legacycentral bbs

I live in Cumberland, RI (02864) and am looking for some help.

I have a 1993 Legacy L that has had non-functional A/C for about 2-years. She has the old style R-12 refrigerant. I am looking for someone who is experienced in either retrofitting to R-132a or who can fix the current system and get it recharged. I simply do not have the expertise.

I am of course willing to order/pay for parts and labor and will even feed and provide cold beverages.

If you are interested or know someone who is, please PM me. Thanks.

* Is this the proper topic to post this request under?

Go to autozone and get the new refrigerants I think it is 12A or 22A. They usually include the guages, fittings, and refrigerant in the kit. Also grab a sealling kit so it does not leak in the future. Product should say proseal. As long as you have not unplugged the A/c line you should not need a complete vacuum. You can simply fill it up and it says on the kit when to stop filling which is usually around 30psi. The kit worked well from my experience.

The reason the A/C has not working in about two years is because initially the compressor died. I had a Subaru certified mechanic install a used one but he didn't have ability to recharge the system. I've read a lot about having to change out the dryer and other parts as well as pull a vacuum, etc. So you are saying that all I need to do is recharge the system with this new type of refrigerant and there will be no problems?

What I am trying to avoid is making a costly mistake by doing the wrong thing. This car is not worth that amount of trouble.

What is the sealing kit for?

If the a/c compressor was replaced then just get the refrigerant. Since it was removed then it will most likely need a vacuum doubt you need a drier. if you find you have leaks (when you charge the system up after a vacuum, and if it looses it's charge) then try the sealing product it lubes up seals which is the main thing.

I suggest you find someone who does heating and air conditioning and ask them if they can do a vacuum on your car tell them it is a r12 system and they SHOULD have the fitting. They will most likely want money but it is at no real cost to them other then the fact that they had to buy the vacuum compressor at one point of course. My father is in heating and air conditioning so doing a vacuum on my system was no problem .

Okay, first off...If the system has been opened and without refrigerant for some time the dryer DOES NEED TO BE REPLACED.

Second...you absolutely, positively need to pull the system into a vacuum.
it needs to be on the pump for 30 minutes, then sit for 5 minutes to make sure the vacuum holds. Otherwise, you will find the leaks(if any) the exspensive way.

Take the car to A CERTIFIED AUTOMOTIVE A/C MECHANIC (this coming from someone who is A/C certified). It may cost a little more in the end, but you won't blow something up. The system is designed to hold 28-32 ozs. of R12. R134a is heavier and it will not hold as much.

I don't claim to know everything there is to know about working on cars, but i will tell you that I KNOW AUTOMOTIVE A/C.

Oh I thought only if it was exposed/uncapped for a long time it would then need a new drier.

if the system had been pulled into a vacuum, then the dryer would still be useable. but ,it has been absorbing all the moisture out of the air that is currently in the system.

Read over some of my posts regarding A/C.

If your compressor died, more then likely you'll have junk in the system. You can probably get by with just changing the drier, but ideally the system should be flushed, new drier installed, new PAG 100 oil put in, vacuum pulled, and system charged with R134a at 3/4 of the amount of the original R12.

This is a moot issue now. Brought the car to a local mechanic for some other work and he offered to fix and recharge the A/C for $50. I'm back to freezing again.

Thank you all for your helpful posts as always.

~Jeremy

i hope it lasts i took my car couple years ago and it was cold out of the mechanics and for a while. but went back to intermittent