R134

["David A. Leonard" <dleonar1@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Bob, if your system is tight, I'd simply evac the r-12, and get it filled
with r134 and PAG oil..  I did this last summer and I'm still on the same
gas charge and cooling this summer in my 88 735i.  It cost around $125 for
the whole project(actually I had a leaky condenser so I had to replace it
too for $180.

If you want to dig a little deeper and spend more $$  check out Brett's Tech
articles at  http://www.koalamotorsport.com
  He has a compresser compatibility chart and kits available.

Rumor has it you may need a different drier but again I haven't found that
to be the case either.

My thoughts are that since compresser  replacement may or may not be
necessary, I'd see what happened if I just dumped in r-134.. the worst case
would be needing a new one..

Though there are rumored to be needs for barrier type hoses, in reality the
refrigerant oil in old systems has saturated the existing hoses to the point
of them no longer leaking.

Go to a good auto A/C shop, and talk to them, I think you will find most of
the world has just dropped in r-134 with good results.  Ther are shops that
just do AC out there, and they know more in general than the quick recharge
places.

Dave Leonard

I'm running a 93 gm suburban with a straight drop in conversion, and my 88
the same way, with good results.

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