AllenM

Alright, it has been extremely hot and humid the last week here in Atlanta. I suffered through the summer last year and had to drive my old pick up truck a lot just because my AC isn't up to snuff.
When I bought the car (1992) it had been converted to R134a. It worked ok, but not great. I had heard that people had some success with using the R12 substitutes, so I got it charged up with Freeze12. (I also have Freeze12 in my old pickup and it works great.) The Freeze12 seemed to be a little better than the R134a, but if the outside temp is over 85, the AC really doesn't cool.

I have checked the fans and they are working properly, they come on with the AC and kick into high when the engine gets hot w/ AC running.

I know some people have bought R12 over the internet, but then what? Will a shop vacuum and then charge with R12 that you bring in? Are there any other options? Anything else I should check that could be malfunctioning? The AC works fine when the outside temp is cooler, but of course that isn't when I need AC.

Thanks,
Allen

Jfrahm

You can check the heater valve, if it leaks a bit the AC will struggle to overcome that. Your system might also be contaminated with water, moisture will carry heat around and prevent effective operation of the refrigeration system. I suggest having the system discharged, replacing the drier ($10 or so from RMEuropean) and the O rings at least in that location and properly flushed, evacuated and charged again. RMEuro has some great AC service kits with O rings and valve cores and stuff.

I have a vacuum pump from Harbor Freight and the AC gauge set from them as well. Pretty decent stuff, but you might want to use a pro service for proper evac and recharging.

-Joel.

JDS968

Good advice, and I'd replace the expansion valve, too. As long as you're doing all of this, you should go on Craigslist and find a tank of R12, instead of using more of that Freeze-12...and I wouldn't even bother getting it in cans, just go for the full-sized tank.

Maybe if you lived in Vermont, the A/C shops would whine about R12 killing baby seals, but in Atlanta you should have no trouble finding a shop that will do the job.