porsche924

Aight to me it isnt a big deal, but my parents really want me to have A/C during the summer even though i have the cabrio and i prolly wont use the a/c anyway. But long story short the a/c doesnt work. anyone know if these cars use r-12 or the r-134a? also if it does use r-12, i am assuming that the $45 cans of r-12 to r-134a kits are a really bad idea to use, right? Anyone have any ideas as to how to test to see what is shot or needs to be done in order to get this guy working? if i do just need a recharge, any ideas as to how much it will cost me?

thanks in advance
bobby

The DareDevil

The switch to R134a was made in '95.

KLR

If you're not going to use it, I wouldn't even think about fixing it. The first thing to do is have a wrench or A/C shop vacuum out the system. If it holds a vacuum (preferably over night), it might not have leaks. You can go for an R-12 recharge at that point for over $200. When it leaks out, they can start looking for the leaks with a freon sniffer or dye lamp.

If it doesn't hold a vacuum, then they can start looking for the leaks right away.

You might get lucky and only need a recharge, but that's highly unlikely. You can pretty much count on having a shot compressor or series of frusterating small leaks at fittings, etc. that will turn this into a large boodoggle. If you don't care about it, I wouldn't touch it.

AndyK

Bring it to a Porsche dealer, get a written estimate, show it to the parents. Guarantee they wont bother you about it again!!

Fishey

Replace seals and fill her with R-134 (even if its originally R-12) and it will work fine for many years to come! I have done this on two 944's and so far 5 years and no problems! Not to mention Ice cold air conditioning!


The cost of doing this is low! Anyone who tells you that you need to change componets of the 944 A/C system has not done there research.

Tom R.

I had R134 in my 93 acura and my 93 Z28.

i converted the red S2 to 134 when we changed the leaky canister and put in a few new o rings. sucka blew mighty cold. both levers as far to left i think and the middle vent slid down. the owners manual says top lever to the right and bottom lever to the left. it works better with both at the same extreme which i think is closed/left.

The DareDevil

Interesting! I guess some manufacturers switched earlier.

Have you heard that they will be switching from R134a? I forget where I heard this, but it's believable considering some sources suggest R134a isn't as environmentally friendly as R12. Also, R134a prices have shot up drastically here in Quebec.

KLR

It's plenty cold with R134a if it stays in there. I would be skeptical if your AC is nonfunctional that a simple charge will do it for you. As you might guess, I have been down the road of multiple recharges after a compressor change (compressor and clutch shot), much searching by multiple wrenches with a variety of high tech tools, etc., and continue to have issues.

The DareDevil

Wurths makes an excellent A/C sealer fluid that you inject with the new refrigerant. One of my cars used to leak out completely over the course of a month. I filled up the system with the additional sealer fluid and the A/C has been running cold for two years!

Tom R.

Neal,
I got lucky. I took it to my buddy that owns cove tire, a goodyear shop in glen cove. my system was leaking from the canister by the left headlight. about $75 for the part. his guy changed a few o rings and filled it up. it was done in the spring of 01 and was blowing cold in august 03 when the car was stolen.

i signed up for pocono 7/8. will you be at the autox tomorrow?why am i not surprised that what they said was good for us is now going to kill us? homeopathic medicine is starting to look good lately.

KLR

That is lucky. I'm hopeful that the last diagnostic and recharge exercise will pan out. If not, I will thoroughly look into that wurth product, because my leak is definitely pretty small and very hard to locate. I feel bad asking my wrench to keep dealing with it, and he feels bad that he hasn't sorted it out. It's a definite lose-lose.

I'm glad to hear that you're signed up for the 8th! I will be there as well. I may also stop by the auto-x tomorrow morning to spectate for a bit -- depends on the timing.

JerryW

Switched my S2 to R134 2 years ago. Evac'd the system replaced the black tube (condenser ?) and refilled with R134 -- no problems

83na944

The condenser is the part in front of the radiator. The black cylinder by the left headlight is the receiver-drier.

I did the R134a retrofit on my 83 944 last year. The 21 year old compressor and the other components were fine.

If you want the AC repaired, convert to R134a. It works fine and you can buy the refrigerant.

BTW, I haven't heard anything about moving back to R12. I really doubt there is any truth in that. Derek, do you have a reference?

porsche924

Ok so getting the $45 kit from pep boys will most likely work to fix my a/c assuming no parts are shot. also where are all these o-rings and seals you are talking about? any sources i should look at when it comes to replacing all of these and where would i be able to get these seals and rings?

and andy, that is what you would think. i wasted close to $1000 fixing the brakes on my 924 by paying some mechanic who knew my parents were idiots and he still hadnt fixed anything. ever seen 2 bad master cylinders in a row when i had prooof(receipts) of the master cylinder looking brand new and just having been replaced. yet a year later, they finally let me do the work and it cost me $150 to replace the front brakes and they worked perfectly fine.

Bri Bro

Sorry to say the $45 kit might lock up the compressor and then the fun begins. The remains of the compressor will have to be flushed and several components of the A/C system will need to be replaced. Take it to a local A/C shop and see what the gauges say. If you have no charge in the system, placing a dose of R134 may kill the compressor. If the charge is just low, then you can choose which Freon you want and how to fix the leak. Also, the oil that is added to R12 and R134 to keep the compressor lubed, are not compatible. It is best to flush the entire system out and add the proper oil and Freon back into the system.