A/C Gas-type / Gaskets on 1996 Century 3.1

[Shrewz92]

I'm about to pick-up an aunt's 1996 Buick Century, 3.1L engine. Where will one find the tag that says which type of A/C gas is required by the system? Is it typically on the engine-bay side of the hood (behind the insulation) or on the fire-wall or fenders area?

Also, she has a repair log that shows she had the head-gasket replaced in 2004. Would the replacement of the head gasket also mean that the upper intake manifold and lower intake manifold gaskets would have been replaced in the repair stage to make a 'proper' job. I don't want to replace them to prevent anti-freeze seepage into the oil if there's a possibility they've been replaced already.

[GTP Dad]

To answer your question anything after 1994 will have R-134A as a refrigerant. It should be posted on the radiator support on the front of the car. You should see it when the hood is raised.

As for the second question, yes! Everything would have been replaced when they changed the head gasket. If not they did a poor job!!!

[Shrewz92]

Thanks for the reply.

I was wondering about the switch-time from r-12 to r-134a.

I THOUGHT that if the head gasket was changed the others would be too. That's a relief. One of my uncles has been looking for leaks and tell-tale orange on the valve-valley and associated areas.

Thanks for the assist. I'll be a 'regular.'