not sure on the name, but i bought it over the counter.
my 124 has some air bubbles but blows cold.this would be just a top off.maybe half can
thinking of doing a full charge on the w201.
living in san diego the max temp where i drive is about 85 degrees.
thanks
rich

__________________
88 300E White, sold 9-04
88 190E Black 2.3 sold
90 300CE White, Grey sold 12-24-04
92 400E White,Grey Sold 5-06
90 300CE 91K Signal Red,Black Sold 2007
1989 300CE Smoke silver,Tan Sold 1-08
1993 300E 3.2 M104 motor
1991 300CE White,Grey
1994 E420 beautiful car,gone to new home
1994 E320 Smoke an Parchment.Beautiful car

Here's my take on the refrigerant issue.

There are only two kinds: R-12 and R134A.

The so-called "alternatives" in many cases are 80% R-134A + maybe R-142(I think-been awhile since I looked). This is the make-up of a product called Freeze-12. The mfg. of this product is selling something that's predominantly R-134A for about 3 times the going rate for R-134A.

Refrigerants have different pressures. The system in your car was designed to work with a specific pressure. Throw in an "alternative" product and that's now out of whack.

To me the real problem comes in down the road when the "mix" that you have is withdrawn and put into circulation at a reprocessing facility. Now there's contamination.

All sorts of opinions on this issue. For me it was simply a matter of taking the 609 exam($20-$25), then buying the "real" deal - R-12.

__________________
Mike Murrell
1991 300-SEL - Model 126
M103 - SOHC
"Fräulein"

I put freeze 12 in my 93 Mercury Marquis that had Factory R-12 in it and it has worked fine for 2 years.

There is no such thing as a legal topoff with an alternative gas.
Full evacuation is required.

I suggest sticking with the gas that the system was designed for. AC components are so much more expensive than r12, that these 'alternatives' are false economy.

__________________
1986 300E 5-Speed 240k mi.

Those before me have said it well, but I would like to point out that it takes more than evacuation to do a legal conversion. It must be an acceptable alternative and the fittings must be changed to those appropriate for that refrigerant.

That said, conversion is a bad idea and R12 is NOT illegal as Mike pointed out. Additionally it seems to be coming down a little in price.

Unless you live in Alaska you are always better served staying with R12. There are plenty of bootleg shops out there that will suggest all kinds of alternatives. Many of them are illegal and none of them work as well AND are as healthy for you a/c that was originally designed for R12.

I have gotten into the reasons for this so many times that I have writers cramp. If you're interested do a search on previous posts.

Good luck,

mike murrell, i like your idea on just taking the exam and being able to buy the right stuff.
since i already have 6 ase certs, may as well go on and finish.
doing smog and diagnostic, there was always some one else to handle ac problems. the last time i did ac r-12 was legal. many moons ago
thank you
rich

larry ,if you read this, i tried to do a search but did not find the right terms to use.can you point me in the right direction.
thank you for your reply


rich

__________________
88 300E White, sold 9-04
88 190E Black 2.3 sold
90 300CE White, Grey sold 12-24-04
92 400E White,Grey Sold 5-06
90 300CE 91K Signal Red,Black Sold 2007
1989 300CE Smoke silver,Tan Sold 1-08
1993 300E 3.2 M104 motor
1991 300CE White,Grey
1994 E420 beautiful car,gone to new home
1994 E320 Smoke an Parchment.Beautiful car

olpos,

There are so many threads on this it shouldn't be hard to find lots of reading. Search against R12 or a/c.

We are coming up on the season where a really large percentage of posts will be regarding a/c. The spring and summers of the past have been no different, so there will be LOTS of material.

What I didn't take time to go into before is that the alternative refrigerants like Freeze 12 and about a zillion others all fall into two categories; flammable or blends. The flammables are illegal in 18 states for obvious reasons. The blends are a pain because if you get a leak, the elements leak at different rates. This means that the only way to recharge is to recover the refrigerant and charge it from scratch.

The biggest problem to all these snake oil refrigerants is for the poor guys with the shops that are trying to make a living. Most of the time these junk refrigerants are put into a system without changing fittings or labeling even thought that's against the law. The poor guy at the shop that's just trying to put a little food on the table and maybe cough up a little money so the baby can have shoes, contaminates his whole recovery system with this junk.

What's worse is there are so many SEALANTS being used. You know, miracle leak repair in a can. This stuff will destroy the expensive recovery machines.

Okay, I'll get off the soap box and back to work.

Best of luck,