Hi all,
I just stopped by my mechanic's shop today to set up an appointment for him to look at and probably overhaul my a/c system. It's slowly gotten weak over the years to point now where it is basically ineffective. He was pretty hesistant to give me an estimate without looking at it so I wanted to know what you all have paid so I can know what to expect. The compressor isn't seized and there is no major damage to the system but I assume that some seals and things like that will need attention. Oh, and I am converting it to R134. I would really just like a ballpark $$ number so I'm not totally surprised when he tells me the damage because I am really in dark about what something like this should cost.

Thanks a lot

Alex

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1983 300D (parked for four years)
2012 VW Sportwagen TDI Manual
2001 Miata SE
1962 Chevrolet Corvair Rampside

I had my '85 converted to 134A at a local auto A/C specialty shop for about $150. My system worked fine up to that point except it had slowly lost the old coolant and needed to be recharged. That was 2 years ago and it is still working fine. I don't know about the older cars but I don't recall anything needing to be replaced on mine except the fill nipples which I believe are different for 134A (and cheap to replace). If your compressor is bad that's a whole other kettle of fish. I recently had a similar to MBZ rotary type replaced on my mother's Subaru and it was $700 fo a rebuilt! If the compressor is gone sometimes other things need to be repalced downstream too so worst case you might be looking at a $1,000 job. In fairness, your A/C guy is right, he can't tell whats wrong untill he refills the system and checks everything out. In the case of the Subaru, the system had good pressure, the compressor turned but didn't "compress" the refrigerant. I watched the guy check it out and it's pretty straight forward. If your system has just lost all it's refigerant you're likely going to have a fairly cheap fix. If it still has pressure but won't cool, plan on a new compressor at least. Good luck!

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LRG
1987 300D Turbo 175K
2006 Toyota Prius, efficent but no soul
1985 300 TDT(130K miles of trouble free motoring)now sold

For an R-134 conversion, I would expect to pay $1500+, assuming the compressor is bad.

P.S. to above..

Don't try to test the pressure yourself because the refrigerant will freese whatever it touches as it is released, including your hand, eyes etc. Your mechanic can test it with his equipment in about 5-10 minutes. In rereading your post my quess is that since you have only gradually lost the old R12 this will be a simple recharge job.

Randy

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LRG
1987 300D Turbo 175K
2006 Toyota Prius, efficent but no soul
1985 300 TDT(130K miles of trouble free motoring)now sold

It's reassuring to hear that if the compressor's working ok, that the job won't be too too expensive. The system does work somewhat, it's just that it no longer makes the air cold, it just sort of cools it, and not very well at that. I'm going to think positive and hope that all my mechanic is going to do is fill the system.

Alex

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1983 300D (parked for four years)
2012 VW Sportwagen TDI Manual
2001 Miata SE
1962 Chevrolet Corvair Rampside

Concur on it probably just needing new coolant. Might be a good idea to have it leak-tested as well; maybe he can repair the leak (I'm assuming there's a slow leak in the system)...

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2001 VW Jetta TDI, 5 speed, daily driver
1991 Ford F-350, work in progress
1984 Ford F-250 4x4, 6.9l turbo diesel, 5 speed manual
Previous oilburners: 1980 IH Scout, 1984 E-350, 1985 M-B 300D, 1979 M-B 300SD, 1983 M-B 300D
Spark-free since 1999

Any normal ac shop will charge the system because it has to be charged to check for leaks... then if they find any leaks the freon will have to be taken out, the item fixed, then recharged and checked to see that that was the only leak... doing just that with my 1981 wagon was going to cost about $175 keeping the very expensive R12. If your compressor is really good then the much lower cost of the 134a will help cover the cost of the 134 expansion valve,the 134 fittings, and the green seals that need to be replaced to change over...and it was suggested on the Tech forum that a parallel condensor would help the 134 more closely match the r12 cooling capacity... about $80 likely parts cost for that... Greg

I finally got a chance to take my car to the shop to get the A/C system charged and converted to r134. The total came out to $285 and he didn't do a leak test yet but said that if it seems to lose charge to bring it back. The price break down is below. I don't really know if I was over charged but the cost seemed reasonable.

Labor: $112.50 (at $75 an hour)
Parts: $151.28

Refrigerant- $30 (5 cans x $6)
A/C Receiver dryer- $59
O/Ring- $1.50
Rrigi/Tracer Oil- $17.90
Retro Kit- $28

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1983 300D (parked for four years)
2012 VW Sportwagen TDI Manual
2001 Miata SE
1962 Chevrolet Corvair Rampside

This link will bring you to everything you want to know about whats involved.
http://www.delanet.com/~pparish/retrofit.htm

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82 300d 194
75 240d sold
Gulfstar 41 4-107 Perkins Westerbeke 4.4 Gen
Puegot Bicycle Legs
AYP Lawn Tractor Briggs 12.5

This link will bring you to everything you want to know about whats involved.
http://www.delanet.com/~pparish/retrofit.htm

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82 300d 194
75 240d sold
Gulfstar 41 4-107 Perkins Westerbeke 4.4 Gen
Puegot Bicycle Legs
AYP Lawn Tractor Briggs 12.5

The compressor should not be too expensive because it is an AC Delco (GM) compressor. It souldnt be more that $100.