AC questions about R-134

[bnelsonjax]

im assuming that a stock 91 240sx doesnt have R-134.

Therfor since this car is used, is there a way to tell if the original owner converted it to R-134?

if it wasnt converted to R-134, whats it cost to have a professional convert to R-134?

I see there are conversion do-it-yourself kits to convert to R134. are those worth it?

Thanks for clearing up these answers.

[ricebike]

the biggest giveaway are larger fittings on the AC lines... plus, they'll usually have a blue cap on them instead of the ole' black smaller shrader-type valve cap of the R12 system... (some kits have a blue cap for low side/ red cap for high side)

stroll over a parts place & you'll see what i mean



there are various conversion kits all over the place, but you'll still need a professional to evacuate the old system & check fo leaks/ if it'll hold a charge...

Modified by ricebike at 9:52 AM 8/19/2006
Modified by ricebike at 10:00 AM 8/19/2006

[pmkls2]

also if you arent having problems then dont mess with it. the cooling abilities of r-134 are far inferior to r-12 and these cars dont cool near as well after having been converted

[bnelsonjax]

took the car up to autozone and they confirmed its on R134. I bought a bottle of r134 refiller but couldnt get it to connect to the connection, so im just gonna have a professional add the gas to it.

Thanks,Brad

[ricebike]

how did they confirm 134a? by the new fittings that shoulda been on the hi & low side service valves? ---near the compressor

[bnelsonjax]

how did they confirm 134a? by the new fittings that shoulda been on the hi & low side service valves? ---near the compressor

ya, the low side was located by the distributor, he said it has the new fittings, and the high side was located by the radiator. the low side had a black dust cover and the high side had a orange dust cover.

[silvia-junkie]

r134a cools just about as well as r12 to the person who said it was inferior your system probably just wasnt charged right. and for future reference their should be a sticker under your hood that says what refredgerent the car camne with from the factory, and to see if it has been updated like some one said just look for the larger fitings

[bnelsonjax]

ok I took the car up to a AC mechanic, he tested the AC system and said it needs a new compressor since there is plenty of refrigerant but the compressor turns on sometimes and turns off sometimes.

So my question is this:

1.) is it hard to replace the compressor myself then have a AC mechanic check for leaks and add the R134 or should I just let the mechanic replace the compressor and do it all?

2.) the mechanic told me whenever you replace the compressor you HAVE to replace the AC drier...is that true?

Thanks for the info

[ricebike]

1) most likely, the latter... but if you know how to measure all the oil outta the compressor & refill the replacemnt w/ same amount---> you're ahead of the game.

2) most likely as well...since exposure to ambient air/humidity may have saturated the drier to the max...

3) if you let him do #1 & #2, well, you may want him to add an in-line filter if the compressor is confirmed that it's kaput.

what other checks did he perform/ i mean all compressors turn on-off depending on if the various switches has been tripped; did you actually see him put gauges on the high-low sides of the system???

if not, i'd go for a 2nd opinion

[bnelsonjax]

ya i saw him put the gauge in the low AND high side. while we were monitoring the gauges the compressor engaged (if thats how you say it) and cold air came out, then it disengaged and hot air came out. so he said it was a bad compressor. But I think i may go for a 2nd opinion anyway.

he didnt do any other checks and i starting thinking could it be a bad relay thats causing the compressor to sometimes not kick in?