Recharging AC

Anyone have a how-to on this?

You dont need AC. Just take it out and sell it to me :lol:

I would say take it to a place.
Everytime you discharge the AC it messes up the Orphus Tube, And it need's to be replaced. Alot less worries on your part if you take it to a shop.

Sorry i can't really help :(

im just pointing a finger at jeff haha sucker :lol: its so nice on hot days...but i swear my car wont make it up hills with it on, also ci5ic, i would send u those speaker covers but I really am outta cash right now :( im so broke, stupid cars

I had a shop do the r134a conversion on my car and ive blown 2 a/c compressors since then ... hopefully the one I bought from civicHBsi91 gets here soon cause its been hot as a mother up here ... I also want it for my trip to the sierras cause I dont wanna have the window open on them dirt roads.

What would be an approximate cost for having a shop do it?

Also, melt, how much did you get charged for the conversion, and what's the difference between the stock AC system and the r134a?

some things to know about A/C on your car

stock it come with r-12 refrigerant, which is the bad ass stuff that cools real well but destroys ozone. the system is a receiver/dryer system, and uses an expansion valve, which means it does not have an oriface tube that 90civicrider mentioned. thats only on the accumulator type A/C systems.

to recharge as system, first you have to figure out why it lost its refrigerant in the first place. that means a leak. you can get small cans of pressurized dye from any automotive supply or parts store, and that will fill all the piping with a neon yellow dye. any place that a leak is occuring will show up due to the ease of they dye slipping through even the smallest pinhole. the only problem with this is that you need some refrigerant in the system to keep it pressurized so it can actually force some dye through the leak. normally on an old car, it the o-rings that seal all the interconnections in the system, IE: compressor to condensor line.

once you have found and repaired any leaks, you will have to replace the receiver/dryer. its a small metal canister right behind the drivers side headlight. this canister is full of dessicant, which keeps moisture out of the system. eventually it will become too saturated, especially if you left any hoses disconnected or if theres a major leak. THIS part must be changed whenever any hoses are disconnected, or whenever you are recharging a system that has stayed discharged for more than a week.

once everything is tightened up, you will then need to vacuum the system down with a vacuum pump. anyone that is involved with a/c work should have one, and if you are determined to do it yourself, they can be bought for about 100 bucks (a really cheap one)

once you vacuum it down, you should let it sit for about 15 minutes to make sure that it doesnt have a leak. if it has a leak, it wont hold a vacuum. a set of A/C gauges work perfectly for this, but if you dont have any, then just skip this step and take your chances.

after all of that is done, its time to recharge. this parts easy, just check under your hood for the amount of refrigerant to add, and then get enough cans to fill it. the vacuum you created in the lines will suck a lot of it in automatically. if you turn the car on, and turn the A/C on, the compressor will start sucking the rest of refrigerant from the can once theres enough already in the lines to activate the pressure sensors in the system.


converting to r-134 can be done in two ways: cost effective, and full conversion.

cost effective means you simply do all of the steps i described above, but instead of filling with r-12, you put r-134 adapter fittings on the two r-12 fittings. this method works, but as melt said about his blowing compressors up, things tend to break easier. the reason is because r-134 operates on a different pressure than r-12, and the system wasnt designed to operate on that pressure. normally its not a problem, but on really old worn out systems, expect to replace a few parts.

for a full conversion, you will basically have to replace everything in the system, except a few hoses. the evaporator, condensor, and the compressor will have to be changed, but the receiver/dryer can stay, as well as the hoses that connect everything. this method ensures that the pressure is just how its supposed to be, and will result in a much cooler car.



hope this helped

I have a similar problem, 1989 Civic LX. When I got the car, it was already converted to R-134a. I'll start my car in the mornings and drive it with the a/c on.. and it cools just fine. After a while though, the air warms up, and next thing I know i'm just venting in air. If I leave it alone (like coming back in the car after work) and turn on the A/C, then it works again like a champ. This cycle continues over and over again.

I know the compressor is kicking in because when I push the A/C activation button on the console, the engine boggs down just a bit and then recovers. If I turn the A/C off, the engine revs up just a bit and recovers.

I read another post that suggested that dessicant was clogging up my expansion valve and causing the line to freeze up... however wouldn't that cause the line to be continually clogged and never work? However I suspect that is the problem because if I leave the car alone (turned off) then after a couple of hours or so, the A/C works again.

If it is dessicant clogging the expansion valve, what do I have to do to fix it? I would assume replace the reciever/drier, and possibly the expansion valve, along with freon, how much cash am I looking at to fix this thing? Is there anything else that can cause this kind of behavior?

Thanks!

~Toast