Has anyone tried one of those do-it-yourself AC charge kits?

My girlfriend was told her runners AC needs to be recharged and she's ready to take it in to the dealer to have it done but I was thinking of trying one of the kits out first. If it's a waste of money and time I'll pass on it but if it works...then...I'll do it!

 

I've used them and they work great. I even used one on a 1979 Lancia and now I've got A/C in it. And anyone who knows anything about Italian cars, will tell you that's quite a feat. Just follow the directions and everything should work OK. Remember, that is you're converting from R-12 to R-134a, reduce the amount of R-134a by about 15% compared to the recommended R-12.

 

how can I find out if she's running 12 right now?

 

what year is her runner? Most of the vehicle use R134 after 1993

 

She has a 90, 3.0. Should I assume she is using the R-12?? Is there something listed under the hood or something that will point me in the right direction?

 

if you unscrew one of the caps on the a/c lines and there are threads on the outside then its R-12

 

I am positive it is a R12 unless she converted it to R134. I was told that the R12 system should be evacuated before you can recharge and convert it to R134 system. I recharge my 88 honda with the r134 refrigerant and 8 ouncès of oil after taking out the r12 freon. It works fine now.

 

There should be a sticker under the hood (mine is right in front of the radiator on the sheet metal cross-member) that will state what the refrigerant is and how much to charge it with.

 

One if the easiest ways to tell if its r12 is that the new R134 fittings wont fit on the old r12 fittings. When you buy the conversion kit you will get new fitting that go over your old r12 fittings. I did my 92Runner a few years ago and it still working fine.

 

Hi Pal..
I'm windancer4x4 who made the swap of a 4.0L V6 of a 2003 1GR-FE into a '92 3.0L V6 3VZ-E 4X4 p/u truck and the swap project is almost finalized with SUCCESS all over it. Now, the new A/C system from the 2003 engine is R134, of course but not cooling!! What's your advice? I only got the compressor from the newer enginebut all the rest are the original stuff I used to have in my 1992.

I would appreciate your reply to copy me at fakri@usa.com and pls at windancer4x4@yahoo.com..
Many thanks,
Fakri

 

I purchased the the conversion kit at my local auto part for under $50 and it came with the replacement fittings, 1 can of coolant and 1 can of oil. If your system is empty I do believe it will take around 3 cans of charge to fill it. I also picked up a 2 part leak repair kit part 1 takes care of the rubber seals and part 2 takes care of any pin hole leaks in the metal. So far so good on my system I topped it off last year and it was blowing cold during the hot spell we had here last week. For filling just keep an eye on the sight glass when the bubbles stop and the liquid flows clearly in the glass the system is full or you can get the guage setup.

 

Just FYI, you guys are asking questions of a thread that's almost 2 years old...

I guess it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, it's still popping up in the forum list.