A/C blowing hot air (91,civic-LX,1.5L)

[mike2020q]

It worked 2 weeks ago. I need to know do i have Freon or R134 ?
Also, my understanding is most common problem to have a leak on the gas is due to an O ring....but question is where is this O ring? how do i change it.

Please if you know the answers help me.

Thanks in advance
Mike

I am in Southern California, Valencia, near Magic Mountain.

[FrodoGT]

R12..freeon, and usually it is an o-ring..but can also be old dry rotted hoses (really depends on your location).

[mike2020q]

Originally Posted by FrodoGT

R12..freeon, and usually it is an o-ring..but can also be old dry rotted hoses (really depends on your location).

I am in Soutern California, Valencia, near Magic Mountain.

[FrodoGT]

Shouldnt be a problem then. Y0ou will have to fidn the leak..or better yet, replace all the lines..r12 is expensive as hell, you could retrofit it to r134a..it wont blow as cold but its like 5 bucks a can so if it leaks out its no biggie.

[pbrizzle86]

i dont know a/c is one of those things that i wouldnt mess with unless i was in a enviorment that had all the tools to properly service an ac system. all the tools you need to do the job you can rent im sure but its not worth the trouble unless you do it the right way. plus if you never worked with r-12 or r134a then it is easy to miss handle. you breath that stuff in and your lungs can freeze instantly, not to mention the ozone depletion that results form miss use. i have retro fitted a few hondas to r134a and yeah there is a differance in temapture but nothing to dramatic. when the job was done they all still passed the performance test but you wont get the "oh my god i see my breath" cold you would have gotten out of some r12 systems i swear in my buddies 88 camero it could start snowing its so cold.

[PaulD]

if you take it to a shop with R12 in it (or was in it) and you have to replace anything, you almost certainly be leaving there with R134. They have made R12 SOOOOO expensive it's cheaper to buy the new parts and do a retrofit then fill it up with R12.

[FrodoGT]

If you want to do it yourself a retrofit kit is 35 or so bucks at autozone and comes with all the fittings and refrigerant. Then you would probably want to use a vacuum pump that can be picked up at harbor freight (or any cheap tool store for like 20-30..you will need an air compressor but this will give you the best results. I had to do my civic 3 times because I got a bad evaporator from the junkyard, and a bad one from my crx before I sold it. And how dumb do you have to be to breathe that crap in!? Yes its bad for you..no it probably wont freeze your lungs unless you inhale it right off the can. And the reason cars switched to r134a is because it doesnt eat the ozone.

[Tony]

Very well said Frodo. Many things can do harmful things to you...if your being stupid with it. Trust me, working on cars as much as I have w/o the proper tools, a little freon isn't going to kill you, same with anti-freeze(I prefer the orange kind, tastes like oranges ) By no means I'm I saying you should be inhales or drinking this stuff, but a little isn't going to kill you.

I'm with Frodo, just go down to the parts store, get you a retrofit kit and do it yourself(if you think your capable of doing it yourself). Most of the time it is just o-rings, which are at every metal hose connection you have. So the best thing to do is: Do the retrofit, if it still leaks, find the leak(they sell UV kits to find them as well) and fix it.

And this is why I don't run A/C

[FrodoGT]

Yeah get the cans with UV dye..and go to town, trust me that shit will dye your hands fluorescent yellow for a week so watch out when you pop the old can off. Lol.

[mike2020q]

Thank you all.

I went to walmart and get a retrofit kit and did it myself. Cost me 35.00 + Tax.
Before doing it, I have talk to at least five A/C shop and find out the truth. Here it is.....!
If you have R12 and trying to upgrade your system then make sure you

Shop told me I don't need to use any system flush or anything. R12 and R134A can run in same A/C system as long as R134A can contains ESTER OIL.

1) Start the A/C and make sure your compressior is coming on
If it doesn't come on then add a can of 134a
Still no compression coming on then that's your problem
2) use ESTER OIL not PAX or PAK OIL / when your system contained R12
(R12 and PAX or Pak (I can't remember) OIL will distroy your whole system with in a month and will cost you a new A/C system
3) Fill up only 80% of its capacity, because R134a is thicker. (Sticker on the hood will tell your car's capacity)

HOPE MY FINDINGS WILL HELP SOMEONE DOWN THE LINE IN COMING SUMMER

[FrodoGT]

Actually the r134 molecules are smaller and so they dont work as well, also they tend to leak out of r12 systems..