You can put Duracool in it no problem.

What, is he the only mechanic in town?

Yep, he's pretty much the only guy I'll go to in all of Baltimore.

__________________
I never go far without a little Big Star

1994 E500 199/Gray 82k
84 300D (Salty) Orient Red/Palomino 141k
88 300CE (Ersatzhammer) 904/Java 163k -- Turbo Technics twin turbo kit, AMG Gen I body kit, Sportline steering box and steering wheel, Sportline/Eibach /Bilstein Sport/500E suspension, Quaife LSD in 210 mm diff case, Silver Arrow brakes.
88 300CE Brabus 3.6 199 on Black 44k

Doesn't Baltimore have a population greater than 10,000?

Using junk refrigerants is a BAD plan. R12 is now readily available to those with an easy to obtain license and is relatively cheap. There is NO valid reason to use anything else in an a/c originally designed for it.

Baltimore is bleak. Something like one in eight or nine adults is a habitual narcotic user. There are few options for quality, affordable auto repair, especially for 20 year old MBs. There is one other guy I'd go to, but he's booked for months and really only likes working on diesels.

__________________
I never go far without a little Big Star

1994 E500 199/Gray 82k
84 300D (Salty) Orient Red/Palomino 141k
88 300CE (Ersatzhammer) 904/Java 163k -- Turbo Technics twin turbo kit, AMG Gen I body kit, Sportline steering box and steering wheel, Sportline/Eibach /Bilstein Sport/500E suspension, Quaife LSD in 210 mm diff case, Silver Arrow brakes.
88 300CE Brabus 3.6 199 on Black 44k

Here's my suggestion:

Go by you a set of hoses/gauges at Harbor Freight (on sale for $29.95). Buy a universal can adapter. Have the mechanic evacuate the system and you go charge it yourself.
Hot weather, bleed the hoses (fill with freon), then let the first can fill the system for a minute or two. Crank it up and turn it on high- shake the can until it's empty. Do it until the sight glass shows no bubbles and your done. Pressures- you can get a R12 temp/pressure chart of the internet.
Oh- engine rev it up to have things stabilzed- around 1500-2000 rpm.

For the canadian guy. R12a seems fine but it is a blend with 134a, so you really need to recharge it by evacuating then refilling the system. I'd go with a new compressor, not rebuilt. I have no idea on the interchangeability of W124 94-95' and previous parts. Maybe some day I'll have 2 side-by-side and decide. The CP17 compressor started in 91'. So in theory, you could go with the 17cc compressor but you'd have to get the brackets out of the junkyard. My car is white and works fine (when all the a/c diaphrams are working).

Michael

What exactly makes a refrigerant 'junk'?

Duracool, propane etc all work better than any R134 conversion could ever dream of and they are substantially cheaper than the R12 available today. This is an excellent writeup followed by pages of mindless bashing.
AC with Propane- Staying Alive

Can you imagine the *****ing and moaning on this forum if you needed a license to change your own oil or check your tire pressure?

I like it!

Give the Fourth Reich just a little more time, and you will have to be licensed to do those things too. Just be patient.

The licensing for R12 is COMPLETELY ridiculous, but due to rapidly declining demand, it costs a pittance extra, in todays refrigerant market to use what the system was designed for and what doesn't have the downsides of the JUNK refrigerants!

Of course, for anyone who doesn't have enough brain cells left to pass an OPEN BOOK test, then there's always the JUNK refrigerants.

BTW, there is no MINDLESS bashing of JUNK refrigerants. It's all based on fact.

Lastly, I have answered the question regarding what constitutes a JUNK refrigerant at least two dozen times on this forum. I don't have time right now to do it again. If you're interested, I expect you could easily find such a thread by searching JUNK refrigerants.

So you're just calling it a 'junk' refrigerant (you still haven't told us what a junk refrigerant is) out of habit and you absolutely no evidence or reason to do so other than your own personal bias. Got it. Thanks for clearing that up. I should start calling R134 the death refrigerant... you know just because.

So apparently people using 'junk' refrigerants are also too stupid to pass an open book test. Very interesting.

Do I need to put in oil at that time? Also, are you suggesting the engine needs to be at elevated revolutions the entire time? I left the mechanic a voicemail asking him not to put in the Freeze12, as I just bought fifteen cans of R12 (12 of them in a sealed case), but to leave the system evacuated. If he gets the message too late, can I just get the Freeze 12 evacuated and put in the R12 or does it need anything more?

__________________
I never go far without a little Big Star

1994 E500 199/Gray 82k
84 300D (Salty) Orient Red/Palomino 141k
88 300CE (Ersatzhammer) 904/Java 163k -- Turbo Technics twin turbo kit, AMG Gen I body kit, Sportline steering box and steering wheel, Sportline/Eibach /Bilstein Sport/500E suspension, Quaife LSD in 210 mm diff case, Silver Arrow brakes.
88 300CE Brabus 3.6 199 on Black 44k

As I said in my last post, but maybe you missed it, go do a search on junk refrigerants and you will get my explanations. I have given detailed explanations at least a dozen times. If you are indeed interested in hearing an explanation, then search instead of slinging acusations.

To Search go to the upper right portion of the page and you will find a search area. Search in this forum as well as the diesel discussion forum and you will find some very lengthy posts of mine as well as others to EXPLAIN to you what makes a junk refrigerant a JUNK refrigerant. No opinion involved, just facts.

Oh Snap, Mr. Bible!