepfreezeinc.ca/distcan.htm

Step 2:

Get adapter fittings! R-134a charging hoses won't hook up to your R-12 system, but the problem isn't nearly as difficult to overcome as you would think.

Duracool makes numerous adapter fittings. You want to order at least a low side fitting (part #DC0095). To be more complete, you might as well order both low and high side (part #DC0098). I purchased both for $12 at the parts department at Donway Ford on Eglinton, east of Warden. A list of distributors is at http://www.deepfreezeinc.ca/distcan.htm

Installation is pretty simple. I wrapped the threads of the old R-12 ports in a few layers of teflon tape, and used a pipe wrench to screw the fittings on until they were snug. Just make sure the O-rings inside the fitting are sealing nicely against the old R-12 port. I keep the adapter fittings on permanently.

Step 3:

Charge the system! Hook up your refridgerant to the low side fitting, the connector should only fit on the low side anyways. Don't over charge it. If you bought refridgerant with a pressure gauge on it, keep an eye on the pressure to see if it's holding. You can tell if you have a bad leak if the pressure doesn't hold once you charge it a bit. If you're leaking, stop right there because you're opening up a gaping hole in the ozone layer. A leak that bad needs more help than I can give in this post :shooter:.

Step 4:

Enjoy cool air! And pray your compressor doesn't explode :notfair:.

-SlimBoJones...