Yes, we have laws against knowingly venting r12 into the atmosphere. But if the freon has already escaped, no laws are broken.

HFC-134 refrigerant is widely available over the counter at just about any auto supply house, except in Wisconsin. This has to do with safety, since a lot of shadetree novices hook the bottle to the wrong (high pressure) side, which can have disasterous consequenses.

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95 E320 Cabriolet, 169K