R-12 conversion to R134 ... BTDT? Any regrets? Recommendations?

[Larry C Leung]

If you get any replies, please forward them to me. I'm in exactly the
same position with my '89 200Q. Had it refilled and leak checked (UV dye)
about 3 years ago, and now it blows cool, not cold. 

LL - NY

On Sat, 05 May 2001 12:34:06 -0400 Dave Conner
<conner at cfm.ohio-state.edu> writes:
>I've got three type 44's still running R-12 and all three need 
>recharged.
>I understand some people are buying a cheap DIY kit ($35) and 
>retrofitting
>to R134.  I'd like to hear from folks who did this and whether they 
>would
>do it again, etc.  
>
>Two of my cars have only gradually lost their cooling effectiveness 
>over a
>period of 3-5 years, so I'm willing to consider having them checked 
>out
>and recharged with R-12.  The third car got a new compressor/dryer 
>last
>year and the A/C worked great, but over the winter seems to have lost 
>all
>the R-12.  I guess I blew it by not converting this one to R134 at the 
>time
>this stuff was replaced.  I installed the parts myself and had a local 
>shop
>charge it with R12.  They say they pressure (vacuum?) tested the 
>system
>before charging and it showed no sign of leaking.  They suggest that 
>over
>the winter the front seal could dry out due to lack of use and the 
>R12
>wouild leak out.  Everything may be fine if they recharging the sytem
>because the seal would re-seal itself.  (hmmmmm...)  I'm skeptical 
>because
>this car gets the exact same kind of use as the others and they never 
>did
>this, and this one never did this during past winters.  
>
>Dave C.