R134

RobertJ

Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2022
My fears of retrofitting A/C to R134 were justified. It doesn't get as cold as Freon and won't get cold at all unless the car is moving down the road. I don't think I want to take it back to the same mechanic as I'm sure he heard the d














































My fears of retrofitting my A/C were justified. R134 doesn't get as cold and doesn't get cold at all unless the car is tooling down the road. Sounds like the compressor is about to self destruct too. The mechanic had to have heard it but didn't mention it to me.
 
Too much freon charge = rattles/knocks, poor cooling.
I bet he still took your money, didn't he?
 
It can be done with r134. Last few Turbo Regals Ive been in had more than a 30 degree temp drop sitting at idle. Gets even colder as you roll down the road. But that applies for any freon. Moving air across the condenser is key.
 
Yep. I don't think he put any ester oil in there either which I read the compressor needs.
The old oil has to be removed, and the prescribed amt of Ester put in.
This includes flushing the evaporator, a new drier, orifice, and preferably a new multipass condenser.
If the condenser is the original, it's outlived its useful life long ago.
The system should have been flushed with system flush or alcohol.
Furthermore, a fan should be in ft of the grille while charging.
 
On top of that I’d find another mechanic yesterday if he can’t repair/flush/charge an A/C system. YIKES!!!

My 124a A/C is 30’s to low 40’s on a 90+degree day.
 
On top of that I’d find another mechanic yesterday if he can’t repair/flush/charge an A/C system. YIKES!!!

My 124a A/C is 30’s to low 40’s on a 90+degree day.

Yep, if a "mechanic" isn't able to make any A/C system blow cold(not cool), then put that guy in your rearview and find someone who knows their craft. My 86 GN with new compressor and R-134A will get down into the high 20s at the vent. Did the guy install a new orifice tube? It may be clogged with black death if the compressor sounds like it's rattling.
 
Since there is no factory charge amount now using R134A, has anyone seen the charging techniques? This is with a parallel flow condenser, factory evaporator and "correct" orifice.
One guy said use a percentage of the R12 factory charge??
 
Since there is no factory charge amount now using R134A, has anyone seen the charging techniques? This is with a parallel flow condenser, factory evaporator and "correct" orifice.
One guy said use a percentage of the R12 factory charge??
Correct. You can look online to see R12-134a conversion amounts. Myself I do some cyphering to get the amount & then use the gauges to get the filling where I like it. Having the correct amount of oil in the system is also important.

I believe Highway Stars told me it was 90%.
 
I'm definitely not going back to that guy. The question now is who. If I could just find someone who knows half as much as you guys...
 
You? They’re not hard to work on. They can be ornery for sure though.

Most of the things by now have happened & have been fixed. There are good sources here, vortexbuicks, & gnttype.org to name a few.


 
Me? Ha! I did order a pressure switch per TurboT Guy. I think I can handle that much myself. I hail from Hendersonville, North Carolina, with its small town charm and big city traffic.
 
Me? Ha! I did order a pressure switch per TurboT Guy. I think I can handle that much myself. I hail from Hendersonville, North Carolina, with its small town charm and big city traffic.
Ok then HAHA. Richard Clark is in Burlington NC
 
I guess I can't even do that. When I heard PFFFT I stopped right there. I read 134 was poisonous. I heard about him. He's 2 or 3 hours away.
If your talking about the pressure switch on the drier don't be. There's a Schrader valve so when you take off the switch you'll hear a little hiss & that's it. Then just screw the new one on. 134a ain't gonna hut ya none.
 
^^^^^^^ He's right^^^^^^

But if you're apprehensive of doing it yourself, the ride to RC's Garage is well worth your time. You can be sure it will be done right.
 
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