ive been pondering an idea for a while. ive heard that when you convert to 134a you have to change to a bigger condesnor to get cool enough air. well has anyone thought/tried to install a condensor for 134 and still use r12? that would blow hella cool air. im half tempted to do this when i rework my ac system. any opinions?

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have no worries.....President Obama swears "If you like your gun, you can keep it

Increasing Air Conditioner Reserve Capacity ?

Once you are cooling well enough, any further cooling would only freeze the condensor. If you lived in an absolute equatorial climate it might be necessary, but would be wasted effort most anywhere else.

Good luck,

LarryBible and Leathermang are our house experts....they have volumous postings in the archives on this subject.....its very good reading, trust me.

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Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
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Section 609 MVAC Certified
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"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Larry, The guy is in Mesa Arizona and has been experiencing record temperatures for a couple of weeks... I think it was a perfectly legit question...
Our old diesels were, even when new, only rated ' acceptable' in terms of Air Conditioning.... being in a severe climate like our Southwest would certainly justify thinking about maximizing the efficiency of the stock product.

I was viewing the www.ackits.com site recently and noticed that they carried parallel flow condensors. But I did not verify if they carried one compatible with MB's. If you contact them, they may have someone who has done this mod. They are also near your neighborhood and can understand why you are looking for maximum a/c capacity.

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Sam

84 300SD 350K+ miles ( Blue Belle )

vent temps with r-134a w123

The main downside to a parallel condenser that I have read about is that in the event of a black death of a compressor, it will be necessary to replace the condenser b/c it will be impossible to flush all the particles out of a parallel flow the way you can with a serpentine OEM. That is why I did not go to a parallel this past weekend when replacing my condenser.

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1984 300SD 326,997 miles and counting . . . No wait, my odometer is still dead

I put one into my 123 diesel...I'll post some pics tommorrow. You do have to make custom hoses to reach the connections on the condenser. As far as mounting, its very easy...at the top a couple of screws and nylon spacers, and at the bottom, a couple of "Stanley" L-shaped brackets and screws.

Mark

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1984 300TD Wagon, 407,800 mi (current daily driver)
1985 300DT Sedan, 330,000 mi (gone to that great autobahn in the sky)

There are aftermarket inline filters which Larry and I have suggested is good insurance when replacing a compressor...(upstream of the compressor )
but you could also put one between the compressor and the condensor if you get a P-Flow... to avoid having to replace in case of compressor failure...