before anyone gets on me about no using the search command, i did but nothing was very current or what i needed so here goes.

my r12 is gone (compressor does not stay on for more than a few seconds), i want a/c, but i want it to last. so im not sure the route i want to take, so far ive been calling shops, picking brains and getting "quotes" a dealership i called has enough r12 left in stock for my car but wants 250 assuming no leaks are found which there has to be, another shop wants 105 but is just evacuating the system and retrofitting to r134a and checking for leaks (i can do the retrofitting no problem and fill/check for leaks if they will evacuate), which they will find. question is what road to take. i know r12 is better but a dealership is gonna say my whole system needs replaced halfway through. but 105 isnt bad considering its a complete retrofit and fill. i dont know how big the leak is but i know its had none since i bought it 5 years ago. i heard r134a and the leftover oil in an r12 system is bad news so im worried evacuation isnt enough.

1) pay premium to get my hands on r12?
2) retrofit to r134a?
3) anyway to check where my leak is before doing a full retrofit and put leak dye in?
4) assuming no to #3, what are common things to gamble on and replace before bringing it to a shop for a evacuate and recharge to save me some money if i go this route?
5) what would you do?

 

if it still has r12 in it, then the leak is extremely minor, which is caused by normal escaping of molecules through metal and rubber. for the cost, retrofit it to r134a. i did with my car, and it developed a leak shortly after. leave the r12 around for the purist restoration people

 

well thats the thing it has no r12 left so i have no way to gauge how fast i was losing it

 

like i said, if it still has r12 then it is a leak you will not find. just normal seepage. nothing is 100% containable. r12 really became scarce after about 96 or so. if it hasnt been serviced in 10 years then you are doing better than most people. just save the hassle and switch to r134. then if there does happen to be a leak, you arent out $250, and the shop can repair it if they didnt find it originally. but it is normal for the charge to escape after a long amount of time

 

9 times out of 10 your Compressor is shot and that is the source of the leak. R12 is being phased out and is expensive with the small supply available. I went the R13a conversion route with my compressor rebuilt and reinstalled. ($350 toal). That was four years ago and the A/C is used about 80% of the time in Florida with no problems cooling.

 

i see what you were saying after rereading it five or so times haha. i havent serviced it in the five years, had cold air, or know what the previous owner did : / so i dont know if it seeped out the hoses and what not before i got it. ok so how did you do the r134a conversion? evacuate, change accumulator and filter, charge with dyed r134a, fix leaks and top off? any mechanical problems or just the leak a little ways down the road?

 

where did you find r13a? all i come across is r134a. was that 350 a shop price or a diy price? i live in michigan and dont really need a/c all but a few weeks a summer, or on my 10 hour drives when a window down gets obnoxious.

 

My error, should be R134A. That was a small shop price and it was a turn key conversion. Went there with hot air from the vents and drove away with cold 45deg air from the vents. As I said, NO problems after four years. You have to look around in your area for a good price.

 

well i bought all the stuff once to do my system but returned it because i wasnt sure what i could leave out like changing the oil, running air through the system for 30 minutes, etc. it sounds like you left it up to the shop to make it work. id rather do it myself for pride and money reasons, but maybe this is better left to the pros....hmm.

 

Pride in doing your own work is fine. But a functioning A/C system caused me to eat my pride.