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:

 

i had to do the conversion to my 92 accord cause my a/c condensor shit the bed. common problem for 92-93 accords,cost me like $400 at the honda dealer. it would have cost 600-700, but i got the hook up. the kit they do at the dealer is not what you buy at autozone, just to let you know. $1000, is pretty crazy though.

 

nice save bro,

this might make a good DIY if you had pictures or something.

-w

 

What's the difference in the kits? The "conversion" was really only 2 valve fittings that just screw onto the R12 fittings. One for the low side and one for the high side. Does the dealer do something above and beyond that?

 

from what my dad was told yes. this was so long ago, back in 1998 i don't remember specifics. the owner of the dealership knows my dad and explained it to him. they had to ask him for approval to spend the money cause they couldn't get in touch with me. i also had my condensor replaced too since it was leaking.

 

Way to go on the A/C
IMPRESSIVE

 

Thanks. I was so bummed when I got the $1K quote, I had to do something. Now I'm so happy that I did my own research and basically punked out that mechanic (in my own passive agressive way). Nothing but brrrrr for me this summer!!

 

I have a similar, but worse ($1300 quote) problem. Lingerbw, if you're still around, do you still have the car? If so, how's the A/C holding up?