1988 Silverado Air Conditioning Conversion

Hey everyone!! Got a question for you.........I have a 1988 Chevrolet, Silverado 1/2ton that is in near mint condition with only 27,000 miles on it!!

I want to convert the air conditioning from the exhisting R12 unit to the more invironmently friendly R13 air conditioning system.

What do I need to do to convert the system as far as new parts???

THANKS

I just bought a 1988 Silverado 3/4 ton crew cab. It is in mint condition with 30,000 miles on it. The air consitioning does not work and I was told that it would also have to switched over because of the freon. I would be interested in seeing how you make out.

Wow, where did you guys find these 88's with that low miles, good finds., I sold my 88 4x4 when I got my 2000, it was in good shape but had 99,000 on it, why do you want to convert your air to the new stuff, if it's working I would leave it alone, and if it didn't, I would load it up with r-12 you can still get it,( at least in the states ) but it does cost more now?

I have seen a coverting kit in my local parts store and the only things that the kit contains is a can of the r-134a gas and a set of new seals.You will need to change out the seals because the new gas can deterote the old seals.As far as parts is concerned,I haven't heard of parts that needed to be changed.Just be carefull and get the a/c system decharged at a good mechanics shop.Also follow the instructions in the kit.

well boys and girls i live in las vegas nevada the hottest place on the planet and i am the king of a/c..i have seen it all ..let me tell you some things about ac.,let me start saying retrofitting is crap ..why would any sane human being wana take a cold ac system and put 134a in it..?? money $$$$$ they say it would cost 60.00 a pound for genuine r12 freon right?...ok lets look at what you would have to do to retrofit a 1988 chevy truck from r12 to 134A...lets start off with a sceniro ..guys pulls up to the parts store with a truck that the air quit working, the shop told him the pump was no good and they recommend a retrofit and a pump 800.00 whole job the guy says no way im going to do it myself...first of all lets look at what is needed to retrofit properly ..you need a new dryer and a orfice tube ..dryer 45.00 orfice tube 5.00 you need to COMPLETELY flush the ac system ...got it so far ..gallon of flush 20.00 ..and change the any hoses to green stripe gates hoses...and a pump because the guys compressor is shot leaking out the front pump seal ....always buy a new pump ..rebuilt /reman are junk ive gon through 5 pumps before i got a good 1...lets look at the down side to retrofiiting r12 is a very good gas as far as cooling propertys same as propane ,,you could put propane in a ac system and it would work fine ...just exposive problem,.134a needs a extra fan in the front to help bring the heat out of the truck because the 134a is a hotter gas ..also it is less permeable gas smaller molecules it goes right throught he regular r12 hoses //when a vehicle is retrofiited PROPERLY there are few problems ..the biggest reason normal joes retrofit is money and they can still buy the 134a at parts store with no license..lets wrap things up here ...there are 10 aftermarket gases out there on the market for replacing r12 ..one of my favorites is hotshot 414b ..it does 2 things it is 12 % colder than R12 and is 32%colder than 134A ..and it uses only 80% of the charge for a system ..so if your truck holds only 3 lbs you only fill 80% ...some shops say that hotshot ruins hoses and seals but i have used it for 3 years now and not 1 failure..also when you get a guy that messes up his ac sysytem on a r12 to 134 conversion i can use it in both systems..no oil change needed ..thats the deal with 134a and r12 2 diffrent oils and CAN NOT have both oils in the ac system at once .it wont explode just 1 gas uses 1 type of oils only ..if you use 134 oil in a r12 gas it wont cicrculate through the system imeediate pump failure ..so why would anyone want to take a r12 system and put 134a in it , the complaint is always the same ...it lasted about 2 days and quit ,,,,because the shop did not change the hoses or seals and the gas leaked out ,the shop took them for a ride and it cost the poor guy 200.00 the shop just fixed the large leak at teh fitting recharge with 134a see the rip off here..now lets say the shop is a good shop right? they would tellt he customer that would retrofit the truck or car and give them the info like "sir we will have the system flushed , the dryer and orifice tube changed and will place a federal sticker stating the retrofit , bit when you get to a stoplight it might raise the vent temputaredone be alarmed it what is called flashgassing wich is the high side not getting enough airflow over the radiator ,,to fix this you will need a electric fan installed on the front .....
on my personall truck i have a 98 chevy fullsize trucj with a v8 ..i took the 134a out and installed hotshot ,remember hot shot is 30% colder then 134a ..my truck DOES NOT heta up at the stop light and blows so cold i have to turn the heater knob up....its been in for 2 years no problem...and also keep in mind the compressor is the heart of a ac system ...134a installed in a older model makes more head pressure then r12 that is harder on the compressor more heat ..r12 does a max of 245 on the high side 134a can goto 350 psi !!! well i guess the answer is get info and research..you can goto to hotshots website at www.hotshot.com later randy...stay away from freeze 12 it is junk ...all it is 134a with some butane mixed ....ask for hotshot or FR 12 at your local shop..

ok im back sorry i went in depth on that last reply..ok if you want to convert your truck ,,first i am assuming the pump wich is a r4 pump radial compressor is workin fine , you have a leak in the system ..ok goto the parts store and buy a orifice tube and a dryer miniumum..buy some flush also..then buy the retrokit like the prevoise posting said ..see if the system has gas if it does have shop pump it out ..once the system is relieved of pressure take the line going to the condensor off ..both lines off take the dryer line off both sides and remove the orifice tube out with needle nose pliars..remove the tube check for metal on the orifice screen if there is a bunch the compressor is going out...if no metal good..now you should all the lines disconected except for the compresssor ...dump the flush into one side of the lines and used compressed air and blow them out good all kinds of junk will come out goot keep spraying air till the line is dry ..do this to both condensor and evaporater..condensor is in the front and evaporatr in the back...install new orings ,,they need to be ac orings not regular black ones ..ac orings are either ed or blue ...oil all fittings with ac oil...lightly..install dryer and orifice tube ..the orifice tube goes in 1 way only so watch wich end pulls out ..now have some one evacuate the air out of the system ..once it holds 28 lbs steady you are good if not you have aleak ..add oil and 134a gas and go ......remember those hoses need to be changed to stop gas leaking out..it might take 2 months but it will happen....later randy

Hey Ramjet. One of the cheapest ways you can go is not to retro. Find you a good a/c mechanic with 609 certification & have him purchase "Hot Shot" (414B). @ $11.00 a can for 10oz. It will get as cold or colder than R12 & is compatable with R12 mineral oil systems.(www.icorinternational.com.) Another option is to change to Enviro-safe.
(www.autorefrigerants.com) A 134a replacement that is compatable with older R12 systems. It would wise to change the expansion valve to a 134 type & a "newer" type 7 dryer.But I have converted a couple of older cars to Enviro-Safe without changing a thing with good results. The last being a 1990 honda prelude.
Vacuumed system to 10lbs per instuctions,charged 2 cans @ $6.95 ea.
& had vent temp of 48 without even running down the road.(I was using a blower for the condenser.)That was 3 weeks ago & she says on the interstate she has to turn the air down. Hope this helps to give you some other options. (www.santech.com/Altref.htm)for some o-ring info. Ret.AF
:wink:

I would not retrofit to R134a, unless you have leaks or other issues that need repair. IMHO, R-12 is much better at cooling than R134a. However, if you need to, or decide to convert, go to www.ackits.com
They have their own open forum and many mobile a/c techs answer your questions/posts accurately, and usually fast response from someone online. I am not advertising them by any means, I have gotten alot of useful info from them in the past and the website has any type of a/c part for vehicles that you might need. I have never purchased anything from them, yet.