Greetings,

I am asking if you have successfully converted your York R12 system to the new R134A cooling freon. If you have please relay to others as well as to me what you changed to make it happen, or if you didn't do the work, what the dealer said he did. I would like info like whether you completely drained the old oil out of the system, what components you changed in the conversion and what troubles you've had since the change if any.
Thanks, for your input

Charles

I changed over my 1971 220D last year after replacing a broken AC line (Had my elbow on the line while trying to break lose the top bolt on the starter) I evacuated the system with an old refrigerator compressor, shot in one can of ester oil and two and a half cans of r134a. It has been blowing ice cold ever since.

Bob D.

Done near 100 cars and no long term problems "over 70K" on Retro Fitting R134a

Done My 1974 280 W114 have 2700 miles on it and ac/ works fine with 38 degree discharge.
Just did my 1967 200D W110. Read the thread below.

R134a Conversion to the 67 200D

The standard 34.95 retro fit kit from Autozone, Discount, Walmart works just fine despite the on going debate you will hear on this forum. You do not need to change any parts or the oil in the YORK compressor, it will be fine with the old oil
Regards,
Bryan

[Edited by Channel1 on 06-13-2001 at 01:07 PM]

Greetings Channel 1 and H2Odiesel,

Are you both saying that you replaced no parts before the conversion, or drained the old R12 oil out before charging with R134A? Brave souls you are. Reading the conversion kits it does say that the Ester oil is compatable with remaining R12 mineral oil, whether that's fact or fiction I yet not know. I did hear from several sources while speaking to them about compressors that at the very least I needed to change out the filter drier because in most likelyhood it was already saturated with not only moisture but oil as well, which will not only cause your system to be moisture laden but increase your head pressure on the compressor, causing leaks down the road if the hoses hold out. I also heard about the R12 hose end seals leaking because the rubber they are made out of is different, so I also purchased new hose seals for the R134A. I remember reading about the pressure difference between the two gases (R12 & R134) something like 10-15 psi difference and I think someone mentioned changing the pressure switch so the electric cooling fan would cycle sooner with the different gas. Any other ideas guys? How long have each of you had your system recharged with the new gas, and was it a York compressor you did it on? One last crazy question, how'd you check the compressor oil level? I don't have shutoff valves on the manifold, and if I remove the side plug to check oil, won't the gas leave as well? Anymore input you have on how you did it will be well appreciated. Anyone install an intake filter on the suction line of the compressor when you did the retrofit? Kind of worried about dirt coming up to the compressor after removing all the lines to retro the seals etc.

Charles

"Are you both saying that you replaced no parts before the conversion, or drained the old R12 oil out before charging with R134A?
How long have each of you had your system recharged with the new gas, and was it a York compressor you did it on?"[

Can-do,

1: re-read my post
2: Read the Thread link.
3: read quote below

"The standard 34.95 retro fit kit from Autozone, Discount, Walmart works just fine despite the on going debate you will hear on this forum. You do not need to change any parts or the oil in the YORK compressor."

All your questions are already answered...
and yes, That's My Final Answer

Yes, both of my Mercedes are York
Regards,
Bryan

Im going to convert mine today. Do i plug the high pressure hose into the high (below) or the low (on top). What do i hook up to the one that wont have a hose, the valve?

I have no doubts that just "charging it up with r134a" will work. Where the mystery comes in is for how long.

To properly change over, and expect long term health of the system you should.

o take apart as much of the system as possible and flush everything with a/c flush followed by thorough drying out.
o replace o-rings with green ones for r134a.
o replace filter drier with one labeled for r134a.
o use ester oil only, pag is for systems that were originally r134, if a little mineral oil is left in compressor, it's not a big deal as long as you use ester
o pump down with a good pump for as long as possible, 24 hours is preferrable. This is because any moisture in system will combine with refrigerant to make an acid which will eventually eat something up internally in the system
o if you can measure refrigerant volume, charge with 80% of the R12 volume specified. If you must charge by pressure, you will have to experiment a little, but keep a close eye on the high side pressure, it can get away from you and eventually cause damage.
o remember that you are giving up capacity when changing to r134a. If you live in Texas or somewhere you deal with 100 degree fahrenheit heat, think long and hard before you do this. If you can add a condensor which is about 20% larger, you can make up for the loss of capacity of r134a.

Best of luck,

"I have no doubts that just "charging it up with r134a" will work. Where the mystery comes in is for how long."

Larry,
Have 5 years and 71K on my 93 Dodge Van with dual air no problem since conversion.
Mom's 89 Lincoln 64K, Dad's 89 Mustang 30K, Cousins 84 Fiero
56K, Several dozen others that I have done. Most of them have Well over 50K since retrofit with ZERO failures. All systems were leak checked and problems fixed before installing R134a. It is not necessary to evac for 24hrs 30-60 min is all that should be necessary if the system has not been open. As far as long term I'll let you know when I hit 100K but I'm sure it will be fine then too
We down here in central FLA see 95-100 all summer and I have no problems keeping cool
Not breathing in wildfire smoke is another problem.
Regards,
Bryan

can-do,
Charging a refrigerant system certainly isn't even the slightest degree of Rocket Science, but without even the very basics of the routine, you are asking for trouble. First and foremost is your safety and well being. Secondly it won't take much in the wrong direction and you'll be left with some high price rotating junk. I haven't had the chance to look over the instructions that comes with a conversion kit. Perhaps there is enough to get you through it. I would suggest you enlist the some guidance from an experienced bud. Up front make sure he/she understands that "I want to do it myself". The last thing I'd want to do is discourage any ambition. Get your ducks in order and roll up your sleeves.
Ernie