R12 substitutes?

[Guest]

so what's the scoop on R12 substitutes. i've read a little bit from google searching, but i wanted to see what everyone here thinks.

i'm thinking about getting my AC going again

edit: i've heard some contain propane and butane. this seems a lil risky?

[LMS]

Don't even fuck with any of that stuff. It is easier to just convert the system over to 134a.

[StrayCat]

not to mention cheaper.....

[LMS]

Yes, also cheaper, thank you.

If all your components work it just needs a new dryer, a good cleaning, then oil and charge it up.

If there has been any problems like a compressor going bad it will need a MAJOR cleaning to get all the crap out of the lines.
Last year we tried to get Jessica's AC working but there was so much shit in the lines it kept clogging up the orafice tube, hers would need to completely come apart and be cleaned before it will work.
But if yours is not working because all the R-12 leaked out it should be a piece of cake.

[Guest]

mine will give a lil "teaser breeze." so i'm guessing the system would work if it had adequate refrigerant

[Morella]

R134 will work OK when cruising, but halfassed at idle. I put up with it, but I like heat. I keep my house at 82 degrees and wear winter clothes at work. I've heard really good things about Freeze 12, as good or better than Freon, if you need those cold vents.

If you're going R134 and not going to flush the system, be sure to replace any needed oil with ester oil, not mineral or pag.

Risky? Not nearly enough. Sure, life turns into a frivilous mundane day-to-day assfuck if you don't take some risks. Why not put the flammable gas bottle inside, crack the valve just a little and hope for a spark in the panel? That way you get pleasure of the risk, and you die right away instead of just fucking yourself up and dying slowly in pain, like people who do nothing more than some half-ass risk taking.

[LMS]

The performance of 134A really depends on the system you are converting.
I have had some that would freeze your sack off at idle and some that would give you cold air only at highway speeds.
Late 80's Ford compressors always gave me good results.
The long GM style compressors like on most 70's models are the worst, except that they are hard to kill.
When I finnally put ac in my hearse I will probably get a small compressor from a newer 134a car and build a system for the front only. I figure a small compressor will fit where the smog pump is.

[StrayCat]

there are aso a whole line of really cheap additives for 134a that you just add to it with the freon, i can't remember the exact name of it, but one of them i know for a fact works great!!! we used a vent thermometer and it dropped it another 8-9 degrees just minutes after putting it in. i am working on the ac system in the 300z. when i go get the stuff i'll let you know exacty what the brand name is.....

[Gorf]

I was all ready to convert to 134 on mine and was also going to do a conversion to a radial compressor. It's more efficient and I've been told works well with the 134 stuff. Plus the radial compressor allows room for the Edelbrock Performer intake manifold on the Caddy 500.

Then I stood back and went... why waste good HP on AC? LOL

[kaptinkaos]

Exactly, My AC isn't hooked up for the HP reason, I want as much HP as possible.

[Guest]

Exactly, My AC isn't hooked up for the HP reason, I want as much HP as possible.

i really see mine as more of something for cruising around in style, and not so much a brutal HP monster.

[LMS]

You can always turn the ac off when you need the power.
Besides riding with the windows down causes just as much drag on the car as riding with the ac on, so you might as well be comfortable.
If you really need more HP build your engine.
I am not worried about the power as mine is a 69, and 1968-1970 caddies had the most HP of any years.... according to what I have read.

You also have to consider that in Atlanta area traffic horse power is just wasted as you sit in traffic EVERY FUCKING WHERE you go!!!! GOD DAMN I HATE THE TRAFFIC HERE!
That is why we mover farther out into the sticks

[Guest]

yeah there are few things as awesome as cruising down a desolate highway in your coach at night. very relaxing

[kaptinkaos]

I don't drive mine in traffic, I drive mine at night or mid-day. Traffic in Pheonix is hell & then when you add surface of the sun heat, it's a killer. AC would be nice but it just makes the car overheat faster.
But I am considering a low resistance compressor or one of my other cars has an under the dash AC system, I might run one of those instead, but for now, I just want power.

[Morella]

Removing the axial compressor gives you one big FUCK of a lot more access to the mixture screws and timing on the BBs. If I ever get a source of income again (I'm basically unemployed), I'll go with big invertors and custom duct work with AC units under the mound. Each battery on my coach advertises to run a 9000 btu unit, uninterrupted for over an hour, with the engine shut off. That's just a little extra bonus.

-denise