I know the summer months have brought a few A/C threads to the forum. I thought I would post my story:

It's getting hot, so I turn on my A/C... nothing but hot air coming out... crap! I go to the garage, the guy tells me at least $1000 because I have r12 and he needs to do the R12-R134A conversion. Okay, it's either a new car or a hot summer.

Next day, I got on HAN and did some research. It looked as though I could do the conversion pretty inexpensively. I called another garage: they can evacuate my R12 for $59. Good deal, I'll be there tomorrow. I show up, they remove the R12, and charge me $36. Also, the guy doing it visually inspects for leaks and gives me a printout of the proper pressure and correct amount of oil I should use. (This is going good!).

Next, time to go to Autozone. I am looking for a retrofit kit, and a R134A recharge kit. I find a kit which contains both items. The retrofit kit, I find out, is just adapters so the 134 can be added to the system. The kit comes with the adapters, filling hose, guage, 3 bottles of R134A, and 1 bottle of oil (everything I need to make cold air!)... $35 for the kit. I get home, follow the intructions very carefully (I have heard horror stories about A/C) and I am now blowing ice cold air.

Bottom Line:
Remove R12: $36
Retrofit/Recharge kit: $35
Using HAN to save $929: PRICELESS!!

Needless to say, that first garage will never see my face again!!

Thanks for letting me share :thumbup: