ColinB

The time has come. After nearly five years of faithful service the last dregs of my R12 are now barely enough to cope with the 30C temps of a moderately warm summer's day. R12 has been illegal here for about 6 years and even the black market has closed shop since the government made R12 use a hanging offence.

So - end of January will be conversion time. I had my VW Kombi (Microbus) converted a few years back and it's still good so I think I'm going to do the same with the Porsche. Procedure IIRC was oil flush / new drier tower/ service port adaptors/ vacuum/ oil, gas and dye. Didn't change the expansion valve, hoses or o-rings.

The car is not a daily driver so I can afford to experiment. I'll try this route first and cross fingers that I don't get leaks. If I do, I'll get the R134a-compatible items and go back . It will cost me another vac and recharge but I can live with that. Reason I'm not doing it 'properly' first time is that I have many years of unhappy experiences with A/C shops in this town and have yet to find a really good one. I'd rather not let them disturb anything that can be avoided.

Will keep you all posted. Anybody got any advice to offer?

Colin. 89GT

ShawnSmith

Shops that are certified, and who carefully capture and recycle the R12 are still operating around here. Rules maybe vary by region, but last time I had AC serviced it was still far cheaper (and simpler) to keep it R12 than to convert.

YMMV.

UKKid35

Have you considered Isceon49 by DuPont, available through A-Gas in SA.
http://www.agas.com/pdfs/pdf%20fridge/R413ABrochure.pdf

the flyin' scotsman

WOW...........harsh; we Canadians get sent to the North pole.

I had my system converted to R134a by a Porsche dealership.........didn't work with a damn. I'm redoing the whole system then I'm assured the O rings, evaporator, dryer et al can all handle the refrigerant. The fact that the main a/c hoses were split didn't help

Vilhuer

What seal options there are? I need to rebuild entire system so its possible to select what to aim for. I think last stuff in it was Isceon49. Might as well put seals in that work with something which is easily available. If stock stuff works well with Isceon49 that would be easiest option I quess.

the flyin' scotsman

928 specialists sell an O ring kit designed for R134a.

Roger, 928sRus, is working on a a/c compressor and hose assembly..........perhaps he has updates.

Podguy

You can do much better than Porsche suppliers on the conversion.

To do the job right you should replace all the hoses. You can buy them for a lot of money or buy a crimper and make your own.

Your vacuum pump and gauges will work just fine. I found everything I needed at Arizona A/C supply

http://www.ackits.com/

You might be able to find a place local to you. By grinding off the old crimps I was able to re-use the old ends and crimp them back on. You can buy the hose by the foot and the crimps and then take the hoses to someone for the crimping or get a portable crimper.

You will need to change the oil and flush the system. Arizona A/C has both the new oil and the o-rings for the conversion. You can look around and find compresor rebuild kits for a few dollars as well.

Good luck.

Dan the Pod Guy

ColinB

Paul
Thanks for the tip about Isceon49. It sounds a bit too good to be true but I'll look into it. The SA branch of A-Gas is only about a mile from my home.

Erkka. What's your your opinion of the Isceon?

Colin. 89GT

Vilhuer

No idea if it works or not. There was just sticker on top of radiator that it was changed in but since engine hasn't run...

UKKid35

It's worked well in my car for the last four years.

mtelliott

This is how I approach it.

Got a coupon in the mail from Firestone for A/C check. It only cost $20. They pulled the R12 (not much left), put in the dye, found the leaks (one hose, one set of seals). Then gave me an estimate for repairs (+$600).

I then sourced the hose (smoking deal of only $85 - took some sourcing) myself, took that with me to a Porsche repair shop that does the R134 conversion.

They replaced the bad hose, replaced the seals, conditioned the system, installed a new dryer, and charged it with R134?

A/C blew nice and cold.

Now, that was last fall so we'll see if it still blows cold this spring. However, it's easy to recharge the system with R134 going forward. The stuff is much cheaper than R12 and I believe can be done at home if needed.

Michael

morganabowen

I decided to stick with the R-12. I purchased a case of R-12 in Mexico for the overhaul of my system, and I still have three 12oz cans left if anyone wants them ($75.00).

blown 87

I will take them if you mean 75 for all three.

morganabowen

Yes, $75.00 for all three
PM me and we can do it on paypal if you like

blown 87

PM sent.